Wintergirls - Laurie Halse Anderson

03/19/18

Wintergirls, by Laurie Halse Anderson, is written in a very personal way. It almost seems like a journal, but not entirely. The different chapters are not written in a journal entry format, but the personal thoughts of the character, Lia, come through. There are parts of sentences that are crossed out and replaced by a different name. For example; “My throat wants it my brain wants it my blood wants it my hand does not want this my mouth does not want this” (p. 20). I think these moments in the story where important thoughts are crossed out add more to the characterization of Lia than the rest of the story. We learn early on that she is a calorie counter, and that she has anorexia. Her best friend Cassie died before the story starts, and she continuously mentions that Cassie called her thirty times before she died.

The theme of this story that stood out to me was struggle. We see the main character spiraling from the first chapter, and she continues to fall. This story deals with death, eating disorders, and parents. We learn that Cassie was unseen by her parents, and that they tried to mold her into a girl that she could never be. Lia was the friend that tried to help her, but in the end, it didn’t work. Lia’s stepmother and her father both say things like “Thank God you’re stronger than she was” (p. 4). But we, as readers, see Lia falling apart; something that the parents are, apparently, unaware of. But comments like those are completely unfair. Our culture today continually tells us that people who commit suicide are “weak”, while people who can tough it out are “strong”. As long as someone is pushing through, they’re okay. That is untrue, and this book is working to break that belief.

Wintergirls puts parents in the background, as do most YA books. However, the parents are more present than in some other books. The parents are there physically, in the background much more than most books, but they are not there with the main character mentally. Lia ignores them for the most part because they are of no help to her. They are too distant from her. The text is appealing to adolescents because the main character is independent. She works through things on her own.

The book could be worrying to parents because it basically shows readers what having an eating disorder is like. The character counts calories and tells the readers how many she has in one sitting. At least, I found this concerning.

This story hit home for me in a way. Lia is constantly mentioning that Cassie called her before she died. She feels that Cassie’s death is her fault. When my friend of 8 years, whom I was no longer friends with in high school, committed suicide last year, over spring break. Before she died, she randomly started messaging me. I responded to them, but I was confused why she was messaging me. When she died, I started blaming myself. I thought I should have realized that she was messaging me either as some sort of a goodbye, or a cry for help. I wished I could go back and find her somehow and tell her not to do it.

While this book is bringing back some old thoughts, I really love it. It is making me realize that people other than me struggle with these things.

Grade: A