Wintergirls Review

Title: Wintergirls

Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Publisher: Speak
My Rating: 5 Stars


Summary from Bookbrowse: “Dead girl walking,” the boys say in the halls.


“Tell us your secret,” the girls whisper, one toilet to another.


I am that girl.


I am the space between my thighs, daylight shining through.


I am the bones they want, wired on a porcelain frame.


Lia and Cassie are best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies, competitors in a deadly contest to see who can be the skinniest. But what comes after size zero and size double-zero? When Cassie succumbs to the demons within, Lia feels she is being haunted by her friend’s restless spirit.


In her most emotionally wrenching, lyrically written book since the multiple-award-winning Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson explores Lia’s descent into the powerful vortex of anorexia, and her painful path toward recovery.


My Review: This is one of the most powerful stories I've ever read. It is told from the point of view of an 85 pound anorexic girl shortly after her best friend dies of bolimia. Lia is obsessed with food, and the story is told from her lyrical crazy voice that makes all her obsessions seem honest and believable. Cassie's ghost haunts Lia throughout the story, tempting her to commit fully to her personal hunger strike and join her best friend in death. Only when Lia is on the brink of her own death does she realize choising to eat is choosing to live.


There are lots of YA novels that tackle serious issues. But this is the only book I've ever read that I honestly believe could save a girls life. It should be required reading at every eating disorder clinic. But more importantly, it should be required reading at every junior high school, so girls can see the reality of eating disorders before they become wintergirls.


Personally, I love to eat. And I still loved this story. It is a told from an often silent voice, that deserves to be heard. I would recomend this book to anyone and everyone.

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