That's why I really enjoyed reading REASONS TO BE HAPPY by Katrina Kittle.

If we did, we'd realize there's so much to be happy for. She returns from her rite of passage to a healthier and loving life in California.' - VOYA, 'So many of us never take the time to sit back, relax, and think of all the reasons to be happy. After her mother's death, Hannah's aunt, Izzy, a documentary filmmaker, takes her to Ghana, where her interaction with cultural differences, poverty, and a crash course in reality give her the perspective she needs to move on in her life. Hording, shoplifting, and other behaviors escalate, spinning out of control. The descriptions of this eating disorder are accurate and compelling. As her mother's death nears, purging becomes full blown bulimia. This, her 'Secret Remedy,' makes her feel better and more alive just as her mother begins to fade away and succumbs to cancer. Hannah responds to the pressure cooker within her school's social circle of shallow, body-image-obsessed students by beginning to purge. Her lists are visual, tactile, and sensory representations of teenage longing and yearning they are metaphors for all that she desires in life.

Artistically inclined, Hannah creates miniature cities out of found and collected objects, creating 'a world where everything is okay, where everything is the way it should be.' Hannah also creates a world within her purple ' Reasons to Be Happy ' notebook. When Hannah is enrolled in a posh private school, her world begins to change. Her parents are both Hollywood actors, and measuring up to their success presents many challenges to a young teen. Hannah Carlisle is no typical eighth grader. So, the real question is, how do I get that girl back? Praise for Katrina Kittle: With subtle yet shimmering insight, Kittle explores the resilience of human nature.- Booklist Kittle crafts a disturbing but compelling ipping read.- Publishers Weekly

How could so much change so fast? Let's see, you could be the plain Jane daughter of two gorgeous famous people, move to a new school, have no real friends, and your mom could get sick, and, oh yeah, you could have the most embarrassing secret in the world. Dancing like an idiot when no one is watching What happened to the girl who wrote those things? I miss that girl. Getting yourself all freaked out after a scary movie 25. This is a powerful book, and I recommend it for anyone who has ever worried about how to fit in.-Kristina McBride, author of The Tension of Opposites Imagine your parents are beautiful famous actors and you're going through your awkward stage for all the world to see! In acclaimed author Katrina Kittle's tween debut, Hannah is the ugly duckling in a family of swans and takes drastic measures to live up to Hollywood's impossible standards. Gripping! I was instantly swept away by Hannah's struggles and greatly inspired by her journey.

Reasons to Be Happy by Katrina Kittle