Customer Reviews

The Echo Glass

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am not a teenager but as I have an interest in anorexia I decided to read this book.

It follows three years of Jasmine's life (as EDd people know, an ED does not come and go in a short period of time). She faces emotional bullying and as a result struggles to deal with life. She then falls into the trap of anorexia without really realising or understanding it.

There are some stunning scenes that had me at the edge of my seat unable to put the book down. It becomes apparent at the end of the novel what `the echo glass' actually stands for (there are various suggestions throughout which makes you think you've worked it out earlier but the real meaning comes later). Once Jasmine understands what the Echo Glass is the way is made clear for a possible step towards recovery. I felt that this was very important. The book realistically deals with an eating disorder and as a result does not have the cliched `happy ending,' (as many are aware these certainly don't occur over night!) The hint of optimism and a possible way forward are apparent but we are never sure if Jasmine takes this route or not (though the ending is far from depressing as we feel Jasmine has a new understanding). What we do know is that she has learnt what it is inside her and that she has the support of true friends.

I feel that this is a very important book and the imagery gives real depth. It is not only realistic in its dealings with eating disorders and bullying but it gives insight into the way that EDd people think. It also dealt with therapy in an interesting and thought-provoking way.

All in all I would recommend this book.

The beginning of the book moved too quickly at times (which made the book unrealistic) and some things were unclear.

However from the middle of the book on, it became suprisingly profound. If the beginning of the book had been better it would have desearved 4 or 5 stars.

Having an eating disorder myself I was able to identify and be somewhat inspired by the main character. Overall I was to some degree disapointed (especially that the quality of the book didn't match the price when it cost $14.15), but enjoyed reading The Echo Glass.

I wrote a lot, so here's the tl;dr version of issues with the book:
1. Grammar errors on every single page, run-on sentences, and a couple of spelling errors
2. Weak story line
3. Inconsistency in what is happening
4. Several unrealistic moments in the story

Sixteen pages into reading the book, I gave it three stars. I've dropped the rating down to one star for many reasons.

One thing that gave me a chuckle was that the narrator keeps getting told over and over that she's amazing in English when she's not, and I honestly believe that is the author coming out in her character. I was unable to find a single page without a grammar mistake on it. I could have understood a couple of mistakes, but an entire novel with errors everywhere in it should be a crime. In addition to breaking multiple punctuation rules, the author also has trouble with run-on sentences.
I just wish someone had corrected Ms. Morrall before she published this book!
I almost was able to compliment the author for not having a spelling mistake. However, late into the book, she wrote "spose." Spose is not a word. I could see that the author was trying to shorten "suppose", but she forgot to add an apostrophe. "S'pose" would have been the correct way to shorten that word.

The book has a fairly weak story line as well. The book mainly consists of, "There's an alien in me that likes the bad words that are said to me. I have to listen to the Alien. Oh, I realized that I don't have to listen. The end." I wish I could say that there was a lot more to it than that, but the rest is just poorly written filler. I am sorry if I just ruined it for you.

Inconsistency was a huge problem. One moment a person will be standing next to Jasmine, and the next moment, they'll be gone. The author doesn't say the person left; the readers are just expected to know.

Lastly, I found so many unrealistic points in the story. There are moments when I just had to stop and think, "Who actually talks like that?" and "Wait, if they hug every day, how did Cori notice the weight lose?" (I don't care how little you eat, you cannot lose enough overnight for someone who hugs you every single day to notice, especially considering that Jasmine only seems to fluctuate between 90 and 102 pounds through the whole book.)

The two compliments that I can give this book is that it managed to get past an editor, and it does seem to be told from the viewpoint of a child. (Though Jasmine acts closer to an 11-year-old than a 14-year-old.)