Hey blogosphere, so sorry I haven't written in a few weeks, been busy. But, down to business; I'm going to be reviewing the book Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson.
Our main character is 18-year-old Lia Marrigan Overbrook. The book begins after Lia's friend, Cassie, who suffers from bulimia, dies in a motel room alone. Lia, who is already living with severe anorexia, is devastated. She constantly convinces herself that she weighs too much, that empty equals strong. She also begins seeing ghosts of Cassie, urging Lia to "cross over" with her, egging her on, etc. She is determined, though, not to enter New Seasons, the emergency care facility with a psych ward.
But her parents and stepmother are growing increasingly concerned. They're fighting even more than usual about what to do with her. Soon it becomes too much for her impaired self to bear, and she goes to stay at the same motel where Cassie died, with a friend she met who works there. When he leaves, she becomes so depressed that she stays in bed at the motel for days, maybe weeks, guzzling sleeping pills and eating nothing. Cassie's ghost visits her one last time, and informs Lia that she's dying. Horrified, she immidiately calls her stepmother, who takes her to stay at New Seasons. There, she finally sets foot to recovery.
This book was written in first person narrative, which really gave the reader some insight as to what she was feeling. A lot of times, when she didn't "want" to think certain thoughts, they would be crossed out in the text and replaced with thoughts that she thought were "better" or "stronger". Most of the time, she crossed out thoughts about wanting food and replaced them with things like, "I am not hungry" or "I am too fat". At other times, though, it's almost as if she's not only starving herself physically, but emotionally as well. For instance, she'll never show her true feelings to anyone, she doesn't trust or get attatched to anybody (even her family), and whenever anyone tries to help her, she refuses. This, I think, is because she's been betrayed, neglected, self-starved, and insulted into thinking she has to be perfectly skinny, strong, and cold all the time.
This was a moving book, and that was enhanced by the author's frequent use of vivid metaphors and sensory language. One thing I appreciated was that while there was figurative language, there were no euphamisms, which really informed the reader about the true struggles of an anorexic. This was effective because this book was also meant to inform readers, and I admire an author who isn't afraid to venture into all sides of the story.
Overall, I'd have to say this was a very good book; Laurie Halse Anderson did a great job. It was very similar to her previous book, Speak, which was a big hit, so if you liked Speak, you'll enjoy Wintergirls.
