Wintergirls

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Wintergirls. New York: Viking, 2009.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Intended Audience: Ages 13 and older

Personal Reaction: Wintergirls was a book I both loved and hated.  In it, we learn the story of Lia, a teenager whose friend Cassie just died from bulimia. Lia deals with her own eating disorder and is haunted by Cassie throughout the story.  Her family life is difficult, partly because of her problems and partly because her parents are divorced and don't always pay the best attention to her.

This book was depressing and had very little hope or happiness until the last chapter.  In that sense, it was a difficult read and I am not sure I would have finished it, had it not been required for class.  However, the writing style was wonderful, Anderson showed the number of calories Lia was consuming by putting the numbers in parentheses.  She had words crossed out when Lia thought one thing but attempted to not and at one point had two entire blank pages to emphasize what was happening in the story.  While I would not necessarily hand this book to someone to read, I did enjoy it and would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about mental and eating disorders.

Author Facts: Laurie Halse Anderson hates it when people pronounce her last name incorrectly (Halse rhymes with waltz).  She married her childhood sweetheart and they live in Northern New York with their four children and dog.  Anderson leaves a charmed life, running, gardening and writing in a cottage her husband built for her to write in.

Author Website: http://madwomanintheforest.com/