Secret for a Song by S.K. Falls
Source: Negalley
ISBN: 9780991789726
Release Date: June 3, 2013
Goodreads | Amazon
Saylor Grayson makes herself sick. Literally.
She ate her first needle when she was seven. Now, at nineteen, she’s been kicked out of college for poisoning herself with laxatives. The shrinks call it Munchausen Syndrome. All Saylor knows is that when she’s ill, her normally distant mother pays attention and the doctors and nurses make her feel special.
Then she meets Drew Dean, the leader of a local support group for those with terminal diseases. When he mistakes her for a new member, Saylor knows she should correct him. But she can’t bring herself to, not after she’s welcomed into a new circle of friends. Friends who, like Drew, all have illnesses ready to claim their independence or their lives.
For the first time, Saylor finds out what it feels like to be in love, to have friends who genuinely care about her. But secrets have a way of revealing themselves. What will happen when Saylor’s is out
Saylor Grayson thrives on attention and makes herself sick in order to get it. She wears illness as a badge of honour. The sicker she can make herself, the happier she is.
This was a very unusual book. It was really something I would not normally pick up, but something in the synopsis intrigued me.
This book is not for the skirmish (myself included). The author does not shy away from some of the truly disgusting ways Saylor used to make herself sick. She has swallowed needles, imbibed fecal matter, poisoned herself with laxatives, injects saliva into her chest vein to create abscesses, etc. Saylor herself is ill. Her Munchausen Syndrome is a psychologically disorder and she never really received the help she needed. Her parents were more worried about how others would perceive them with a "crazy daughter" then making sure Saylor received the proper help instead of just looking the other way when she did something.
One problem I had with this book (and probably the only problem I had with it) was that I just couldn't relate to Saylor. My first impression of her that she was just another rich child deprived of her parents attention, but as the book progressed my impression changed. Throughout the book Saylor is sarcastic and careless. She would say outrageous things to her mother to provoke her, but would hardly get a response.
I'd learned it was nearly impossible to predict my mother's feelings or behaviours, but it never prevented me from trying. She was my Everest.
The book was very well written. Saylor's relationship with her mother was interesting. They both had their own issues. Each would lie to the other and pretend that the other didn't know. The Grayson household felt very cold and unwanted.
Overall, I thought this book was unique, but there was something missing. I wish I could have related more the main character, but it just fell short too me.
