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.