Kessa

Kessa #2

by Steven Levenkron

Kessa is the compelling sequel to The Best Little Girl in the World that can also be read independently. Here again readers are drawn into the world of a teenage girl suffering from anorexia nervosa. Kessa's character is strongly believable as Levenkron describes her encounters with family, friends and therapist that provide insight into the conflicts and fears that anorexics face. Kessa's struggles to understand the emotions and happenings that led to her anorexia are made real for readers, who will feel compassion toward Kessa as they gain understanding of the disease. Kessa is an intense look at the grueling therapeutic recovery period after leaving the support of the hospital

Genres: Fiction, Young Adult, Mental Health, Psychology, Realistic Fiction, Mental Illness

247 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[Majenta · Rating 4 out of 5]

The continuing story of one Francesca Louise Dietrich from THE BEST LITTLE GIRL IN THE WORLD. But it doesn't just take her forward; it takes us back to and through BEST, delving deeper into some scenes or presenting them from different viewpoints, and revealing some things we didn't see before. What Francesca/Kessa and her family went through in BEST will be part of their lives forever, say these textured flashbacks.
But Kessa does move forward: she goes back to school, takes a gymnastics class, runs into her hospital roommate Lila, and tries to make new friends. Then she realizes what she has in common with one particular new friend...
As in BEST, we mostly follow Kessa but also explore the thoughts of her parents, Grace and Harold (Hal); her therapist, Dr. Sandy Sherman; her older sister; and her new friend Deirdre.
A satisfying sequel, although the older sister's name is misspelled: she was "Susanna" in BEST, and she's "Suzanna" here. This was one book that I couldn't find for the longest time, but I definitely wanted to find out what happened to Kessa next, and overall it did not disappoint! I hope that if you read it, you'll agree.
Thanks for reading.

[Elizabeth M. · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was really disturbing. And not in a way that rose awareness, but it really just grossed me out. I don't believe that the author really knows how girls feel. It was one of our required books for health, and I think it should be taken off of that list.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Out-of-print and hard to find. Better than Best Little Girl though this may be simply because it is the only fictional eating disorder book I know of that deals with life in recovery.

[Susan Bazzett-Griffith · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am generally a total sucker for vintage/ 70s/80s YA puplp fiction like this and the description on the back sounded right up my alley, but dear lord this book was so bad that even I couldn't finish it. The fact that it was once toted as an even somewhat psychologically realistic story is disturbing. The psychiatrist in the story seems to kind of hate his patient (to be fair, the character is portrayed as awful and unlikable with zero redeeming qualities- another reason the book sucks), and so much of what is presented as fact and best practices has been changed over the past decades that the book reads like a history lesson mixed with shitty melodrama. I stopped reading it about halfway through. I didn't care how it turned out. I almost never do that. One star- leave it in the used bookstore or recycling bin.

[Lee L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many girls read The Best Little Girl in the World and asked, "What happens next?" This is author Steven Levenkron's answer. Best Little Girl ends on an up-note, with Kessa getting ready to leave the hospital and achieving some success in therapy. With this engaging sequel, Mr. Levenkron once again goes into the thought process of the anorexic mind. Here, he focuses mainly on Kessa's therapy sessions, and explores the isolation and disconnectedness of the disorder, as well as offering hope for recovery.

As Kessa starts to heal, she begins to make an effort to fit in and end her isolation. Her thought process begins to change, and she succeeds in making new friends, a turning point for her. In therapy she investigates the jealousy that engulfs her when she encounters other eating-disordered girls, and her own sense of feeling fat when stress occurs. Her control issues, fear of intimacy, and detachment from family come to light. With his engaging prose, Mr. Levenkron draws the reader into Kessa's world and makes her real.

As with Best Little Girl, "Kessa" ends on a positive note, with Kessa beginning a new chapter in her life - a boyfriend. For those considering giving "Kessa" to an eating disordered girl, I would not consider this part of the story to be triggering in any way. "Kessa" ultimately offers hope and affirmation that recovery from an eating disorder is possible.

[Anupriya Karippadath · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started reading this because it's a sequel to 'The best little girl in the world' which is an incisive and revelatory, if slightly oversimplified, look at what it means to have or be around anorexia nervosa. Unfortunately this book does not live up to its predecessor. It was nice to find out what happened to Kessa but it was a real chore getting through this one.

[Catstaff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sequel to The Best Little Girl in the World, Kessa follows the titular character in her post-hospital recovery and therapy, as she learns to cope with the emotions and insecurities that led her into anorexia. Again, somewhat dated (story set circa 1970s) and not necessarily what would be considered proper treatment today, but still an interesting read.

[Kayla 🇦🇺 · Rating 3 out of 5]

dumb ending where she gets a boyfriend and then suddenly 'recovers' (eye roll). apart from that the rest of the story was ok, better then the first book.

[Tricia Grogan · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book

I read this book in college and now older it still was a good read. I was a cutter but i understood a lot of what Kessa was going through
If your suffering from self abuse get help, talk to someone and if you can’t talk to someone read and see you are not alone!!

[Sosa Coleone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Go relax
The month vampires you

[Amy Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️ this is the sequel to The Best Little Girl in the World and it was ok. The anorexic main character has some self awareness now - and she reflects back on her time in the hospital. The ending annoyed me.

[PinkAmy loves books, cats and naps · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very dated. I enjoyed the book more when I was younger.

[Liralen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've seen a lot of complaints about Levenkron's The Best Little Girl in the World, and I suspect that Levenkron wrote Kessa as a way of addressing those complaints (and, perhaps, redeeming himself).

Many parts of Kessa, though, are simply flashbacks to (or rewrites of) The Best Little Girl in the World and, frankly, the rest of it seems to be the same thing in a different setting. True, Levenkron is painting a picture of a girl who relapses (a revision of the first book, in which she decides to get well and is promptly, and unrealistically, fine), but his characters - not to mention the situations they find themselves in - remain unrealistic. Moreover, this book is yet another testimony to the brilliance of the psychologist treating Kessa (not a good thing).

A slight improvement on the original, but not by much.

[Megan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ooh, I remember checking this one out of the library so long ago when I was but a wee lass. Twas crap. Twas crap indeed and the author very obviously the main character. And don't be deceived, Sandy the Psych Shrink was the main character and the only character with any believable thoughts or feelings.

The fact that the only line I remember from the book is the bit about the girl not wanting her period because her vulva is nothing more than a "slash" and a bleeding wound should tell you loads about the quality of this... thing.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this interesting as a sequel to The Best Little Girl in the World as it deals with something not much dealt with in "social issues" types of novels--the long road of recovery. "Kessa," as the main character now calls herself, is dealing with recovering from anorexia, and through group therapy she meets a girl recovering from bulimia, and so the book also deals with all eating disorders in general.

[Kayleigh P · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read 1999-2002. This book was harrowing. It’s realistic YA fiction about one girl’s struggle with anorexia, her relationship with her therapist, and the pressures she experiences as a female. I’ll never forget the description of the physical effects of anorexia or Kessa’s thoughts surrounding her disorder. That being said her therapist is kind of a creep, and this book was even dated by the time I read it.

[Angie Engles · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this well over two decades ago so I don't remember a whole lot...except that it was even worse than the book it's a sequel to, _The Best Little Girl In The World_. Both books tend (or at least, it seems to me) to sensationalize eating disorders rather than honestly explore the issues surrounding anorexia and bulimia.

[rivka · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually read this one before its sequel (which made the sequel easier, because I knew she would be ok), The Best Little Girl in the World. Both are an excellent look inside the head of a teenage girl battling anorexia.

[Ashley Petersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It took me a while to get my hands on it, but I was glad I did. I knew Kessa's journey wasn't over. I loved the way he crafted this and told of her tale and of her struggle, and how complex it was.

[Desiree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not as good as the first one but I still love this book.

[MarylineD · Rating 4 out of 5]

I said enough how I love Steven Levenkron's writing!
His books about mental health talk about real issues and are full of good info!

[Alexis · Rating 1 out of 5]

She relapses, she udnerstands life and love, and then gets better. Just like that.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first book 'The Best Little Girl in the World' better but I still really enjoyed this one too! Kessa does repeat some of what is written in the first book through flashbacks to her time in hospital but I didn't mind that at all! After all it allows you to really get into her head. The character of Deidre could have been explored a bit more but it didn't take anything away from the rest of the book. Overall I really enjoyed this book especially as it follows Kessa on her recovery process which not a lot of books do. I feel I could really I could really understand Kessa' s frame of mind throughout her journey thanks to the portrayal and writing technique of Steven Levenkron.