REVIEW: Paper Thin by Shelia M. Goss

Date: 10-19-10                          

Title: The Lip Gloss Chronicles: Vol. 3 Paper Thin                     

Author: Shelia M. Goss                      

ISBN 10: 1-60162-204-X     

ISBN 13: 978-1-60162-204-4             

Pages: 296                  

Publisher: Urban Renaissance                     

Cover: Paperback                       

Reviewer: Amber Williamson– Literary Wonders! (www.literarywonders)

Rating: 4 

       

Paper Thin by Sheila M. Goss is a story that parallels society’s pressure to be skinny and the influences it has on teenage girls physically and mentally.

Sierra, the books main character, brings a new identity to the world of insecurities. Her constant struggle with her weight causes her to have an inflated self-esteem once she returns to school twenty-five pounds lighter. This new confidence is the source of her evolving diva attitude, of which her best friends, Jasmine and Brittney, are not fans.

Sierra’s insecurities resurface when she is left without a date to accompany her to the homecoming dance. Seeing the boy she has a crush on decide to go with the girl she despises the most, leaves her feeling degraded and rejected. Sierra then reverts to her old ways, and begins comparing herself to the opinions of others.

Regardless of her weight loss, her stepmom constantly reprimands her for excessive eating habits and the girl dating the guy she has a crush on is always smaller than she, which leads Sierra to begin consuming diet pills. From here on, the story line begins to take shape and keeps its readers guessing.

The author intertwined many modern issues throughout the entire story. Young readers will greatly benefit from the plots involvement with body image, economic struggles, relationship dynamics, and domestic violence.

I enjoyed how the majority of the story was written, but was not fully pleased with the conclusion. The final chapter with Sierra being hospitalized was somewhat unbelievable because of how quickly the scene was over. It seemed like it should have been elongated a little because it was a detrimental part of the story. While there may have been an unsatisfactory ending, I was glad to see that Shelia Goss included an epilogue to help sum up the missing parts, which gave the book a more complete conclusion.

Seeing, as many of the situations in the story are relatable to girls, I would highly recommend this book. There are many life lessons that can be learned from this story and I hope there is another book in the works!