JANE IN BLOOM

If everyone is so focused on your beautiful, accomplished older sister they can’t even celebrate your birthday, something’s wrong. Twelve-year-old Jane doesn’t get her ears pierced, open her presents or have her birthday cake when sister Lizzie is rushed to the emergency room. Lizzie’s eating disorder soon claims her life, and the family is left with guilt, anger and ultimately the need to re-create their lives. Jane finally begins to come out of the shadows and develop herself and her relationship with her father, revise her ideas about “perfect Lizzie” and allow her mother some humanity. While the slightly studied quality of the language brings a precision to the first-person narrative that can feel stilted, it also captures the essence of events carefully, acknowledging the pain without staying there. There’s not much practical help for those with eating disorders or their families as Lytton focuses on resolving everything quickly and tidily. The intricacies of sibling relationships and the complexity of life are pared away to focus on healing and growing. All flower, no roots. (Fiction. 10-14)