Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Everything that Laurie Halse Anderson touches turns to gold. Her newest novel, Wintergirls is no exception. Picking up this book and simply thumbing through it, I immediately knew that it was different. From the three page spread that says nothing but “Must. Not. Eat. Must Not Eat. Must. Not. Eat. Must. Not. Eat.” over and over again to this passage:
He takes a bite and the cheese strings like a suspension bridge from his mouth to his hand. “Want some?”
One bite, please, and then another and another, crust and cheese sausage sauce another and another empty is strong and invincible. “I already ate.”*
Well, as you can tell Wintergirls is about a girl who’s anorexic, Lia is literally dying to be thin. The book opens just as she learns that her best friend with whom she has not spoken to for months has just died alone in a hotel room. And it’s not a relationship between them that was healthy to begin with. Both encouraged each other’s eating disorders. After Lia comes out of rehab for the second time, she distances herself. But the night that Cassie died, she called Lia 33 times from her cell phone. And Lia ignored it. Now she wonders if she could have done something to prevent Cassie’s death.
Lia tries to convince herself, her parents, her sister and her counselor that she’s okay with the death. But she’s really spiralling out of control. As a result, Lia has gone back to controlling her eating. Although, I don’t think she was ever “over” it to begin with. As soon as she hits a magic weight number, then she knows she can hit an even lower one. She has become a master of disguise even though her eating habits are being watched carefully. Cassie’s ghost haunts Lia and she must decide what is it she really wants: to literally starve herself to death or rid herself of Cassie’s ghost for good by rising above her disorder.
Just like in Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson takes a very troubling subject and gives voice and awareness to it, without being preachy. Wintergirls is a book that I think anybody who is trying to take control of their life, now matter the method, is going to relate to. I could not put this book down. It was simply amazing.
I couldn’t help but think of my college roommate of two years who was an anorexic. It’s not anything that I or the other 4 roommates ever openly talked about with her. If we did, I don’t remember. She probably thought we were aware of her past struggles and that she was better. But she wasn’t. It’s really not hard to pick up on. But to watch firsthand how this disease controlled every aspect of her life was really hard. She tried to appear happy and in love. She got married. But the struggle was always there. And as a roommate, I was clueless on how I could help. Even if I were to go back, I still don’t know what I would do differently. Perhaps love her even more. And remember it’s not about the food. It’s not really about the weight. It’s about the control.
Edited to add the Wintergirls book trailer:
Laurie Halse Anderson on writing Wintergirls:
Wintergirls will be released on March 19th and you’ll want to read it as soon as it comes out. AND Laurie Halse Anderson is on book tour and guess who gets to go hear her do a reading from Wintergirls? Me! I’m so excited! I’ve only recently discovered Anderson this past year but quickly became a fan after reading Speak (my book review) and Chains (my book review). I am hoping to read Twisted and Fever 1793 prior to meeting her. If you are local to the Salt Lake City area, Anderson will be signing at the Kings English Bookshop on Thursday, March 26th at 7 pm. Of course, I’ll be taking photos and writing up a post afterward so make sure you’re subscribed to receive updates so you don’t miss it.
*Quoted from an Advanced Readers Copy. May be different in final version.
Links of interest: Laurie Halse Anderson’s website, Maw Books reviews of Speak, Chains,
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
Publisher: Viking Juvenile. March 19, 2009
Hardcover, 288 pages. ISBN 067001110X
Source: Review copy
Wintergirls is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.
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Tags: A-D Author, book trailers, Cybils finalist, eating disorder female author, Fiction, published 2009, Publisher: Viking Juvenile, review copy, U-Z Title
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This sounds so good! I’m going to see if my library has it. It was already on my wishlist, but I just can’t pass it up now. Anderson was here a few weeks ago and I missed it
Stupid work….
on March 10th, 2009 at 12:28 amThis sounds amazing. I really have to read Anderson, I’ve been seeing a lot about her lately and it all sounds great!
on March 10th, 2009 at 3:25 amI just read this too (my review is going up tomorrow) and I thought it was really well done.
She’s coming to Austin too at the end of the month; can’t WAIT to go see her!
on March 10th, 2009 at 5:27 amI am dying to get my hands on this one! Thanks for the terrific review.
on March 10th, 2009 at 6:15 amThis has been on my wish list for a while. I’m so glad to see you liked it.
on March 10th, 2009 at 6:51 amInteresting review. Eating disorders are so pervasive and it’s a difficult topic.
on March 10th, 2009 at 7:06 amGreat review. I want to read this one.
on March 10th, 2009 at 8:01 amAh… hard subject. I agree. I just started Chains last night. Seems like it’s going to be a hard subject too!
And hey, when you read Fever, she talks a lot about a guy named Benjamin Rush… he’s my ancestor! (Not direct, but an uncle. We love to claim him though.)
And do you know, where does a person park for an event at The King’s English? There’s like no parking at that place.
on March 10th, 2009 at 8:02 amGreat review! I have had this book on my radar since I first heard about it, and your review made me want to read it even more than I already did.
on March 10th, 2009 at 9:22 amThis was such a great book and you did a great job reviewing it!
on March 10th, 2009 at 10:38 amGreat review Natasha. I’ve seen this book around a bit lately and it sounds so good. Not to mention that I love the cover. I can’t wait to see the pics! Lucky you!
on March 10th, 2009 at 11:07 amThis one’s already on my wishlist.
I really enjoyed reading your review!
on March 10th, 2009 at 2:45 pmI read Speak last year and absolutely loved it – what an amazing writer with an amazing connection to her characters. This one sounds just as amazing so will have to keep an eye out for it.
on March 11th, 2009 at 12:57 amI really need to read this and her book Speak too.
on March 11th, 2009 at 8:19 amI can recommend Fever 1793 very highly. It’s an exciting story set during a period of American history that most Americans know very little about.
on March 11th, 2009 at 3:07 pmI had a college friend who was anorexic, also. She was very open about her “past” eating disorder, and so good at denial. She’s married with kids and doing fine now, but like you, I sometimes wonder if we should have done more for her.
on March 11th, 2009 at 3:12 pmOooooooh. This sounds really good. I just came across Twisted at the library but haven’t started it yet.
It’s good to hear that some of her other books are good from some of the other commenters. I’m still on The Story of Edgar Sawtelle…it’s veeeeeeery long and I’ve been super busy!
on March 11th, 2009 at 8:43 pmIf you’re subscribed to this post, I thought I’d let you know that a book trailer was just released and I’ve added it to the book review.
on March 11th, 2009 at 10:29 pmI really liked Speak, this one sounds very good. The passages and description you shared remind me of a book about a teen with obsessive-compulsive disorder, called Kissing Doorknobs. Ever heard of it?
on March 12th, 2009 at 3:00 pmThis one sounds as difficult to read as Speak was, and as hard for some of us to imagine.
on March 13th, 2009 at 2:26 pmI just discovered Halse-Anderson within the last year also. I am planning to read through all her books that I have not read yet this year. I am first in line for this book when it comes in at the library.
on March 13th, 2009 at 2:59 pmI’ve read several reviews of this – all good BTW – but, I dunno; altho it DOES sound interesting, it sounds way too sad for my reading preferences…Glad to hear that you enjoyed it, tho.
Have a great weekend!
on March 14th, 2009 at 6:04 amOh, you are a legend, I didn’t even know this book existed! My mum loves Laurie Halse Anderson and her birthday’s coming up!
on March 14th, 2009 at 6:57 pmI loved this book, not that it is an easy read, but Laurie does an amazing job of writing about the subject of eating disorders. It’s a hard read and I normally avoid hard subjects like this one, but once i started I couldn’t stop and it’s really, really good.
on March 25th, 2009 at 9:07 pmI think we all have problems as women with body image. As I grow older, I keep wondering who that is in the mirror….
on March 29th, 2009 at 3:34 pmThe book trailer was cool, and kind of creepy too.
on March 30th, 2009 at 4:09 pmI just finished this one tonight, and ohmygosh. Amazing.
on April 9th, 2009 at 11:07 pmi just finished reading it too, and i absolutely loved it! i love the accuracy of Lia’s thoughts and how it teaches a lesson at the end <3
on April 30th, 2009 at 2:19 pm[...] website, blog, and Twitter. More book blogger reviews, Maw Books reviews of Speak, Chains, Wintergirls, my open letter to Anderson, and my video of Anderson talking about Wintergirls. Genre: Picture [...]
on September 25th, 2010 at 12:40 amwhat type of genre is this book?
on January 16th, 2011 at 2:28 pm