Wintergirls

Wintergirls
Laurie Halse Anderson

Summary
Lia gets up in the morning, goes to school, sometimes, and pretends to have friends. She also weighs less than 100 pounds. To do this she doesn't eat. She must hide this from her mom, dad and step-mother. She has to act like her life is normal, even though everyone watches her like a hawk. To top it off, she blames herself for Cassie's, her former best friend, death. Everyone around Lia thinks that if she doesn't improve her eating habits then she'll go the same way as Cassie. What's scary is that soon Lia realizes that this is true. Wintergirls is about girls dealing with eating disorders. This book is very real to life, and something that every girl needs to read regardless of if they have serious eating disorders. Because it's not only about eating disorders, but about the way you see yourself. Lia thinks she's ugly, fat, and that no one likes her. She doesn't see what other people see. She doesn't see that she's hurting herself.


Personal Review
I absolutely loved this book. I never really realized what a big deal anorexia was until I read this book. I never realized how easily a friendship could be severed over the littlest things. I think that this book can really speak to those people who are hanging with the wrong friends. Are they dragging you down, or lifting you up? Are they making you think good things about you, or bad things? I really can't express how much I loved this book, and how it really opened my eyes to things that are going on today, things that, until now, I didn't realize how big of a problem they were.

Cautionary Notes
There is swearing, teenage cutting, mention of girl stuff, and brief suggestion of sex. This book is also about anorexia, and bulimia is mentioned as well. This book also deals with death.

What Laurie Halse Anderson has to say about Wintergirls