Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

By far my favorite author would be Laurie Halse Anderson. Her books are so relatable or the reader could imagine how it would be to live the character's life. This particular book captured such a sadness and darkness about an eating disorder. I was able to relate to it after having a binge eating disorder and EDNOS. Anderson accurately wrote down how an anorexic thinks.

The summary on the back of the book is:

Lia Overbrook and Cassie Parrish have been best friends since the third grade, but as they grow up, both develop destructive obsessions with body image, dragging each other down because each is afraid of dealing with her demons alone. Lia is anorexic, while Cassie is a victim of bulimia, and when the going gets too tough in the months before their senior year in high school, Cassie breaks off the friendship, leaving Lia devastated. Six months later, after not having communicated with her ex-friend in ages, Lia receives thirty-three phone calls from Cassie in one evening, but she refuses to answer. When she discovers the next day that Cassie has died a grisly death brought on by her own excesses alone in an isolated motel room, Lia realizes that Cassie had been calling for help, and she is wracked by guilt. Lia's parents, divorced and absorbed in their own careers, are unaware of the severity of their daughter's torment, and Lia keeps them, along with her father's new wife, at a distance, adeptly concealing her inner turmoil and maintaining an appearance of normalcy. Lia's fragile hold on health and reality is tenuous at best; haunted by Cassie's ghost, she finds herself losing control of her life, sinking into an abyss of cutting and self-imposed starvation that can only end in her own destruction.

The way that the book starts off is mysterious and confusing. It catches the attention of the reader, allowing them to continue on reading. This book was a difficult read at first, having felt so many negative emotions in such a short period of time. The conflicts between family and Lia’s inner thoughts from herself are relatable to certain extent. Whenever I read this book, I have to prepare myself emotionally. A unique thing that Anderson did was including the calories to everything Lia ate. Another thing that was touching was the love that Lia had for Emma, her stepsister. Lia survived everything all for Emma. 

Rate: 4.5 Stars

This book was very well written as always from Anderson. The book is a good read for the weekend. I would recommend this book for 8th graders and up because of the graphics of the self-harm, attempted suicide and anorexic thoughts.

The D.U.F.F. by Kody Keplinger

I had bought this book around two years ago and it still looks brand new surprisingly. It had been $8.99 at Barnes and Noble when I bought it. Usually I don't buy books that aren't sale (yes I am a cheap person and I am proud) but I had a giftcard that I wanted to use desperately. The title of the book had caught my attention The back summary of the book seemed like the typical cliche 'I hate you but actually I love you' type of book. 

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn't think she's the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her "Duffy," she throws her Coke in his face.

But thing aren't so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up tpp. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

Yet, when I started to read the first few pages the writing language Keplinger was relatable. There is a considerable amount of cursing in the book and some sexual scenes between Bianca and Wesley. The book does relate greatly with teenagers in high school. It includes almost everything a moody sarcastic teenager feels and thinks of. 

The title is an acronym that ties in with the book. DUFF stands for:

(D)esginated
(U)gly
(F)at
(F)riend

Rate: 3.5 Stars

I have only read this book twice and I am planning to reread it this month soon. A lot of girls in highschool can relate to this book because many girls can feel insecure and feel like the Duff in their group of friends.

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

When I first got Poison Study at Marshalls for only $6.99 I thought it was a great deal for such a good book. Reading the summary sparked my interest instantly. The summary on the back of the book is:

Murder, mayhem and magic ... 

Locked in a coffin-like darkness, there is nothing to distract me from my memories of killing Reyad. He deserved to die - but according to the law, so do I. Here in Ixia, the punishment for murder is death. And now I wait for the hangman's noose.
But the same law that condemns me may also save. Ixia's food taster - chosen to ensure that the Commander's food is not poisoned - has died. And by law, the next prisoner who is scheduled to be executed - me - must be offered the position. 

What caught my attention was the first 3 words. The alliteration captured my mind and told me to continue on. The whole plot of this story is interesting and unique. Snyder had kept the mystery really well from beginning till the end.

The characters slowly evolved as I read more into the book. 19 year old Yelena, had her mysterious past revealed slowly throughout the book yet her whole story was not revealed. The detail was marvelous with all of the practice scenes and the fighting scenes. Emotions of the main character had been accurately described. The words on the page of the book could make you want to cry or scream from anger. The slow build up of sexual tension between Yelena and her instructor Valek was absolutely frustrating, but it had paid off in the end.

I would rate this book PG-13 (even though I read it when I was 10 years old) because of the fighting scenes in the book. There is no foul language in the book or racy love scenes. The book includes magic, death, action and love. Why wouldn't it be good? 

The genre of Poison Study is fantasy and young adult fiction.

Rate: 5 Stars
The details, how the characters were developed, the dialogue and the unique plot.