Though I've only read one other novel by Laurie H. Anderson (Speak) I knew Wintergirls was going to be a tough read too. In summary, this novel depicts the struggles the main character--Lia--faced while suffering from anorexia and depression. She struggled with the feeling of being trapped between life and death, torn between the desire to eat and the power she felt when starving herself. Alongside Lia, readers are introduced to Cassie--Lia's best friend (or at least was her best friend). Her death was a trigger for Lia; from there Lia began to really feel her life spiraling out of control. I also want to mention that each chapter is formatted to look like numbers on a scale and as each chapter rose in number, Lia's weight continually dropped. She lied about what she was eating, skiped school to cut herself with razor blades and traveled alone to meet Elijah--a guy she's never met who works at the seedy Gateway Motel where Cassie died. He also has a message for Lia, left by Cassie, but Lia goes out of her way to not hear it.
The night of of her death, Cassie left numerous messages on Lia's phone (which she ignored) and because of that Lia feels responsible for Cassie's death. The guilt ate at her conscious because the two once swore (on a blood oath) to be the skinniest girls in their school but she deliberately sabotaged Cassie's attempts to recover from bulimia. Her guilt grew so large, it caused Lia to see hallucinations. This is when Cassie's ghost appears. The ghost of Cassie seemed to appear whenever Lia's emotions were out of control. One of the most prominent appearance of Cassie's ghost happened after Lia fought with her father about whether she should be admitted for treatment or not. She ignored his pleas to get better and instead called Elijah, who planed to travel down south in a couple of days. He finally told Lia the message Cassie left for her on the night she died--that Lia won. Lia is the skinniest. But this doesn't make Lia happy. So she decides to to end it all by cutting her chest open. Fortunately, this does not kill her but I found this part so heart wrenching to read especially when Emma walked in oh her and witnessed such a horrifying scene.
Cassie's ghost pops up a lot and while I believe her ghost was a figment of her imagination, I couldn't help but believe Cassie's ghost was real because it just seem so vivid. For example, in the end of the novel when Cassie's ghost is waiting in the room where Cassie died, she tells Lia that her heart is about to stop and that it's too late. But then Lia grabbed a see-glass out of Cassie's mouth and licks it. Right about here I was very, very confused because it wasn't the glass at all, but a dirty green lollipop. The sugar made her strong enough to call for help. It was scenes like this that really had me thinking that Cassie's ghost was indeed real. How else could that scene be explained? The depiction of that scene seemed so real, I thought for a second that there was a supernatural theme in this novel.
Though weakened and weakened throughout the novel, Lia is a strongly written character but her ignorance stunted her growth as a character and a person (until the very end when she finally realized that food is life).
I definitely believe this novel would appeal to adolescents because they might face the same struggles Lia did; and what better way to see that they could overcome such struggles by reading Lia's story?
Grade: A
The night of of her death, Cassie left numerous messages on Lia's phone (which she ignored) and because of that Lia feels responsible for Cassie's death. The guilt ate at her conscious because the two once swore (on a blood oath) to be the skinniest girls in their school but she deliberately sabotaged Cassie's attempts to recover from bulimia. Her guilt grew so large, it caused Lia to see hallucinations. This is when Cassie's ghost appears. The ghost of Cassie seemed to appear whenever Lia's emotions were out of control. One of the most prominent appearance of Cassie's ghost happened after Lia fought with her father about whether she should be admitted for treatment or not. She ignored his pleas to get better and instead called Elijah, who planed to travel down south in a couple of days. He finally told Lia the message Cassie left for her on the night she died--that Lia won. Lia is the skinniest. But this doesn't make Lia happy. So she decides to to end it all by cutting her chest open. Fortunately, this does not kill her but I found this part so heart wrenching to read especially when Emma walked in oh her and witnessed such a horrifying scene.
Cassie's ghost pops up a lot and while I believe her ghost was a figment of her imagination, I couldn't help but believe Cassie's ghost was real because it just seem so vivid. For example, in the end of the novel when Cassie's ghost is waiting in the room where Cassie died, she tells Lia that her heart is about to stop and that it's too late. But then Lia grabbed a see-glass out of Cassie's mouth and licks it. Right about here I was very, very confused because it wasn't the glass at all, but a dirty green lollipop. The sugar made her strong enough to call for help. It was scenes like this that really had me thinking that Cassie's ghost was indeed real. How else could that scene be explained? The depiction of that scene seemed so real, I thought for a second that there was a supernatural theme in this novel.
Though weakened and weakened throughout the novel, Lia is a strongly written character but her ignorance stunted her growth as a character and a person (until the very end when she finally realized that food is life).
I definitely believe this novel would appeal to adolescents because they might face the same struggles Lia did; and what better way to see that they could overcome such struggles by reading Lia's story?
Grade: A
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