Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Coming-of-Age Teen Novel
ISBN: 978-0-670-01110-0
278 pp.
Suitable for 15+

Readers Annotation: As Lia's best friend dies from an eating disorder, she struggles with the same issues in her goal to weigh less and less.

Plot Summary: Lia and Cassie were best friends since elementary school. They did practically everything together: swimming, water skiiing, playing games together, and also trying to become the skinniest girls out there, no matter what it took. Fast forward to their senior year in high school. Cassie and Lia have a falling out. Cassie dies from being bulimic since she was 11. Lia has been anorexic since around then too and has been treated a couple times. The previous treatments do not matter; she once again pushes herself, a voice telling her that she's strong, is in control, and that she needs to lose more, weigh less. No one seems to notice; her mother is busy as a nurse, her father is always busy with his work projects, and his stepmother doesn't have a clue. But shortly after Cassie dies, Lia does start losing control. Cassie haunts her constantly, her family is starting to become suspicious that Lia is entering a tailspin of epic proportions.

Critical Evaluation: Told from the point of view of Lia, the protagonist, the reader gets a sense of what goes on inside a person dealing with anorexia and body image. It focuses only on this; there is no drugs, drinking, or sex. Just body image and it is simply gut-wrenching. The book does a good job of showing what the voice inside her wants her to think and what Lia wants to think but is too guilty to do so by having her guilty thoughts crossed through. To add to her confusion is the even more emotionally disturbing large scale of eating disorders occuring in the world as Lia visits blogs of girls just like her. Instead of asking for help, the blogs encourage others to continue being strong and lose more weight. It's almost as if there's pride in this! That combined with her busy family, it's no wonder Lia continues down her descent; she has encouragement, a false pride, and no one to give her attention! While the majority of the book takes place during the aftermath of Cassie's death, it does have very revealing flashbacks that show why Lia is going down this dark road. This provides exposition throughout on not only her, but Cassie and her family, which is a different change of pace from a usual narrative. The Elijah character is also a nice tool that helps Lia get her mind off things while helping her realize that she indeed has a problem even if the voice inside her doesn't let her ask for help.

Author: Laurie Halse Anderson was born in 1961 and began her career as a freelance journalist. But in 1999, she published her most famous novel so far, Speak, as this won many awards. It got her recognition and the book is widely considered to be one of the most important books for young adults in recent years.

She has also written Catalyst, Prom, Twisted, and most recently, Wintergirls. All of these have been best-sellers and award winners. Anderson has also showed diversity in writing historical fiction such as Fever, 1793 and the Chain series. She currently lives in northern New York State with her husband.

Booktalking Ideas:
1) Eating disorders
2) Body Image
3) Alienation

Challenge Issues: There are challenge issues present such as eating disorders and false body images for teens.

A librarian should state that the ALA mission is "to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all," which is embodied in the Library Bill of Rights, the Association's basic policy on free access to libraries and library materials. Librarians must act as an extension, making sure that they educate the general public, and themselves, about the nature and importance of intellectual freedom in libraries.

Why Included: I wanted to read a style of YA literature that I have not read before. I wanted to read something from a female perspective, one that dealt with body image. It is emotionally disturbing but very interesting at the same time. I also enjoyed the style of writing of Anderson to the point that I may pick up another one of her novels.