Wintergirls

by Laurie Halse Anderson

Lia and Cassie were best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies. But now Cassie is dead. Lia's mother is busy saving other people's lives. Her father is away on business. Her stepmother is clueless. And the voice inside Lia's head keeps telling her to remain in control, stay strong, lose more, weigh less. If she keeps on going in this way - thin, thinner; thinnest - maybe she'll disappear altogether.

• ISBN10: 1407117483
• ISBN13: 9781407117485
• Publish Date: 3 January 2011 (first published 19 March 2009)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 20 March 2014
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Scholastic
• Imprint: Marion Lloyd Books
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 304
• Language: English

Reviews

[Bianca]

Look in a mirror and find a ghost. Hear every heartbeat scream that everysinglething is wrong with you. Why? is the wrong question. Ask Why not?

[rakesandrogues]

I wasn't really into the whole stream of consciousness type of narrative that was in this book. It made it really difficult to get into the book for me. Also, the more I read the book, the more weight-conscious it made me feel.

[britmlewis]

It's rare that I read books that make me truly uncomfortable. I'm not thrown off easily and can usually cut through all the awkwardness and keep reading. Wintergirls, however, stopped me in my tracks a few times. This is not because the book is bad or impossible to read. Instead, it is brilliant. It delves into the world of an 18-year-old girl who suffers from anorexia and other inner demons. Lia finds out in the beginning of the novel that her ex-best friend has been found dead in a motel room. The novel unwraps from there, detailing definitive moments in Lia's past that have shaped who she has become. The pain and truth leaks out of this novel, causing the reader to really contemplate the issues that arise. It is a necessary read for teenage girls because these are topics that are all too common in reality but are generally avoided by the literary world. In general, I believe readers gravitate towards books that can escape into and leave behindwhatever issues they're dealing with in their own life. This isn't wrong. I do it, too. But if you're willing to stray from the general reading formula, read this book. It'll make you uncomfortable. It'll make you want to cry. It'll make you wonder why the hell you haven't read anything like this before.