Marni Bates, an aspiring 19 year-old author, writes of her battle with trichotillomania in her autobiography, Marni. Trichotillomania, a disorder in which the person has urges to pull out their hair, plagues Marni throughout her entire high school experience. Marni begins her story in elementary school, describing herself as the favorite of her father in her dysfunctional family. As she grows older she begins to realize that the favoritism her father shows towards her is no more than him fulfilling his job as a father and nothing more. Though she is in good graces with her father, her relationship with her siblings falters. As Marni starts high school the pressures she mentally faces between her dysfunctional family, her lack of social skills, and starting at a new school finally catches up with her, and so begins that long and painful compulsion of trichotillomania. When people begin to notice her growing lack of hair, Marni knows that she has let her habit, go too far. As Marni struggles to overcome her disorder she learns that facing a beast is much easier with a friend by your side.

The subject of Marni, by Marni Bates, is very atypical compared to most young adult books. Despite its subject, the book fell flat and was very boring to read. The first page of the book is Marni's introduction to her readers, and as she states in the second sentence, "The general consensus was that I hadn't done enough, experienced enough, to be worthy of ink." In my opinion this statement is very true. While her life has its interesting moments, she is only 19 years old. Though her battle with trichotillomania is interesting it is not worth the topic of a book, particularly since when the book ends she still has yet to over come it. I would not recommend this book.

Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Potomac, Maryland United States of America