Wintergirls: A Review

Hello all,

I just finished reading Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson, so here's my review....

Title: Wintergirls
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Publication Date: 2009
Publisher: Viking (Penguin)
Source: Library

Blurb (and picture above are from Goodreads, and I do not own them. I am only using them for review purposes):

“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 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 step-mother 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 this way—thin, thinner, thinnest—maybe she'll disappear altogether.

In her most emotionally wrenching, lyrically written book since the National Book Award finalist Speak, best-selling author Laurie Halse Anderson explores one girl's chilling descent into the all-consuming vortex of anorexia.

Genre:  issue-driven contemporary (yet psychologically playful) YA

Cover: It's muddied, but I believe that's the point.

Plot: You're in Lia's head. When she's confused, you're confused. When she doesn't want to eat, you see her yell at herself, often with the words marked through to show the multifaceted life she leads. It's original. I hadn't read something that covered anorexia like this before. Is there a well-defined plot? Maybe not. It's more of an exploration of self and mind and psyche over a period of time, but with most issue driven books, the issue is supposed to be the focus, not necessarily the events.

Romantic Element: It's "there." But again, and as of lately, I haven't been looking for books that had a strong romantic element to them. Maybe my tastes are changing? I doubt that....but you didn't miss it much here. In fact, if it was there, I think it would have weakened the book considerably.

Overall: This book has been out for a while, and I have heard everyone sing its praises. I picked it up (and checked out) probably six times. Honestly. And that's not to fault the book AT ALL that it hadn't been read until now. I would check it out, let time pass, be forced to return it without opening it, regret turning it in without reading it, let time pass, and check it out again, only to have history repeat itself. So, like I said, not it's fault. I'm glad I read it. I'm always looking for something different, and this is. So, no regrets, and it has moved so many people, that it's worth a read.

So, I chose a song for you to write by that goes along with this, "Mad World" by Gary Jules. It fits.

Have you read it? Do you want to? Let me know below.

Happy reading and writing, y'all