WHAT I LOST is that kind of book.

The one that manages to take a familiar idea, twist it into something new, unheard of, or unique, all while using the same familiar foundation.

It’s different, yet it’s not.

And what I mean by that is simple: While WHAT I LOST may seem, from the outside, your average contemporary, the way Alexandra Ballard approached the topic of eating disorders (specifically, anorexia, which I haven’t seen much in YA lately, so you can probably imagine my excitement and fascination) is both easy to understand, and adds new information.

Informative, yet entertaining. Now that sounds like my kind of book.

Elizabeth is a someone to root for. Her struggle with anorexia is portrayed believingly, and how that exactly came about, and how she feels about treatment, is realistic. No, she is not cured over night (is she even cured at all, you ask? I cannot answer that, dear reader, because I do not wish to evilly spoil you.)

Her approach to her surroundings is believable. Her reactions is believable. For this reason, Elizabeth’s spot-on characterization give her 3-dimensionality and sufficient depth to her character.

The supporting cast is fabulous as well. Each girl at the treatment center is given her fair share of back story that allows the reader to see each and every one’s struggle and reasons for ending up where they are now, in addition to how much they want change, or don’t want change.

My only critique, though, is that some girls often acted out of character, although this is understandable due to the fairly large support cast.

The writing style’s simplicity is both a blessing and a curse, though. At times, the quick and easy-to-read style made the pages fly by fast, but other times a little more depth to the style itself could have saved the book from feeling a tad bit juvenile sometimes, due to the oversimplified writing.

But really, that’s just me being picky.

Oh, and that cover might just be my favorite of 2017 (It’s challenging WHEN DIMPLE MET RISHI, believe it or not.)

All in all? I thoroughly enjoyed WHAT I LOST. It reads quickly, it’s interesting and entertaining, and you can even learn a thing or two (or three or four) about anorexia and its treatment as you go.