| Francesca is a typical teenager who loves ballet. In an effort to encourage her to become a better dancer, her ballet instructor suggests that she watch her weight. Although Francesca is not fat, she begins to view her body as grossly obese. She begins to dramatically cut back on her food intake and to significantly increase her physical activity. As her parents begin to notice the change in Francesca, they insist that she stop what they consider to be foolishness, and eat.
Felling trapped, Francesca has no choice but to eat the meals placed before her. She tries to cut her meals in tiny little pieces and spend most of her time simply moving food around. After a while, her parents knew what she was up to. Francesca also did not like her name. She thought that it was a name given to a fat person. Since she does not want to be fat, she decides that she wants to be called Kessa. She believes that, as Kessa, she cannot be forced to eat what she believes will make her fat. After completing a meal, she would run to the bathroom and force herself to vomit. Over time, Kessa becomes dangerously thin. Eventually, she is admitted into a hospital which treats eating disorders. Kessa must be monitored closely. Kessa is required to attend group therapy and is eventually discharged. She is weighed every day. In order to stay out of the hospital, Kessa must either maintain or gain weight. Kessa feels so trapped. Through the support of friends and family, she is able to begin the journey back to healthy living. | ||
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Plot & Themes Time/era of story - 1980's-1999 Internal struggle/realization? Yes Struggle over Battle with a psychiatrist Yes Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - a teen Ethnicity/Nationality Main Adversary Identity: - none Setting How much descriptions of surroundings? - 2 () United States Yes Writing Style Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog |
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