Feather is a 14-year-old girl who is living in Willingdon, England, a village of 350 people. She loves her parents, friends and the community members. The teen swims competitively, and she cannot wait for the Lido to reopen.

Jake is her best friend, whom she has known since she was little.

Clay is an American boy who has recently returned to England to live with his grandfather, Rev. Cootes. He is suspiciously angular and bony, and he runs continuously on The Green.

Mum's life is a shadow of what it once was. At fourteen stone (500+ pounds), she spends her days eating and watching telly. Over the years, she has gotten bigger and bigger. She can no longer bathe herself or even walk. Her life is confined to a single room in the house.

Feather's father keeps busy with plumbing jobs. When he is home, he feeds his obese wife fatty foods.

To top it all off, they have a goat, Houdini, who lives in their front yard and is ingenious at finding ways to escape.

When Feather finds her mother collapsed in a diabetic coma on New Year's eve, she knows that she has to do something...and fast. The girl launches a campaign to help her mother lose weight and be healthy. Slim Skills meetings and the love of her daughter conspire to convince Josephine to change her life-threatening habits. 

Wishbones by Virginia MacGregor, 2017

I loved the thoughtful look at the dichotomous eating disorders in the idyllic English country setting. The author previously suffered from anorexia, but she recovered.

Books about compulsive overeating

Books about eating disorders

Virginia MacGregor's web site