Wintergirls

Written by Laurie Halse Anderson

Narrated by Jeannie Stith

"Dead girl walking," the boys say in the halls.
"Tell us your secret," the girls whisper, one toilet to another.
I am that girl.
I am the space between my thighs, daylight shining through.
I am the bones they want, wired on a porcelain frame.

Lia and Cassie were best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies. But now Cassie is dead. Lia's mother is busy saving other people's lives. Her father is away on business. Her stepmother is clueless. And the voice inside Lia's head keeps telling her to remain in control, stay strong, lose more, weigh less. If she keeps on going this way - thin, thinner, thinnest - maybe she'll disappear altogether.

In her most emotionally wrenching, lyrically written book since the National Book Award finalist Speak, best-selling author Laurie Halse Anderson explores one girl's chilling descent into the all-consuming vortex of anorexia.

Winner of the Margaret A. Edwards Award 2009

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Mar 19, 2009
• ISBN: 9781423391906

Laurie Halse Anderson

Laurie Halse Anderson is the New York Times-bestselling author of many award-winning books including the groundbreaking modern classic Speak, a National Book Award finalist which has sold over 3.5 million copies and been translated into 35 languages. In 2023, Anderson was named the laureate of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, which is given annually to authors, illustrators, oral storytellers, and reading promoters "for their outstanding contribution to children's and young adult literature." In 2009, Anderson was selected by the American Library Association for the Margaret A. Edwards Award for her "significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature." A passionate spokesperson for the need to combat censorship and promote diversity in publishing, she has been honored for her battles for intellectual freedom by the National Coalition Against Censorship and the National Council of Teachers of English. Mother of four, grandmother of dragons, and wife of one, she lives in Pennsylvania.

Reviews for Wintergirls

[christinegrabowski · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Warning, this is one of those books you can't put down and it will impact your sleep causing you to keep saying, one more chapter, one more chapter. The book was raw with emotion and very haunting The author did her research and it came through in the pages. I originally read this book to preview it for my teen daughter because I know bulimia, anorexia, and cutting are issues affecting so many people, especially teenage girls. However, after reading it I am not comfortable having her read it at this stage of life. Although the author portrays being anorexic as pure misery, the book is very real and could be used as a how-to manual for many anorexic and bulimic behaviors.

[heatherlinc · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a really confronting book dealing with anorexia. The frightening part is that there are thousands of girls around the world suffering these sorts of thoughts and emotions. The cries for help from various blogs/chatrooms were heart wrenching and the self-harming was horrific. So while it was a powerful, story, it certainly wasn't enjoyable.

[bookscantgetenough · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book scared me and showed me the reality of eating disorders. Before this book I thought anorexia was just not wanting to eat but now I know it is also the way the people think they look like, looking in to the mirror and you see yourself as a 300 pound person when in reality and others eyes you're a 90 pound sixteen year old.

[nicola26 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really loved this book. It's beautifully written and impossible to look away from. Lia's character feels very real and has a very distinct voice. I thought I would find the writing style distracting but it just added to the atmosphere of the story. It's not exactly easy to read, given the topic, but it's still hard to put down. I did feel that it dragged a little at parts and Lia rambled at bit too much sometimes but it always seemed to find its way again and became even more interesting. I thought the ending was perfect and fitting. Overall, it was a really intriguing and insightful read and I would recommend it to anybody.

For more of my reviews and recommendations, visit my blog: here

[thoughtsofjoylibrary · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Eighteen-year-old Lia struggles with the eating disorder, anorexia. Her detailed trials and tribulations are brought to our attention through this first person narrative.The interview with Laurie Halse Anderson at the end of the audiobook really makes this book come alive. It assists in our understanding that just because the story of Wintergirls is fiction, doesn't mean that the emotions and thoughts of this troubled girl are fiction, as well. Anderson included her personal research and the challenging thoughts she has had of her own body image.The depth of Lia's despair was devastating and being in her mind was a very scary place to be. Listening to the magnitude of particular thoughts that propelled her into action was difficult, especially knowing outsiders can only do so much to help. While negative, repetitive thoughts are part of the disorder, for me as a reader, it became a bit redundant. Lia is a great example of the exhausting effects those types of repetitive thoughts can have on an individual and how they effect those closest to them.Originally posted on: Thoughts of Joy

[ann.elizabeth · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the intense, poetic story of Lia, an eighteen year-old anorexic who is seeing frightening visions of her recently dead best friend, Cassie. Cassie (a bulemic) and Lia were estranged at the time of her death, but Lia is devastated by a guilty secret: on the night she died alone and drunk in a motel room, Cassie called Lia 33 times on her cell phone, but Lia never picked up.Previously in and out of treatment for her eating disorder, Lia begins a downward spiral of starvation and withdrawl from her life and her family. Her mind whispers vicious incantations about how stupid/ugly/fat she is, and Lia wants nothing more than encase herself in ice and waste away to nothing. The mystery of Cassie's death keeps tugging at her, though. Did Cassie kill herself? And what did her friend need to tell her? For grades 8 and up.

[amyghilton · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book takes a rare look inside the mind of a girl with an eating disorder. She has been starving herself for so long, that she begins to hallucinate, and dementia takes over. Her thoughts are so obscure, you don't know if she's hallucinating, or in reality. Her best friend has already died a horrible death from being a bulimic for 8 years, but that doesn't stop her. She has such a horrible self image of herself, that she calls herself a "fat pig" even though she weighs only 90 pounds. Her ultimate goal is to get down to 75 pounds, and then maybe she'll be happy, but she knows that it will never be enough. It's so sad that this is reality for a lot of girls in our society today, and I just can't understand why they feel the need to starve until their bodies are mere skeletons.

[khallbee · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Best friends Lia and Cassie have everything going for them. They're slim, beautiful, middle-class teenagers on the fast-track to college. Unbeknownst to their families, however, these two girls are locked in a dangerous competition that survives even after Cassie's death. Laurie Halse Anderson embellishes this lurid tale of teen angst and mental illness with innovative writing techniques that take us directly into Lia's stream of consciousness. While high school girls will no doubt identify with Lia's rebellion, repression, and desperation, the neat wrap-up to this cautionary tale provides just enough reassurance to prevent the story from devolving into nihilism. Young adults may find this book titillating, deeply disturbing, or both, but Halse's masterful ability to identify with her audience reveals a profound empathy for the plight of Lia and all the other teenage girls who wrote to her, begging for their story to be told.

[tjensen_82 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Tough read.

[sues7 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Extraordinary story that illuminates the life of an anorexic.

[librarycin · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

4.25 starsLia is 18 and struggling with anorexia. Her best friend, Cassie, was bulemic and has just died. Lia is trying to deal with Cassie's death (difficult with Cassie's ghost haunting her) and the guilt she feels because she didn't pick up the phone any of the 33 times Cassie called the night she died. Lia lives with her father and his new wife, Jennifer, and her daughter, Emma. Lia's mother is trying to mend their relationship while also making sure Lia is eating. This was really good. I think probably very realistic. I got soo frustrated with Lia, plenty of times. I listened to the audio and like the way they did it, with the occasional sound effect (just a little beep here and there), although at the start of the book, I was a little confused by all the numbers - the way the chapters are read (like Lia keeping track of her weight), and numbers representing calories. But, I did figure it out and thought it was well done (though the chapters, I would have understood sooner if I was reading the print). At the end of the book, the author read the acknowledgments herself, and that was followed by a short interview with her and a poem she wrote about her earlier book, Speak. Very interesting. I'll give an extra 1/4 star for the audio.

[jrlibrary · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'm probably one of the last people to read this book. It was talked about years and years ago and I purchased it right away but I was afraid to read it because I love the author and I didn't think I'd like the content. Much to my surprise I really enjoyed reading about Lia and her struggles.

[alice_spar · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Wintergirls was impossible for me to put down. Laurie Halse Anderson certainly has a gift for keeping readers hooked into plots concerning subjects that, in reality, usually don't impress me. But this book, grabbing my attention and holding it until the end, was an exception. These days, it is rare for a book to be suspenseful, meaningful, and somewhat moral and deep (unlike the majority of modern, shallow books being circulated), but I believe Wintergirls has somewhat accomplished these tasks.Tracing a teenage girl's anorexia problems to the origins, this book clearly illustrates how one emotional blow can turn someone's perspective upside-down and send the person into an almost irreparable tumult. A must-read to understand the crazed mind of an anorexic and why to not plummet down that path.

[snozzberry_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Summary: Lia and her best friend Cassie made a pact to become skinny together. But then Cassie drops Lia, and a few months later Lia finds out Cassie has been found dead.Review: I didn’t want to read this. I knew what it was about—a girl with an eating disorder—and I didn’t want to knowingly subject myself to that world of pain.But then I went to my favorite locally owned bookstore to hear Laurie Halse Anderson speak. I got there too early and didn’t have anything to read with me, so I picked up Wintergirls and read the first 15 pages. It took all my self control to put it back on the shelf and wait for it to come in at my library.I finished this book in less than 24 hours, on a workday no less. Lia was so real to me that when I wasn’t actually reading, she’s all I could think about: Would she pull through? How long til she hit bottom? Would it be too late?Lia’s story haunted me because I know that countless girls out there have stories just like hers. Now that I have a daughter, this issue hits close to home. I can’t protect her from the impossible idea of “beauty” on TV, in magazines, from other kids. What can I do as a parent to foster a healthy body image? I really don’t know.Reading Lia’s story convinced me that not knowing the answer to that question is unacceptable. So if you know of any good nonfiction books on this topic, please let me know.I highly recommend this amazing book. And when you’re done reading it yourself, lend your copy to a parent you know.

[pmlyayakkers · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Lia suffers from anorexia nervosa. Her best friend, Cassie, just died alone in a motel room as a result of her own bulimia. Lia feels haunted by Cassie. To remain in control, she must not eat. She must get thinner and thinner until maybe she just disappears. Her family is busy, and doesn't seem to notice that as she disappears.

[srqlover · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a sad book on one hand but also so very real. Anorexia and Bulemia are very real and this book is one of those that basically smacks you right in the face with it. I thoroughly enjoyed this book although it is so far outside my realm of what I normally read.

Lia is a teenager who is fighting a battle within herself. Eating disorders are not all fun and games and what starts out as something seemingly innocent, can suddenly turn into a life and death battle.

[kwskultety · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I would give this 10 stars if I could. Scary, intense, intelligent, and downright truthful story about anorexia and one girl's decent into Hell. Written superbly, it captures her mindset as her demons slowly squeeze the life out of her body and her mind. Wow. Just wow.

[a9shelf9apart · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Beautiful writing that left me cold and hungry.

[curious_squid · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Heard about this book, thought I'd read it myself. It was melodramatic,(duh its a YA book) disturbing, and really, really, sad oh how I cried....

[lflareads · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Lia and Cassie are best of friends, but sometimes friends are not what they seem. Lia’s best friend died after suffering from anorexia, Lia is suffering, too. Throughout the novel, Lia struggles with her body image, anorexia, and feelings about Cassie. “And that’s the problem. When you’re alive, people can hurt you. It is easier to crawl into a bone cage or a snowdrift of confusion.”Will she acknowledge “Food is life.” before it is too late?

[jesseekag · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book talks about a very hard topic which we do need to address with young girls around the world. Its clear the author had done research while writing the book, but it was a typical story line.

[dara85 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Lia's best friend, Cassie just has died as a result of bulimia. Lia is anorexic and continually sets goals to lose five more pounds. Cassie comes back to haunt Lia and urge her to join her.

[nickelini · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This very well-written YA novel tells the story of 18 year old Lia's reaction to her best friend Cassie's sudden death. Lia, who is already a seriously ill anorexic, spirals out of control in an orgy of guilt, self-loathing and destructive behavior. In addition to her anorexia, Lia also cuts herself to "relieve" her pain. I have found that characters who are obsessive and compulsive people--whether they are suffering from eating disorders, drug addiction, or whatever, are ultimately boring and unlikeable in their self-absorption, and Lia was no different. However, Anderson's writing is strong enough to overcome this inherited weakness in the story. Further, Lia's support network is made up of complex, mostly-sympathetic characters. This makes for a strong book, and a fine example of a YA novel. Recommended for: This is an excellent fictional treatment of anorexia, and is a must-read for anyone in a relationship with an anorexic. Caution should be used in giving this to someone who has eating disorders, or who could potentially have eating disorders. No, the book won't turn someone into an anorexic, but for one with those tendencies, it could be a trigger. For more on this, see the excellent article in the NYTimes Health section, The Troubling Allure of Eating-Disorder Books. In particular, look at the 155 reader comments.

[welfycat · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The prose in this book is perfect, sharp and painful perfection. It is a very painful and powerful exploration of mental illness, particularly anorexia, self harm, and depression. The descriptions of each are spot on (as a survivor of all three) and the story is an excellent introduction to what it is like living with mental illness - the secrecy and the loss of reality in particular. The one issue I had with the story was that it was a very textbook and typical case of anorexia. It makes sense for the audience this is directed at, but falls into the trap of letting the many types and styles of anorexia slip by unnoticed. One of the most dangerous rationalizations for those suffering to make is that it isn't anorexia because they still eat some types of food or they still eat sugary foods or chocolate or baked goods. Many people who have struggled with eating disordered behavior subsist nearly entirely on so called "junk food" and their disordered eating is just as serious as the completely restrictive type of anorexia. Finally, a note of warning to those who are in recovery for disordered eating or self injury. Please use care when choosing to read this books and have support and resources available to you during and after. The headspace in this book could easily lead to a relapse.

[khal_khaleesi · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

(This review can be found on my blog All the Ups and Downs soon).

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson was one of those books that had me hooked after reading the synopsis. Luckily, this book didn't disappoint.

The pacing started off a little slow. Luckily, the chapters were fairly short most of the time. The short chapters are what kept me reading. Eventually, probably about a third of the way in, the pacing picks up, and I couldn't put Wintergirls down.

The plot was interesting, and it was obvious that the author, Laurie Halse Anderson, had done plenty of research when it came to anorexia and bulimia. It was also great to see Cassie, Lia's best friend, as part of the plot in the form of a "ghost." The plot of Wintergirls is something that those who have anorexia or have had it in the past can relate to. There are no plot twists, but this isn't a type of book that requires them due to the subject matter.

The world building was very believable and very well written thanks to the obvious research done by Laurie Halse Anderson. I felt like I was allowed into Lia's world and to see what she was going through. It was so easy to see her struggle as well as the struggle of those around her. I wanted Lia to get better for the sake of her family, but I could see what Lia was dealing with.

The writing style for Wintergirls did bother me at first, but I grew accustomed to it. Eventually, I did start liking the way in which Wintergirls was written. It is definitely very symbolic throughout.

I thought the characters were written well enough. I could sort of relate to Lia and her relationship (or lack of) with food. I would have liked a bit more insight as to what triggered her to develop an eating disorder although it is briefly mentioned in the book. I would have liked to know a little more about Cassie so I could picture her a little better. I loved the relationship between Lia and her stepsister, Emma. It was such a sweet relationship, and I loved how much love there was between the two girls. I felt like Lia's mom was a bit high strung, but I think that's how she was meant to come across. It did seem like all of Lia's family cared about her though.

Trigger warnings include eating disorders, self harm (cutting), underage drinking, death, mental illness, drug mention, and swearing.

Overall, Wintergirls starts off slow, but it does get better. The plot is a subject that many teen girls will or have dealt with. The world building is realistic, and the characters are great. I would definitely recommend Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson especially to those aged 14 - 21.

[catherinehsu · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book was amazingly chilling: the writing style, typography, characters. It was terrifying realistic - another beautiful book from Laurie Halse Anderson about the struggles and pain people go through on the road to recovery.

[thebookmagpie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Thoughts later - this was difficult to digest, if you pardon the pun.

[jennysbookbag.com · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The first Laurie Halse Anderson novel I read was Speak and I instantly became a fan of her writing. Her writing style is engaging, yet unassuming. Both books that I read were about issues that interest me. Wintergirls is by far, the best novel that I've ever read that features a protagonist with an eating disorder.

Most eating disorder fiction novels read more like a procedural manual. They focus so much on the day-to-day behaviors of people with anorexia or bulimia that you get the impression that they're giving you tips rather than getting into the minds of these sufferers.

Laurie Halse Anderson got it right. She focused on the character's mental anguish and behaviors like calorie counting took the back seat. I wanted to know how anorexics feel, not how they hide their disorder. You'll know exactly how Lia feels while she struggles with her anorexia.

At one point Lia finally opens up to her therapist and her therapist's insight had some wonderful depth to it, especially in this conversation when Lia tells her therapist that she sees and speaks to Cassie's spirit:

"You think I made it up," I say. "You don't believe that I see ghosts."

"I believe that you've created a metaphorical universe in which you can express your darkest fears. In one aspect, yes, I believe in ghosts, but we create them. We haunt ourselves, and sometimes we do such a good job, we lose track of reality."

I highly recommend this novel to anyone who's curious about Laurie Halse Anderson's novels or anyone who's looking for a great eating disorder fiction novel.

[lilibrarian · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Lia suffers from anorexia nervosa. Her best friend, Cassie, just died alone in a motel room as a result of her own bulimia. Lia feels haunted by Cassie. To remain in control, she must not eat. She must get thinner and thinner until maybe she just disappears. Her family is busy, and doesn't seem to notice that as she disappears.

[laurenreads · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is painful to read yet I couldnt put it down.The book follows Lia as she struggles with anorexia, a friends death, step parents, parents and coming to see how her hurting herself hurts others.The book highlights an important subject, that people especially teenagers go through. The book was painful to read as you saw how this girl whos starving and hurting herself thinks no one cares yet people do care and she cant see that shes hurting them.I loved the book as it raises awareness on a serious topic that some people arent brave enough to acknowledge.The book for me was a very satisfying read and I would recommend to Teens with a slight trigger warning.