Laurie Halse Anderson's Wintergirls

After finishing this book, I too felt haunted just like Lia was by Cassie. I had a hard time shaking the thought of what these girls were doing to themselves. There were many times in the book that I had to put the book down and grasp a sense of my own reality. This book was very powerful. It was difficult, disgusting, sad, hopeful, sweet, and terrifying all at the same time. I felt a connection to Lia and many times I wanted to pull the knife from her hand or slap her on the side of her face just to make her stop being so self absorbed and twisted. Anorexia and bulimia are diseases that enter the minds of vulnerable people and twist their sense of reality and what is good for them versus what is not. Lia and Cassie struggled very much so with their body image. They thought of themselves as bloated balloons when they were 5' 5" and 95 pounds! I personally have known someone that struggled with anorexia, and while she was very small to begin with, her disease took her to near death, almost all of her vital organs shut down, she stopped menstruating, and she grew a transparent layer of fur all over her skin in order to keep her body warm. Her body was crying out for help but she was unaware of the help she needed. It was psychological as well as physical. Lia went through the exact same things, as well as the intense guilt for not answering the phone when Cassie called the night she died. I have a feeling this book will haunt me for a bit, but I have hope that this book will spread awareness and hope for those young girls that struggle with their body image and feel as though starving yourself is the solution. This book will definitely go in my classroom library.