Monday, April 9, 2012

Rewind & Review: Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson


Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Published: March 19, 2009 by Viking Juvenille
Received: bought ebook via Barnes & Noble
“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. {goodreads.com}

This is my third novel by Laurie Halse Anderson that I have read and she's done it again, completely shocked and blown me away.  This woman's ability to write is like nothing else.  She has the ability to take a character's voice, make it their own, and really project it through the pages at you.  I found myself completely engulfed by the desperate, yet hauntingly sour thoughts of Lia - the dead girl walking.

Wintergirls battles the issue of anorexia.  It digs deep to the dirty side of this retched disease, giving the reader a glimpse of what it's like to be dying, starving yourself from the inside out.  Lia's best friend Cassie has just died.  The two girls grew up together, with a bond to always be skinny.  They shared their disease together and encouraged one another to do whatever it took to stay strong and lose the pounds.  The scale was their enemy and they'd do whatever was necessary to never let it win.  Cassie, unfortunately, lost that battle and let her life go.  Lia is now living (or dying inside) with the thought that she could have saved her best friend, but how can she when she can't even save herself?  We're witnessing Lia's downward spiral through her own eyes.  Listening to the lies she tells herself, the calories she counts, and the hearts she shatters as she slowly slips further and further in to this abyss of what a wintergirl truly means.

I had a hard time reading this novel in parts because I could not identify with Lia or her need to control what she ate.  This sort of lifestyle is very foreign to me; however, it's shockingly a very common lifestyle among many teenage girls.  Though the issue of anorexia is something I have never personally dealt with, Laurie Halse Anderson does an amazingly well job of making you feel as though you know Lia and want to do everything in your power to reach out and help her.  In the soft moments, between the pages, when she was lying awake at night while the world slept was when I wanted to be her friend most.  My heart ached as I witnessed Lia breaking her's into tiny shreds.

Reading this book was very eye opening to me.  It brought forth a disease I had always heard about, but never truly understood.  It's not just about controlling what you eat, it's having the power to control every aspect of your life.  This need can consume someone's world and all those in it.  The story of Lia is a tough one to swallow, but it's also a gift that sheds light on the dangers of what can happen in this situation.  Some times, even the weakest can surprise us and find hope.




Rewind & Review is a monthly feature hosted by Lisa is Busy Nerding & myself, that showcases older books from our collection to read & review.

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21 comments:

  1. “My heart ached as I witnessed Lia breaking her's into tiny shreds.” This makes me so sad, but Wintergirls is such a brilliant and powerful novel – all of Anderson's are.

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  2. Wintergirls is a fabulous but difficult book. Having experienced an eating disorder, I can tell that Laurie hit the mentality of an anorexic mind spot on. It was incredible to read someone who had the exact same mental processes that I did, even though I (thankfully) never had the severity of problem that Lia did. I've always wondered whether people who didn't have an eating disorder could really appreciate the book. Appreciate isn't the best word, but like you said it's really hard to relate to an eating disordered mind unless you have experienced it. In other ways, it's a very dangerous book for those who are dealing with anorexia because it is triggers galore.

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  3. I love Laurie Halse Anderson's novels, but have yet to read this one! I guess I need to go get my hands on a copy. ;)

    -Meredith

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  4. I know we've talked about this book before, but one of the things I really gained from it was that I sometimes have no idea what my students might be going through. Sadly, eating disorders are prevalent in teenagers, especially girls, and I have had students struggle with them before. Wintergirls really opened my eyes to what they might be going through. You can research anorexia all you want, but this book gives such a personal insight to it.

    LHA, I bow down to you.

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  5. Although an uncomfortable book, this was the best one for really explaining this devastating disease from the perspective of one who suffers. I've, thankfully, never dealt with this disease, but this book was very well done. Great review!

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  6. I hate that I haven't read Wintergirls yet. Is that weird? I imagine it is. But seriously, I love books that reach down inside of you and squeeze your heart, and it sounds like that is what Wintergirls does. It's really awesome to read about the impact LHA's book had on you.

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  7. I feel like when I read Anderson's books, it's like I'm looking at an accident, but just can't rip my eyes away. It's ugly, it's painful, and truthful, but hard and often disturbing. I'm glad you read this book! It's one of my favorites of hers, but I think Speak is still my number one. :)

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  8. I have heard of this book before, but I always avoid it. It's not the topic that bothers me so much as the main character's treatment by the other kids. I just find their lack of concern, or respect for her situation to be far more cruel than anything in The Hunger Games. Maybe because it's more real, and that's something I'd rather not think about.

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  9. I really want to read this one. Anorexia and Bulimia have always fascinated me. I hope that doesn't sound too creepy. I even did a research paper on it in college. I definitely want to read this book for the subject, but I've also never read a Laurie Halse Anderson book and I think this would be a good place to start. Great review.

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  10. I love Anderson's book, Speak. This sounds like another remarkable book! Fabulous review!

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  11. I agree...such a deeply moving and well done novel on such a dangerously dark issue that so many deal with both young and old. This is such a good book.

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  12. Great review! I have only had the experience of reading one of Ms. Anderson's novels (Speak). That novel will stick with me forever. It was so beautifully written. She is a fantastic writer.

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  13. This book made me want to throw up and cry for the state of high school girls. I want to hug them all!

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  14. So glad you got to read this one. This was actually the first Anderson book I read and I fell in love with her immediately. This one really opened my eyes. Great review!

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  15. One of my favorite books EVER is speak which is also by her. I definitely have this one on my TBR list! Thanks for the review!

    Megan

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  16. I own this book and will most definitely be bumping it up on my to-read list. LHA is a master of her craft, and from both reading her other books and reading your review, I know Wintergirls will be amazing.

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  17. I've had this audiobook on my TBR for a while now, and after reading your review I am hoping to get to it soon. It sounds like a very powerful read (as Laurie Halse Anderson is wont to write), and though I also can't personally identify with eating disorders, I'm very interested in better understanding this disease that affects so many people. I'm glad to hear it was able to give you this udnerstanding even if it was tough in places!

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  18. You reviewed this beautifully. I could not think of anyone doing it better. This book is on my shelf and I really really need to read it. You should totally check out "The Fault In Our Stars" by John Green. That book gave such a unique and true voice to cancer for me...especially when my grandmother had just died.

    Rebecca of Vicariously!

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  19. Laurie Halse Anderson is AMAZING. She does "issue" books like a freaking pro. Her novel, Twisted (which I highly, HIGHLY recommend) is, hands down, one of the absolute BEST novels written by a female w/ a male pov. Seriously.

    But this one, ya. Such amazingly powerful stuff. This woman is brilliant.

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  20. This truly sounds like a powerful read. I actually just finished reading Speak, and I'm still trying to come to terms with how that book made me feel and how it's opened my eyes to certain realities in the world. I think Laurie Halse Anderson's writing is incredible.

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  21. i like your review! Here's mine: http://lorxiebookreviews.blogspot.com/2012/06/wintergirls-by-laurie-halse-anderson.html Have a nice day! :)

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