Pretty Girls Don’t Eat by Winnie Salamon
Ford Street Publishing
Review by Claudia Trotter

We are bombarded everyday with images of how the female body is supposed to look. In her light-hearted novel, Winnie Salamon captures the unrelenting issue of body image. She explores the daily pressures felt by teenage girls to maintain a socially acceptable weight and body type through the character of Winter Mae Jones. The novel, narrated by the protagonist Winter, tells the story of a sixteen-year-old girl who is overweight and uncomfortable with her appearance. However, Winter has a remarkable talent for fashion design. Her journey of eventual self- acceptance is filled with obstacles and enhanced through the help of her two best friends, the beautiful and intelligent Melody and skinny-legged, compassionate George. The short and succinct chapters allow the novel to move at a pace readers are easily able to follow, with regular scene changes and varying characters. Salamon vividly encapsulates somewhat mundane everyday experiences like trying on a dress in a fitting room; she comically expresses exactly how one feels when it doesn’t quite fit over your thighs and the wash of shame felt when you have to request a size up. The characters are well balanced, in particular Melody who has a model-like thin frame and a striking Eurasian appearance whilst simultaneously being the smartest girl in school. However, her disjointed home life and neglect as a child adds weight to her story, inhibiting her from being the idealistic teenage girl she initially appears to be. The occasional direct address to the reader from the character Winter is exceptionally powerful and the rhetorical questions provoke the reader to reflect on their own perspective surrounding body image and consider whether Winter is right to feel the way she does. Although the novel is centred around such a harrowing topic, Salamon positions the issue within a joyful coming of age story with humorous dialogue and likeable relationships between the characters. An incredibly relatable book for teenagers and an enjoyable read, very hard to put down!

Winter Mae Jones knows what she wants to do with her life – she wants to work in fashion design and see her own designs on sale. She is warm, kind and has a talent for sewing, and her friends think so too.

After Winter meets Oliver, the first boy she has met who shares her enjoyment for 80s music and classic movies, she begins to doubt herself. Suddenly she loses her self-confidence and becomes convinced that she must be skinny to become a fashion designer and be loved by a boy.

Things start off small when Winter stops snacking between meals and swaps chocolate for fruit juice. Winter sees results and that is what keeps her going. But soon, things spiral out of control.

Winnie Salamon shines a light on a complex topic in an approachable way. It is a sensitive portrayal of eating disorders; when every mouthful is a number and feeling full becomes a fear. In a society where the quest for beauty and perfection can place pressure on teenagers, body acceptance and self-empowerment are at the heart of Pretty Girls Don’t Eat.

In an honest and unique way, Winnie Salamon tackles the complex issues of body image and acceptance. The characters are engaging and believable, as Winter's journey to self-acceptance is riddled with problems that every teen can sympathize with. It's a coming of age story that is a must-read for every teen!