TEENAGERS’
book of the week
WITH instances of anorexia in children as young as six, author Nicola Morgan seeks to champion change. Her books include the highly rated Blame My Brain, and she has twice won the Scottish Children’s Book of the Year.
Her latest offering, Body Brilliant, Morgan aims to empower a happier and healthier state of young mind.
Taking the reader through topics including eating disorders, self-harm and gender identity, she offers explanations of the psychology underpinning young anxieties, suggests activities to inspire a healthier body image, and provides useful resource lists for each topic area.
However, it’s difficult to see how this book might come to be read by its intended audience. Gifting it would seem heavy-handed; perhaps patronising.
With an unapologetic (but friendly) head-on approach to topics, a young reader might prefer to swerve – particularly those most affected by them, the activities may feel trite. Some advice – such as ensuring medical advice is sought, followed by a suggestion of seeking advice online – even feels potentially confusing.
But the adults engaged in children’s lives will gain the most from the chatty explanations and who can best pick and choose from the suggested activities – becoming, themselves, champions for change.