The Best Little Girl in the World Quotes

“How silly people were to eat. They thought they needed food for energy, but they didn't. Energy came from will, from self-control.”
― Steven Levenkron, The Best Little Girl in the World

“Soon I'll be thinner than all of you, she swore to herself. And then I'll be the winner. The thinner is the winner.”
― Steven Levenkron, The Best Little Girl in the World

“She ran her hands over her body as if to bid it good-bye. The hipbones rising from a shrunken stomach were razor-sharp. Would they be lost in a sea of fat? She counted her ribs bone by bone. Where would they go?”
― Steven Levenkron, The Best Little Girl in the World

“Kessa ran her fingers over her stomach. Flat. But was it flat enough? Not quite. She still had some way to go. Just to be safe, she told herself. Still, it was nice the way her pelvic bones rose like sharp hills on either side of her stomach. I love bones. Bones are beautiful.”
― Steven Levenkron, The Best Little Girl in the World

“[. . .] and in addition to the feeling of being full there was another more terrifying one, as if a hundred appetites were raging out of control within her. She couldn't explain it, but she felt as if everything was in chaos and something awful was going to happen. She had eaten and now something terrible would occur.”
― Steven Levenkron, The Best Little Girl in the World

“Kessa began to cut her meat into tiny pieces. As a whole it was unmanageable, frightening; but divided and arranged, the meat could be controlled. She cut four pieces. She'd count to four between each bite.”
― Steven Levenkron, The Best Little Girl in the World

“She'd lost two more pounds. A picture of the models she'd cut out of the magazine flashed through Kessa's mind. And the winner is... seventy-three!”
― Steven Levenkron, The Best Little Girl in the World

“She lay on her back and walked her fingers down her ribs, skipped them over her abdomen, and landed on her pelvic bones. She tapped them with her Knuckles. [. . .] I can hear my bones, she thought. Her fingers moved up from her pelvic bones to her waist. The elastic of her underpants barely touched the center of her abdomen. The bridge is almost finished, she thought. The elastic hung loosely around each thigh. More progress. She put her knees together and raised them in the air. No matter how tightly she pressed them together, her thighs did not touch.”
― Steven Levenkron, The Best Little Girl in the World

“From the newsstands a dozen models smiled up at her from a dozen magazine covers, smiled in thin-faced, high-cheekboned agreement to Kessa's new discovery. They knew the secret too. They knew thin was good, thin was strong; thin was safe.”
― Steven Levenkron, The Best Little Girl in the World

“Well, Kessa, I am glad to see that you're taking your body seriously. I shudder when I see the girls leaving class and heading for the nearest hamburger, coke, and French fry station.The thought of them pouring all those dead calories into themselves makes me want to cry. You'd think after a rigorous dance class they'd have more respect for their bodies.”
― Steven Levenkron, The Best Little Girl in the World

“Fat bitch," Kessa murmured as the door scraped closed behind Mrs. Stone.
"She meant well, Francesca. And you see, everyone thinks you're too thin."
"Since when is Mrs. Stone an authority on appearance. I've heard you say a thousand times that she looks like an old hooker."
"I never said anything of the sort. What I said was that she wears too much makeup and her clothes are indiscreet."
"Which means she looks like an old hooker. Well, if that's the way a woman is supposed to look, I'd rather be too skinny." Kessa felt a flash of pleasure at the argument. Just let her mother try to push food into her now.”
― Steven Levenkron, The Best Little Girl in the World

“This morning Kessa was in control again. She lifted her left breast with her right hand and pinched it hard. The girl in the mirror began to cry. Francesca Louise began to cry. Two rivers of water streamed down either side of Francesca Louise's nose. "Coward," Kessa hissed at the crying girl. "Queen Francesca Louise, queen of the cowards, queen of nothing, queen of nobody. You're finished, ended, dead." Kessa was still pinching and the girl in the mirror was still crying. "Good-bye forever, Francesca Louise.”
― Steven Levenkron, The Best Little Girl in the World