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Liked It “Even though I know Crystal Renn had a collaborator or ghost writer, I still very much felt her voice in this memoir. I liked it, but I spent the whole time knowing that she's no longer a plus size model. I kept wondering if anything has changed, now that she's straight size again. The body...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It “this was ok, interesting read about north american perception of body image but contradicted itself and was a little self indulgent.” see full review » see other reviews » |
Newest Reviews
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“Even though I know Crystal Renn had a collaborator or ghost writer, I still very much felt her voice in this memoir. I liked it, but I spent the whole time knowing that she's no longer a plus size model. I kept wondering if anything has changed, now that she's straight size again. The body positive tone felt just slightly false to me, which is not entirely fair, but it coloured the whole reading. ”
EmilyBat wrote this review Saturday, March 31, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Simply put - a game-changing, life-changing biography. Words that EVERYONE needs to hear. Relevant truths and inspiring words. I loved it.”
Jennifer C wrote this review Friday, August 26, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“every American woman should be required to read this book! a lovely biography about the #1 plus-size model in the world today, & her journey from an anorexic 16-year-old to a curvy and beautiful woman & the body that she loves”
Alicia B wrote this review Monday, August 1, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“A great book for any girl. Very empowering.”
MJ wrote this review Friday, March 18, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“It's a great story about plus size model Chrystal Renn. This book made me like her even more than I already did”
Marissa wrote this review Sunday, March 13, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Crystal Renn talks about her short battle with anorexia before embracing what she feels to be her natural size. This book would be a good beach read.
Ms B wrote this review Sunday, August 14, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Interspersed through her memoir were her opinions and facts about modeling, dieting, and exercise. It would have been nice if the book had cited its sources to back up Crystal's data.
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“I jut happened to see this book at the library an I'm glad I picked it up. It gives a refreshingly unique look at the model/fashion industry.”
Tara C wrote this review Wednesday, December 8, 2010. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Such a good book. It's real and relatable. The author challenges why we need to be skinny and worship sickly actors and models that look like they've been starved.
Sydney C wrote this review Friday, October 22, 2010. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Great Read”“this was ok, interesting read about north american perception of body image but contradicted itself and was a little self indulgent.”
Laura H wrote this review Friday, August 13, 2010. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
1 of 1 members found this review helpful“Crystal is No Longer Hungry
Sadie Rain wrote this review Thursday, June 17, 2010. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
By Sadie R.
When I picked up the book Hungry by Crystal Renn, I don’t really know what I expected. The reason I picked it up in the first place was because of the rarity of plus size models in the modeling industry. I knew that reading it would give me another problem in the culture to think about.
Hungry is the story of Crystal Renn, a plus size model, though only a size 12. But it wasn’t always that way. She was scouted when she was fourteen. But in order to model she lost over 80 pounds by the means of anorexia. At eighteen, she beat anorexia and went from size 00 to size 12, the average dress size of an American woman.
When I finished it, all I could think about was how much Crystal had gone through; physically and mentally. Her story is incredible. Her modeling career, her family, and her acceptance of herself. And despite all that, she is still in the business that almost killed her. After I finished, I looked at pictures of her when she was anorexic, and compared them to the pictures of her at her normal size. You can tell that even if she is heavier in the later pictures, she looks healthier than she was when she was anorexic, even though that is considered beautiful in some people’s book.
In 2006, not too long ago if you think about it, within a few months of each other, model after model died. Luisel Ramos, a twenty-two year old model from Uruguay, died after living on lettuce and Diet Coke for weeks. Then twenty-one year old Ana Carolina Reston of Brazil died of kidney problems connected with anorexia and bulimia. She was five-eight, and she weighed eighty-eight pounds. Then her sister, Eliana Reston, died from a heart attack that was believed to be brought upon her with malnutrition. Next Hila Elmalich, an Israeli model, died of heart failure. She weighed less than sixty pounds—the size of an average seven year old.
When Crystal became a plus size model, that’s when her career took off. I found this interesting, because if magazines are plastered with uber skinny models, why is it that customers and photographers starting paying attention to her after she gained weight? I think that it is because she didn’t look beautiful or healthy when she weighed ninety-eight pounds. People want to see a healthy image, not something that looks sickly. Also, women would more likely to buy a piece of clothing that looks good on someone that is close to their size.
I know that some models are actually skinny, and not all of them are starving themselves. Ethan Sims, a researcher from University of Vermont, tried to make thin mice fat. He couldn’t do it. He had to force-feed them, and they did gain weight, but their metabolism also sped up, so they gained less than they should have. He tried this with college students with no eating issues, and no family history of obesity, and their metabolism sped up too. He tried the experiment again with prisoners because their physical activity was limited. But even they didn’t gain as much weight as he thought they would. After six months of overfeeding prisoners, some increased their weight by 20-25 percent by eating ten thousand calories a day. But they gained less than you would’ve thought. But despite some models being naturally skinny, it’s still the image that customers are getting. Not everyone looks like that in real life.
I think that our culture needs more plus size models in magazines and ads because young girls need a better image to look up to. If they see a picture of a stick thin model they are going to think, “I want to be that skinny.” If they see a picture of a woman that is her normal size and still looks beautiful in fashionable clothing, they will more likely think “I could look that glamorous when I grow up.”
Crystal Renn is now one of the most successful models today, being the only plus size model to appear on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar and in four international Vogue editions. It shows that you can be successful, famous, and gorgeous all while being the size that you were meant to be.
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