Girls Under Pressure

Magda is tall and glamorous, Nadine is willowy and 'gothic'. And Ellie . . . well, Ellie is just plain normal. The three girls have been best friends forever, but now Ellie is convinced she's fat, Nadine wants to be a model, and Magda worries that her appearance is giving guys the wrong idea. The pressure is on for them to change the way they look – but can they learn to love themselves, just the way they are?

Books in the series:
1. Girls in Love
2. Girls Under Pressure
3. Girls Out Late
4. Girls in Tears

Ellie is frantic. Her two best friends seem to be living life in the fast lane while she putters along the curb. Glamorous blond Magda has got a thousand cute boys buzzing around her, and Goth girl Nadine has just been asked to take part in a national teen modeling contest. All Ellie has are massive panic attacks about her weight. So she decides to go on a diet. But instead of counting calories, Ellie just tries to stop eating altogether. Soon she's starving, miserable, and lying all the time to her friends and family. Luckily, a frightening encounter with a real anorectic, and an encouraging dose of art history from a handsome new teacher ("Beauty is just fashion. Male artists have used beautiful women throughout the centuries but their sizes and proportions keep changing") help Ellie realize that size is just a state of mind.

In this second installment of the Girls trilogy, fabulous British author Jacqueline Wilson keeps her trademark funny bone firmly in place while simultaneously raising some sobering questions about issues like eating disorders and teens' overemphasis on appearance. Despite the laughs, Ellie very nearly lapses into anorexia, Magda gets a scare when her chronic flirting almost leads to date rape, and Nadine realizes that the modeling business could care less about her individuality or intellect. Wrapping serious messages in a sugary comical coating is always the best way to make the medicine go down. Recommended for those teen female readers who want something both funny and filling. (Ages 12 and older) --Jennifer Hubert