Publication Date: March 19th, 2009
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Source: bought own copy
Overall rating: 4 / 5 stars
'Wintergirls' tells the story of two best friends, Lia and Cassie. Both girls battle eating disorders and after Cassie dies, Lia feels she is being haunted by her friend's spirit. Overall this is an intimate and emotional real look at eating disorders, and the numerous lives it can affect. Like with many of Anderson's contemporary novels, this one was heart wrenching and beautifully written.
I really enjoyed the overall experience of this book, it was a roller coaster ride of emotions but in the end felt so real and raw. Anderson doesn't sugar coat eating disorders in this story, but instead shows all the highs and lows that Lia goes through.
Other than the intensity of Anderson's novels, my favorite component of this was definitely the writing. It is so beautiful and lyrical that I was sucked in from page one. A lot of her descriptions of basic things were so vivid and unique, it gave such a great insight into Lia's mindset. The reader may often not understand Lia's thought process or decision, but Anderson does a great job of making you realize that can be how eat disorders take over your whole life. She also did a great job of showing, not just telling, the constant internal battle that plagued Lia and how that affected every thought in her head.
I really enjoyed what we got to see of Lia's sister as well, but would have loved to see even more. Eating disorders affect so many aspects of a person's life and I think this could have been even more powerful if we got more of Emma, who is at a very young age and often doesn't understand why things are happening.
Overall I definitely did enjoy this story and hope to read more of her work in the future. I read 'Speak,' years ago, but for no good reason hadn't picked anything else up yet. I would definitely recommend this novel to anyone, just make sure you are ready to be heartbroken and raw after reading it.
3 comments:
I remember reading this book years ago and it was so haunting and beautiful. The writing was especially chilling in some parts, but like you said it really shows the raw emotion that Lia is experiencing. Great review :)
I haven't picked up Speak yet, but my dad "randomly" bought me this one for Christmas, so I'll have to give it a shot soon. And if I like it, I'll probably pick up Speak next. Thank you for this awesome review!
Lisa
www.turningpages94.blogspot.com
I just picked this up on my Kindle last week and I am so excited to read it! I loved 'Speak,' and even though I didn't love 'Prom,' it seems like this is in the same intense vein as Speak. Glad to see that you liked it as well!
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