Starved

by Michael Somers

The day high-school senior Nathan Thomas throws up at school without needing to use his fingers is the day he knows his eating disorder is completely out of his control. The night his mother finds him collapsed in the living room is the night he nearly dies from his starvation. He is rushed to the hospital and admitted to an adolescent eating disorders unit. He weighs 112 pounds.

Nathan rebels by pretending to go along with the program at first, until his parents refuse to help in his recovery. With only his treatment team and fellow patients to rely on, Nathan comes to terms with the boy who lost himself and the young man who gains himself back, one pound at a time.

Genres: Young Adult, Mental Health

256 pages, Paperback

First published November 4, 2012

About the author

Michael Somers is a writer who lives in mid-Michigan. STARVED is his first novel.

Reviews

[Morgan Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good book. I don't usually like realistic fiction, but I read the book injust one day because it was good. I would definetely recomend it.

[Trisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spoiler alert, I know the author so I may be a tad bit biased so you can take off one star if you wish. That aside, this book hits on a topic very few people think of - eating addictions in males, especially young males. This book is written from the point of view of Nathan as well as a look at his parents and the communications of school and hospital staff. My only regret for this book is that some of the cultural references will set it in today's time period and therefore readers in ten years may find this concept dated but hopefully that will happen and eating disorders may become a thing of the past.

[Jessica Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Touching story but very unrealistic

This story was heartbreaking and very passionate , yet it had many parts that were very unrealistic speaking from the point of someone who went through a similar experience.

There were so many unrealistic parts I don't even know where to begin. I guess first off most people don't learn eating disorders from friends. Second most eating disorder patients don't hear voices. Third the parents wouldn't have gotten away from responsibility so easily at least not in the U.S.. Also most treatment places don't let you exercise at all let alone walk to an off the unit gym. And most don't take Medicaid so when the insurance was up Nathan would have had to leave. And the hospital doesn't pay for the hotel while you do out patient.

Given this is fiction it's well written and brings awareness about eating disorders and how dangerous they are. It doesn't glamorous a thing. It just might give false hope to a person with an eating disorder looking at treatment. Most of the Dr and nurses aren't going to love you. They are in it for the money. Eating disorder treatment is very very expensive. I just wish this author had done more research instead of making up a fairy tale.

[Emily Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

i loved this book! So realistic! not to mention the author is a super cool guy with great pointers!

[DaReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was Fantastic. I began reading it, and was immediately sucked into the story line. The plot slowly thickens as the main character, Nathan, finds himself knee-deep in anorexia as a way to cope with a very dysfunctional household. He is admitted into his hospital's Adolescent Eating-Disorder Unit and must learn to come to terms with his body and his mind. The author, Michael Somers, narrates these events flawlessly, captivating readers all the way. Praise for "Starved" by Michael Somers!

[juno ౨ৎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

no review other than, wow. holy fuck. wow.

NATHAN THOMAS U WILL 4EVER BE IN MY HEART💔💔

as a (trans) guy that's experienced an eating disorder, and that has READ lots of books involving male eds, this book has definitely hit me the most. i'm so amazed with how much i relate to the MC and his thoughts.

the church part was so different i really felt like i was reading into my own life. Michael Somers pls write more amazing books bro😫😫

cw: eds (duhhh!!!), emotional abuse, toxic home environments, minor emancipation?? (if that counts as a trigger)

[Brenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written. Its nice to see a book show the arc from pre-disorder, present disorder, and then inpatient. Having the book about a male who develops the disorder outside of having the usual "it started because of sports or wrestling" is also a breath of fresh air. It was nice to read a book that supports that boys can develop the disorder for reasons similar to the larger population of patients with eating disorders.

[Nakkita · Rating 4 out of 5]

For someone that is bulimic to read this, I feel as though it doesn't actually cover all the side affects. Yes, he did a very good job on describing the feelings that go along with the disorder, but I feel like he could've added a few things.
One thing he could've added the fact that you also lose sleep because of the hunger pains. Also you get migraines from the lack of food.

[Jack Lewsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starved is a moving novel about not just an eating disorder, but a severely dysfunctional home that festered the problem. My only real complaint about the story is that it leaves the reader questioning how Nate handles post-discharge (and post-emancipation) life, the book ends as he is about to face probably the hardest challenge: leaving the controlled hospital environment.

[Julie York · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starved by Michael Somers

I enjoyed reading this book. I liked how it dealt with eating disorders. I wish that there are other stories talk about this matter, especially free books.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

My only regret with this book is that it doesn't tell us what happened in Nathan's life after the discharge.

[Konrad · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book thinking it was a nonfiction memoir. Instead, it was a (semi-autobiographical?) fictionalized story of the protagonist Nathan overcoming anorexia. I found the author's motivations for Nathan's ED mishmashed, but once he starts treatment it's a more interesting narrative. No character development outside of Nathan, his nurse, and parents. 2.5/3 stars.

[Hanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so glad Michael Somers chose to share some of his experience with eating disorders in the form of Starved. There are not enough published books centered around males with EDs. The only two fictional works I can think of are Nothing by Robin Friedman and A Trick of the Light
by Lois Metzger. I could probably name dozens of books involving females with EDs though.

Nathan's story gives a glimpse into the life of a privileged but lonely teen. His father is a lawyer who cares about work more than family. His mother tries to be a good little stay-at-home wife, but prefers vodka over facing the problems with her husband and son. Nathan struggles to conform to his father's expectations while having control over his own life. He begins avoiding food, hiding sweets he doesn't eat and calling them "trophies" of his self-control. Though his parents notice his dwindling frame, they do little other than reprimand him and argue over his weird new habits.

What I love about Starved is that half of the novel focuses on Nathan's treatment and slow recovery. (This is a little bit spoiler-ish now, so read at your own risk.) As much as happy endings are ideal, it's clear that Nathan's relationship with his parents is not salvageable, and he is truly better off out of that toxic house. Some of the things that George said made my heart break for Nathan. It's awful to think that so many seemingly well-off kids are living with such unloving and verbally abusive parents. I read that Somers is possibly releasing a sequel soon, and I hope that is true. I would like to know the rest of Nathan's story and hopefully recovery.

Anyways, anyone interested in reading about eating disorders, particularly involving boys, should definitely read this book.

4.5/5 stars

[Liralen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mmm. Not my cuppa. Too many clichés packed in—terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad parents, One of the Worst Cases Doctors Have Ever Seen, so much angst. So much. I didn't care much for Nathan, but I cringed my way through the sections written from other POVs.

I don't know. It's not any worse than a lot of what's out there, and it has the distinction of having a male protagonist, which is unusual. I like that Nathan isn't quite magically cured by the end of the book, although it does end right when things are about to get a lot more difficult in many ways. I can't tell whether the book was self-published, which makes me reluctant to come down too harshly on it (erm, if I haven't already), but...it just really didn't sit too well with me. A Trick of the Light still leads in terms of males-with-eating-disorders books.

[Erica Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Accurate and Very Moving

I've read many fiction books and memoirs both about young people afflicted with eating disorders; this was the first I've encountered about a boy's experience with anorexia and bulimia. I found the story to be factually quite accurate (save one issue), however the feelings, thoughts, and emotions expressed by Nathan in the book were so poignant and real for me that the one inaccuracy was inconsequential.

I wonder if the author had a bout with an eating disorder himself, or if perhaps a close relative or loved one of his went through eating disorder treatment. As a former anorexic/bulimic myself, I was really moved by many aspects of Nathan's experience. The emotions are so raw and so very painfully real!

Since the book ends on an optimistic note, I would recommend this book to anyone - male or female - who wants to know what having an eating disorder is REALLY like. Thank you, Mr. Somers, for the excellent read. Bravo!

[Monica Sanderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good!

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very lyrical portrayal of a young anorexic man. I cared a lot about Nathan, so I cared a lot about this book.

[Laura Crawley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Strangely informative

It was a very eye opening account of the affects of abuse and neglect on many different scales. A must for anyone struggling along in the world.