Sugar

When I started reading Sugar, I had to put the book down. Deirdre Riordan Hall wrote with such clarity about the negative chatter that runs through people’s minds as they battle inner demons, I had flashbacks of my own negative inner monologue and the defeating feeling that accompanies that.

Sugar is a seventeen year old girl who exists. She has hobbies, such as baking cakes and devouring them, eating outdated food as fast as possible, and taking care of her family. She lives with an overbearing bedridden mother and her abusive older brother. Her refuge, school, is equally toxic. The children make fun of her weight, play pranks on her, and ostracize her from activities. Her only “friend” uses Sugar for her car, ditching Sugar when she gets a boyfriend. Sugar is the girl in the crowd who is only noticed because of her weight.

Then Even enters her life. Even is the new kid in town. He looks past Sugar’s weight and sees her true beauty. He can help Sugar break from her shell and start to live.

Like the title, this book is sweet. However, don’t let the sweetness fool you. Sugar struggles with mental, verbal, and physical abuse. She has been taught to allow negativity to run her life, accepting this as her fate. Each time she crams food into her mouth, the cycle of self-abuse begins. She feels guilty that she ate, but with no hope around, she has to fill the void.

Triumphant and bold, Sugar helped me see that life is difficult, but there is something better out there. We just need to have the courage to accept the change.