photo home_zpspjo8kmb0.png photo about us_zpsarf3yetn.png photo reviews_zpshqab7na7.png photo book recs_zpsdmrlfetg.png



.

June 01, 2012

Review: Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson - Farah


Title: Wintergirls
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Publisher: Viking Juvenile 
Publication Date: March 19th, 2009
Genre(s): Young Adult (Realistic Fiction )
Challenges: A-Z title, Contemporary, SARC
Source: Library 
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 278
“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.
Whatever I say in my review will never give justice to this book.  Never in my life have I read a breathtaking and phenomenal book as Wintergirls. I didn't feel like I was reading a book, but I felt like I was watching it through the main protagonists's eyes. Like I was her. Laurie Halse Anderson chooses the strongest words to portray Lia's feelings, and throughout the book, the flow and rhythm were absolutely perfect. Wintergirls is a very powerful novel. It had me crying, shocked, and definitely anxious. I just don't think there are any words to describe how amazing and heartbreaking Wintergirls is.
The main protagonist, Lia, suffers from an eating disorder. She is anorexic, and all she wants to do is get thinner, thinner, thinner, until she disappears. The story revolves around how Lia is struggling with this disorder, even with her family's help. She starts lying, secrets develop, and everything just becomes one big messy lump. I never felt that Lia was an annoying character or so, because she does have a disorder and I excuse her actions for that. It's tough to control it, and Laurie Halse Anderson really represented the characters with such precision and thought. She made me feel for the character, like I was suffering with her myself. I wanted to cry with her, I wanted to laugh with her, and I wanted to fight with her. I wanted to jump right in the book and ease Lia's suffering. After thinking that nothing can get worse than it already is, it does. This exactly shows the cruelty of reality, which makes the story have a more realistic feeling to it. As well to the anorexia, the conflicts Lia has with her family gives an interesting twist to the story. 
Overall, I can say that Wintergirls is one of my overall favorites. It was like I experienced the story and tragedies of Lia. Im not sure if my review convinced people how amazing this book is, but trust me, its a must read! Not only is it a realistic novel, but also a novel about a struggling teenager with a problem who many girls out there might relate to!
All Time Favorite

7 comments:

  1. I loved this book when I read it too. So glad to
    see such a great read emerge from the shelves.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I remember really liking this book too! It’s been a long time since I read it, but I do remember having the same feelings as you and being completely breathtaken when I finished it. Laurie Halse Anderson sure knows her contemp fiction! Great Review!

    Darlene @ Leather Bound and Lovely

    ReplyDelete
  3. i have wanted to read this book for such a long time. but i think i'm a bit afraid. the topic is one that really freaks me out so i know i'm really going to have to get myself in the right mindset when i give it a go. clearly it is a fantastic book though.:)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great review, I really want to read this book.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I LOVED this book, and like you said, it's because Anderson portrayed the anorexia so accurately (to me anyway), instead of packing it with stock feelings that go with these issues. Loved it.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I cannot wait to read this!! I keep hearing the most amazing things about it and I just need to buy it...sounds amaaaazing! :D

    Sierra @ Yearning to Read

    ReplyDelete
  7. Did you prefer Speak to this? I'm really curious because I've read Twisted, Speak and The Impossible Knife of Memory by her (I'm ordering Wintergirls) and I can't seem to decide which I like the most!

    ReplyDelete