My Year Zero

My Year Zero by Rachel Gold is the story of one young woman finding her place.

Lauren lives with her father in Duluth, Minnesota. She is one of three out lesbians at her high school and she is hoping she doesn't have to wait for college to find her first girlfriend.

A visitor to her school will change everything. Sierra is in town from the Twin Cities visiting a friend. She is much cooler than the people in the school. And Lauren is drawn to her. After a conversation, Sierra invites Lauren to join her story group. They are writing an epic science fiction story online. Lauren can take over one of the characters already in the story - she just has to stick with is already know about her.

Convincing her father to let her travel to Minneapolis to stay with Sierra over break, Lauren joins the group. She tries to spend time with them, but lives three hours away. The distance between herself and the life she wants is more obvious than ever. And her life at home is not great. Her father pays no attention to her except to criticize. Her only outlet is the story and other people writing with her.

Gold is quickly becoming one of my favorite YA authors. I loved this book. The characters, both the ones I like and the ones I don't, are compelling and real. The story within the story was great - and a great idea. And two people coming together who understand each other - at a time in their lives when not many do - was beautiful.

Gold, Rachel. (2016). My Year Zero. Tallahassee, FL: Bella Books.

Skinny Bitch

In spite of the completely offensive title and writing style, this book - Skinny Bitch: A no-nonsense, tough-love guide for savvy girls who want to stop eating crap and start looking fabulous! by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin - is filled with important information for a healthy diet.

Written in what we New Yorkers would call an LA style, this book is so filled with information on how and what Americans eat and why it needs to change, that ever single line of the book is important.

Information from hundreds of studies is boiled down to the basics - the vegan lifestyle is the only healthy lifestyle. Here is why:

Animals that are raised for meat, milk, and eggs are full of chemicals and antibiotics that are harming our bodies - not to mention what they are doing to the livestock. People and bugs are becoming resistant to antibiotics to a point where soon we will not have treatment options that work.

Aside from the harm done to animals by factory farming, there is ample evidence that humans should not consume animal products at all. Milk has addictive properties to lure baby mammals to drink it. Its sole purpose is to plump up the baby bodies that rely on it. But once we are adults we have no need for such rapid weight gain. And if you look at our insides or even just our teeth it should be evident that humans were not created to be carnivores.

Freedman and Barnouin admit that it is not easy to quit eating meat and dairy, but give all of the good options available in vegan foods - from junk food tasting stuff to the best veggie burgers. - there is no need to eat meat or dairy. I know the authors' marketing is working with the whole "skinny bitch" idea, but it would be great if the same information was also available without the swearing and name-calling that is off putting to some readers. May I suggest another version of the book without the language - it could double sales!

Freedman, Rory and Kim Barnouin. (2005). Skinny Bitch. Philadelphia: Running Press.

The China Study

The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell will change the way you eat. Backed up by dozens upon dozens of lab tests, Dr. Campbell shows that people who eat a typical Western diet of meat and dairy and over processed foods are more likely to develop diseases from cancer to obesity.

I am not a follower of fad diets, but this book is not a diet - it is a lifestyle change. The basic premise is eat real food, mostly plants. Campbell is saying that the creations made in chemical factories to stimulate our taste buds are not the real food our bodies need to thrive. Humans need real food not lab experiments.

When one of his studies compares two meals one meat and dairy and one vegetables, the nutrients in the vegetable meal far out weigh the meat meal (including beta-carotene, fiber, vitamin C, folate, iron, vitamin E, magnesium, and calcium). And the fear people have about not getting enough protein with vegetables was proved baseless - the veggie meal had only 1 gram less protein. The only categories the meat/dairy meal won were cholesterol and fat.

The book if filled with studies that prove over and over that the healthiest diet is made up of plants - vegetables, fruits, nuts, and grains. Most of what he says is common sense that has been suppressed by corporations trying to sell us something. Campbell presents the evidence in easy to understand terms - if you eat more healthfully you will have a lower risk of getting ill from any of the main killers in our society - from cancer to heart disease to stroke. Read this book if you have any desire to live to a ripe old age!

Campbell, T. Colin. (2004). The China Study. Dallas, TX: Benbella Books.