39kg follows Yesom, a teenage girl whose identity is tied to her appearance, influenced by media idols who return slimmer and more glamorous with each comeback. Teased as “chubby” as a child and closely monitored by her mother, Yesom internalizes an extreme thin ideal, or being “bone-thin.”
Determined to reach this ideal, she joins the “Bone-Thin Project” led by her admired idol, discarding food and purging lunches in secret. When a friend faints from extreme dieting, Yesom learns the truth: the Thin Girl’s figure is natural, not earned. The perfection she idolized is an illusion.
Through Yesom’s journey, 39kg explores media influence, dieting myths, and adolescent self-identity. Standard height, normal weight, and average grades feel humiliating to Yesom, yet she risks tooth decay and hair loss to achieve a sharp, thin body. The novel highlights the pressures teens face regarding body image and the dangers of extreme dieting.
39kg is a compelling YA story about teenage struggles with appearance, social media, and the pursuit of perfection, revealing the gap between idealized images and reality.