Lia and Cassie are best friends, wintergirls frozen in fragile bodies, competitors in a deadly contest to see who can be the thinnest. But then Cassie suffers the ultimate loss—her life—and Lia is left behind, haunted by her friend’s memory and racked with guilt for not being able to help save her. In her most powerfully moving novel since Speak, award-winning author Laurie Halse Anderson explores Lia’s struggle, her painful path to recovery, and her desperate attempts to hold on to the most important thing of all: hope.
It’s been 5 days since I finished reading Wintergirls, and I haven’t been able to start anything new since then. I also haven’t been able to write a decent review for this thing despite sitting down at my computer multiple times. I keep typing and erasing it all because I can’t organize my thoughts in a clear way. This was an extremely difficult read. Difficult because the subject matter includes a girl struggling with an eating disorder, even more difficult because the person that suggested I read this book found it to be similar to their personal experience.
The eating disorders described in this fictional tale are nothing like what I had anticipated. I expected Lia to be self conscious about the way she looked. I thought she would be constantly comparing her body to other girls. But really, she didn’t. Lia had much worse things on her mind, things that I wasn’t expecting her to have at all. She is extremely depressed, and it’s almost like her eating disorder is her way of dealing with that depression.
Besides this book being difficult to read, it also scared me. The author wrote it in such a way that Lia’s thoughts and actions sometimes made sense, and that is SCARY. After I finished reading it, I did some quick research and found that a lot of people who struggle with eating disorders find this book to be triggering and some even actually see it as a guidebook for them when they are not eating. See what I mean? Scary.
I read this book from the perspective of a mom thinking this could someday be my daughter. And let me tell you, that thought alone broke my heart piece by piece. I’m not sure if a mental disorder like this is something that can be prevented, but I am going to do every single thing in my power to keep this from happening to my girl. The biggest thing I got out of this book is knowledge. Eating disorders aren’t what I thought they were. They are quite complex, and they are deeply painful for everyone involved.
If you are interested in learning about the mind inside someone suffering from anorexia or bulimia, check out this book. If you are a mom, check out this book. It will not be a fun read. You will feel weird after you finish it, but it’s worth it because of the awareness you gain from reading it.
To see purchase options of Wintergirls through Amazon, CLICK HERE.
If you are struggling with an eating disorder, don’t read this book. If you want help, I found a 24/7 helpline for you to call. 1-888-232-6949
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