Title: Gravity Journal
Author: Gail Sidonie Sobat
First Copyright Date: 2008
Genre: Teen Fiction
General Subject Matter: Anorexia, depression, and self-injury
Interesting Facts: White Pine Medalist. Filled with poems and journal entries from main character's
journal. Not to mention there are blood splatters heading each chapter title.
Price: $14.95 CDN, or borrow it from MW’s library!
Gravity Journal, written by Canadian author Gail Sidonie Sobat, is one of those token angst-filled-anorexic-girl books. It was a great read for me (finished the book in less than a day), but it lacked several things that could have raised it to the level of other angst-filled-anorexic-girl books*. I’m not going to bash this book; I did like several parts of it, but on the whole it didn’t satisfy my appetite, pardon the pun.
Anise is not a normal sixteen-year old Canadian girl. She suffers from anorexia nervosa and chronic depression. Her mother is not very maternal and has a vicious tongue. Her father is inept, unhappy, and whipped. Her brother is a druggie and alcoholic. Out of those three, it’s her brother she loves the most. Well actually, the only one she loves. Anise struggles under hospitalization, well aware that her
family is too soaked up in their own messed-up lives to worry about hers. The only place where she finds some sort of solitude is in her journal and in her art. Gravity Journal is a book about perseverance, struggle, and finding a way to get out of the mess you’re in.
I think Sidonie Sobat wrote this book using experiences from her own life. In the Acknowledgements, she said “I wisely do not permit weight scales in my life”. Gravity Journal goes more in-depth than any other book about anorexia I’ve read. Throughout the novel the writer would have to get into the mindset of an anorexic to properly write the little insights scattered about. Things like, “you’re happy you’re potassium levels are low because that means you are a good little anorexic”. Sidonie Sobat addressed some political views, concerning how the media affects young girls in a negative way. Don’t worry though; it’s not boring because it doesn’t goo too in-depth.
So, if you’re like my mother, then you like to see what point of view the book is before you read it. My mother HATES first-person books. I tell her she’s missing out on all the amazing first-person books out there. ANYWAY, Gravity Journal is written in THIRD-PERSON!! That means there is an omniscient narrator telling the story, rather than one of the characters. Although, the journal entries here and there are first-person from Anise’s perspective. Gravity Journal is primarily written for teens but I think adults would also enjoy it. It has some romance in it, but also has very critical situations. The meaning behind the title is that Anise’s journal is the only thing that is keeping her
grounded, like gravity.
What I liked about Gravity Journal was that even though the topic is very serious, Sidonie Sobat still managed to bring in humour and sarcasm without making it cheesy. The fact that Anise refers to her parents as “Loathed” (mother) and “Witless” (father) is pretty darn tootin’ funny. I’m not a huge
fan of poetry, but the main character Anise has several poems strung throughout her ‘journal’. These poems are short and nicely written. I would argue that some of them aren’t really poems because I see no pattern in them, but I won’t because I like them like that: pattern-less. When reading, I had to stop and research several things so I could follow more or less. Most people don’t like to do so, but I do
because I feel like I’m learning something. I now know that: diuretic is a drug that makes you lose water weight, pro-ana/mia is the support of anorexic or bulimic lifestyles, and Van Gogh’s Crows in a Wheatfield is a colourful and vibrant painting. I liked how as the book progresses, so does Anise’s artistic and poetic talents, which makes the ending pretty amazing. I love
when books give me a reaction. On more than one occasion I laughed out loud, gasped, or went “awww”. On a totally unrelated note: my name’s in this book. Spelled the way it should. L-I-A-N-E. It’s very cool seeing my name in a book, as this is the first time I’ve ever seen it. That was one of my favourite parts of the Gravity Journal.
What I didn’t like about Gravity Journal is the fact that the beginning was rather boring and dull; the story got better when another character, Boyd, was introduced fully. This made conversation
more interesting to read. Another thing I didn’t like were the definitions in Anise’s journal entries, punctuated mostly with square brackets and parentheses, making reading difficult. What I didn’t like the most about Gravity Journal was the undeveloped characters. I didn’t really know much about
anybody, save for Anise. Laura Galloway, fellow avid reader, disagrees: “the author’s clever construction of the character Anise draws readers in and keeps them hooked”. In the end, there are some strings left hanging which should have been tied up. On ANOTHER unrelated note, I must say reading books about anorexics always make me so hungry. It’s frustrating, especially when you are trying to
sympathize with the characters and there is no food around for you.
Overall, I’d rate this book a 7.5 out of 10. Although characters were not fully formed, it was the sarcasm, wit, new words for my vocabulary, and seeing my name in print that saved Gravity Journal from Typicality Oblivion.
I will end this with my favourite quote from the book:
Her [Anise] tears spilled across the newspaper, smudging the print. She cried for Ivana. She cried for Katyana. She cried for Raylene. Helen and Karin. Vicki. Zoe. E.D. And she cried for herself. All the other girls struggling with this illness. And guys. For all of their lost hearts. All of their hungry hearts locked tightly, tightly away.
Going to go eat now (ha ha), keep checking back for more reviews!
Gail Sidonie Sobat was born and raised all over Canada. She has moves twenty-seven times and changed
careers and jobs almost as many times. She currently teaches and the University of Alberta Hospital school, and the coordinate or YouthWrite, a camp for kids who love to write. Find more about her here: Gail Sidonie Sobat's Website
*** Other good angst-filled-anorexic-girl books:
Goodbye Paper Doll (Anne Snyder)
More Than You Can Chew (Marnelle Tokio).
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