Don't Call Me Kit Kat

by K. J. Farnham

Overview

Junior high is where things really start to happen. Cliques form and break apart. Couples are made and destroyed. And a reputation is solidified that you won't ever be able to escape. Everything you do and say, and everyone you spend your time with, matters.

Katie Mills knows that. She gets it. That's why she tried so hard to get in with the cool girls at school. And why she was so devastated when those efforts found her detained for shoplifting and laughed out of cheer squad tryouts.

But Katie has more to worry about than just fitting in. Her parents are divorced and always fighting. Her sister never has time for her. And her friends all seem to be drifting apart. Even worse? The boy she has a crush on is dating the mean girl at school.

Everything is a mess, and Katie doesn't feel like she has control over any of it. Certainly not over her weight, which has always topped out at slightly pudgier than normal—at least, according to her mother.

So when she happens to catch one of the popular girls throwing up in the bathroom one day, it sparks an idea. A match that quickly engulfs her life in flames.

Is there any going back once she gets started down this path?

And would she even want to if she could?

Product Details

BN ID:	2940153262390
Publisher:	K J Farnham Publishing LLC
Publication date:	05/15/2015
Sold by:	Draft2Digital
Format:	eBook
File size:	505 KB

About the Author

K. J. Farnham was born and raised in a suburb of Milwaukee. She graduated from UW-Milwaukee in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and went on to earn a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Carroll University in Waukesha. She then had the privilege of helping hundreds of children learn to read and write over the course of twelve years.

Farnham now lives in western Wisconsin with her husband and three children. When not keeping up with her kids, she can usually be found reading or writing. Beach outings, coffee, acoustic music, and road trips are among her favorite things.

Editorial Reviews

"This book was beautifully written and accurately depicted the voice of a teenager. This didn't sound like an adult trying to sound like a teenager, it felt real." - Reviews of A Shameless Fangirl



"Katie's personality immerses readers not just in the events surrounding her life, but in her responses to them - and that makes for a compelling read that's hard to put down." - D. Donovan, Senior eBook Reviewer, Midwest Book Review



"A powerful, honest YA novel. A finalist and highly recommended." - The Wishing Shelf Book Awards



"In this hard-hitting YA novel, a teenage girl wrestles with low self-esteem, body image issues, and an eating disorder...Farnham has created a powerfully relatable character in Katie, whose struggles to fit in will ring true for many." - Kirkus Reviews



"I had to stop and read this book in several sittings because I needed to get myself together. The story within is heartbreaking and beautiful. It's about learning to let go, forgive oneself, and heal. It's also about friendships--both good and bad; communication--or the lack,thereof; and the phenomenon that seems to be the desire to fit in." - Maria, Goodreads Reviewer

From the Publisher

2015-06-10
In this hard-hitting YA novel, a teenage girl wrestles with low self-esteem, body image issues, and an eating disorder after she is unable to ingratiate herself into the popular clique at school.As junior high begins, Katie Mills thinks she has found a clear path into the cool clique at school through her lab partner, Anica. However, after a shoplifting expedition spearheaded by Anica goes awry, Katie is more shunned by the upscale "Orchard Hills girls" than ever. Her next tactic is to try out for the cheer squad, but that also backfires when her tomboyish friend, Carly, gets picked instead of her. As Carly begins hanging out with the popular crowd and her other best friend, Dominic, acquires a new girlfriend, Katie feels more left out than ever. Her divorced parents don't help matters: mom would rather harangue Katie for being pudgy than support her, while dad is preoccupied with spoiling his new daughter from his second marriage. After she overhears head cheerleader Amy Bowie throwing up in the bathroom after lunch, Katie decides to be more like the pretty, skinny, popular girls the only way she knows how: lose as much weight as possible by bingeing and purging. Soon, Katie's secret threatens to get in the way of her burgeoning friendship with the cute new boy at school, Hunter, not to mention her existing relationships. Farnham (Click. Date. Repeat., 2014) has created a powerfully relatable character in Katie, whose struggles to fit in will ring true for many. Be warned though: the vivid first-person descriptions of Katie's bulimia and the feelings she associates with bingeing and purging may be triggering for some readers. "After I eat, I can't think about anything but the food churning around in my stomach, just waiting to be absorbed by my body," she says. "My chest feels like it's going to explode if I don't get rid of the food." Other intense issues covered by Farnham, albeit in a deft and sympathetic way, include divorce, bullying, and abuse.An important, difficult book that will appeal to girls who feel lost in the world.

Kirkus Reviews