Wintergirls
Wintergirls
Laurie Halse Anderson
Lia didn't answer that phone that night. Cassie and her had once been best of pals, but had fallen so far apart that there was no way Cassie would be calling for any other reason than to prank her, right? But the 33 calls Cassie made that night were her final cries for help, and now she is gone. Could Lia have saved her if she had answered the phone? Where did things go so seriously wrong? Over the next few days, Lia tries to convince everyone that she is unaffected by this terrible news, that she is strong, healthy and needs no one. But like Cassie, her eating disorder is taking her precariously close to the edge. And Cassie won't leave her alone.
A harrowing and exhilarating journey into the mind of an anorexic teen girl, this book gives keen perspective into the struggle so many young girls are caught up in. The question is, does this book help find solutions to this awful psychological plague, or does it provide how-to tips for girls wanting nothing more than to be as thin as possible? Personally, I think those girls will find the information they seek on the web, as Lia does in the book, and the understanding of their world provided by this book will hopefully help parents and friends see through their tangle of lies, self-depreciation, and serious need for help. Having never suffered from such a disorder myself, I can't speak to accuracy or harm, but as a reader I found it gripping and haunting.
High school and up.