Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

January 11, 2018

Lia and Cassie are best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies, competitors in a deadly contest to see who can be the skinniest. But what comes after size zero and size double-zero? 

Wintergirls is a very heavy story about eating disorders and the consequences it has on the girl who’s suffering from the disease, her family, her friends and her general surroundings. It gives the reader insight in a complex world of a sick girl, Lia, who wants to get better but at the same time loves to see her bones sticking further and further out from her skin. Lia and Cassie’s relationship was filled with love and competition and now that she’s gone, Lia finds herself haunted by the spirit of her friend.

There are good and bad things to be said about this book. The first half feels like reading a waay too long poem, every other page is filled with thick metaphors for a normal feeling or situation and being someone who is not into poetry, you can imagine the effect – I got through it on pure stubbornness not enthusiasm. The second half seems to pick up the pace of the story with less poetic pauses and Lia reaching a crossroad. I definitely preffered this part and loved the refreshingly honest description of eating disorders and realistic consequences which are the pillars of the book. All in all, I’m glad I read it, I liked a few characters and the POV from which we experience a horrible disease, however, this will not become a re-read of mine.

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