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flordemaga's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Mental illness, Eating disorder, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, and Self harm
Moderate: Bullying, Medical content, Blood, Fatphobia, Toxic friendship, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Forced institutionalization
meyraa's review against another edition
3.0
୨⎯ rating 3.5 ★/5 ⎯୧
“i failed eating, failed drinking, failed not cutting myself into shreds, failed friendship, failed sisterhood, and daughterhood. failed mirrors and scales and phone calls, good thing im stable.”
— loved this book soo much couldn’t put it down the way she’s soo me love her soo much the writing was also soo good the way her eating disorder was soo good portrayed as someone who is also dealing with an eating disorder
i felt soo seen because of her character this book means the world to me but still it just kinda felt meh to me like i loved it but also i felt like it was missing something yk but still i loved it couldn’t put it down
“i failed eating, failed drinking, failed not cutting myself into shreds, failed friendship, failed sisterhood, and daughterhood. failed mirrors and scales and phone calls, good thing im stable.”
— loved this book soo much couldn’t put it down the way she’s soo me love her soo much the writing was also soo good the way her eating disorder was soo good portrayed as someone who is also dealing with an eating disorder
i felt soo seen because of her character this book means the world to me but still it just kinda felt meh to me like i loved it but also i felt like it was missing something yk but still i loved it couldn’t put it down
kayla_ventura's review against another edition
5.0
Before I read Speak, I was told that it was one of the best books of our time. After I read it, I was just not impressed, so that turned me off of reading Anderson for a while. About a year and a half later I'm searching through the library and the librarian told me I had to read Wintergirls because it was so good, again I was skeptical after the let down from reading Speak, but I knew I would be able to read it quickly therefore I checked it out.
I must say I was pleasantly surprised. I thought this book was interesting, as well as heart-wrenching. I was moved by Lia and how much she cared for Emma when she couldn't care or take care of herself. It gave a very realistic view of what people with eating disorders suffer with and I think Anderson wrote it in a fabulous way.
I must say I was pleasantly surprised. I thought this book was interesting, as well as heart-wrenching. I was moved by Lia and how much she cared for Emma when she couldn't care or take care of herself. It gave a very realistic view of what people with eating disorders suffer with and I think Anderson wrote it in a fabulous way.
manha10's review against another edition
5.0
This book WAS SO GOOD!!! Every time I picked it up I got sucked into the story and before I knew I had read 70 pages in one sitting at school. I didn’t expect much less from Laurie Halse Anderson speak is one of my favorites and winter girls is the same. The portrayal of anorexia though I don’t know if accurate was raw and authentic and I enjoyed the main character. I felt the way she felt trapped and surrounded by people WHO JUST DOESNT UNDERSTAND HER just tells her to do something like it’s so easy I got her frustrations and wanting to run away from it all. I also liked the portrayal of grief after her best friend died. Her parents were not my favorite but I really enjoyed the character Elijah because he represents the real people in our world. I l loved this book so much and cannot wait to read more of this authors work.
parkerdavis's review against another edition
5.0
i truly think that everyone has “that” book that changed them. this book is a top contender for that spot. i’ve never read such a raw book; i truly thought Lia was going to die. but the see-glass saved her, and Cassie missed her best friend, wishing she had called sooner. 5/5. 10/10. 100/100. need i go on?
caobooks's review against another edition
3.0
Hmmm. Wintergirls did so many things right and so many things wrong. It has the potential to be alarmingly triggering, as Laurie Halse Anderson paints a convincingly tragic picture of what a real illness can look like. However, for healthy adults or adolescents with impeccable wellbeing, this book offers niche insight and empathy to sufferers of severe anorexia nervosa. Here are some aspects that stood out to me.
Lia's narration: 4 stars
Lia is an intolerable narrator. She is self-absorbed, oblivious to the good in her life, and incredibly melodramatic. BUT she is grieving the loss of her childhood best friend and suffering from a debilitating illness. She is plagued by intrusive thoughts about food, body, and self. What else can we expect from the girl! I think Laurie Halse Anderson was spot on in her delivery of how a teenager might cope during such a challenging time. I did not like Lia, but my heart broke for her.
Depiction of eating disorders: 3.5 stars
Lia's anorexia nervosa feels very real. It is not her fault and it is consuming her. She prides herself on being disciplined and "strong." Simultaneously she cannot do anything right by her ED. She is overwhelmed by obsession, compulsion, and shame. It's often tough to read how resistant Lia is to everyone trying to help her, instead throwing herself into further debilitation. Laurie Halse Anderson does not glorify anorexia nervosa in this novel. She shows its dishonesty, isolation, and even gore. Still, I would not recommend this book to anyone with any kind of disordered eating or body image concerns (or struggles with self-harm, for that matter). Overall, I think she did an excellent job of offering a personal account of what a few individual cases of EDs may look like. Not every person with AN or BN will think or act just like Lia or Cassie, but the intense pathology of these illnesses is compelling.
Side characters: 2 stars
Cassie was a horrible friend to Lia. But some teenagers are. I just didn't like her one bit. Emma is a kind, sweet hearted, girl. Lia's mom, dad, and stepmom were flawed, but they all cared for Lia in an at least superficial way. What I am really writing this section for is Elijah and all I need to say is what??? Anyway, that man gave me the heebie jeebies every time he appeared on page.
Lia's narration: 4 stars
Lia is an intolerable narrator. She is self-absorbed, oblivious to the good in her life, and incredibly melodramatic. BUT she is grieving the loss of her childhood best friend and suffering from a debilitating illness. She is plagued by intrusive thoughts about food, body, and self. What else can we expect from the girl! I think Laurie Halse Anderson was spot on in her delivery of how a teenager might cope during such a challenging time. I did not like Lia, but my heart broke for her.
Depiction of eating disorders: 3.5 stars
Lia's anorexia nervosa feels very real. It is not her fault and it is consuming her. She prides herself on being disciplined and "strong." Simultaneously she cannot do anything right by her ED. She is overwhelmed by obsession, compulsion, and shame. It's often tough to read how resistant Lia is to everyone trying to help her, instead throwing herself into further debilitation. Laurie Halse Anderson does not glorify anorexia nervosa in this novel. She shows its dishonesty, isolation, and even gore. Still, I would not recommend this book to anyone with any kind of disordered eating or body image concerns (or struggles with self-harm, for that matter).
Spoiler
On a side note, I, for one, found the depiction of Cassie's long-term bulimia nervosa and death quite poignant. Laurie Halse Anderson bluntly shows the traumatic--and simply gross--consequences of EDs.Side characters: 2 stars
Cassie was a horrible friend to Lia. But some teenagers are. I just didn't like her
Spoiler
or ghost herSpoiler
That relationship took up a decent portion of the book and I was uncomfortable for all of it. The way he is described as "a few years older" than Lia (who is in high school and barely 18). How he's just some random guy at a motel who makes innuendos toward her and she decides to get in a car with him??? Multiple times. How her parents don't know anything about him, nor do they have a problem with their deathly ill daughter being unaccounted for for hours--days???almyworld's review against another edition
4.0
The metaphors used throughout the book were beautiful, although sometimes it got a little confusing if the passage talked about the present or the past. I see why it is such a controversial book, but all these little details in Lias hurtful way of living are important to portray one style of having an ED, well at least it's my opinion. The last pages really let me teared up, it is really an emotional book, one of which you should read the trigger warnings before starting to read it.
jenmangler's review against another edition
4.0
This is such an important book. And while it's not an easy book to read, I couldn't put it down.
knitnetic's review against another edition
4.0
Lia and Cassie have been best friends since grade school, when Cassie's family moved in next door to Lia's. Together, they faced the typical teenage girl experiences -- bullying, boys, school. But they also shared another connection -- their dangerous eating disorders. Cassie is bulimic, eating thousands upon thousands of calories, then ridding her body of them by vomiting. Lia, on the other hand, refuses to eat at all. Though Cassie remains a normal size while getting sicker and sicker, Lia's family refuses to watch her waste away and sends her to rehab multiple times, beginning the girls' estrangement
It comes as a surprise to everyone, then, when Cassie is the one found dead in a hotel room one night after Thanksgiving. The guilt is overwhelming for Lia, who feels that she should be the one lying dead in the morgue. Drowning in guilt, Lia struggles to hold on to her recovery and her very life.
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This is probably one of the most triggering books I've ever ready. Told through Lia's eyes, this is one of the most accurate depictions of an eating disorder that I've read. The very definition of an unreliable narrator, we get a front row seat as Lia's sanity unravels. While the other aspects of the plot -- what happened to Cassie, Lia's relationship with a young man who works at the hotel, Lia's family struggles -- are interesting, it is her eating disorder's progression that takes the front seat.
That being said, I would warn anyone who has struggled with an eating disorder themselves to think long and hard before reading this book. The voices that run through Lia's head may be a little too triggering for anyone not in full recovery. Alternatively, you may want to sit down and read the entire book in one go, seeing Lia go from recovery to relapse all at once. The book is a fairly quick read, so this should easily be possible.
Overall, this is a wonderful book for anyone interested in the experience of an eating disorder.
It comes as a surprise to everyone, then, when Cassie is the one found dead in a hotel room one night after Thanksgiving. The guilt is overwhelming for Lia, who feels that she should be the one lying dead in the morgue. Drowning in guilt, Lia struggles to hold on to her recovery and her very life.
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This is probably one of the most triggering books I've ever ready. Told through Lia's eyes, this is one of the most accurate depictions of an eating disorder that I've read. The very definition of an unreliable narrator, we get a front row seat as Lia's sanity unravels. While the other aspects of the plot -- what happened to Cassie, Lia's relationship with a young man who works at the hotel, Lia's family struggles -- are interesting, it is her eating disorder's progression that takes the front seat.
That being said, I would warn anyone who has struggled with an eating disorder themselves to think long and hard before reading this book. The voices that run through Lia's head may be a little too triggering for anyone not in full recovery. Alternatively, you may want to sit down and read the entire book in one go, seeing Lia go from recovery to relapse
Spoiler
and back againOverall, this is a wonderful book for anyone interested in the experience of an eating disorder.
mdevlin923's review against another edition
2.0
Lia--struggling with body dysmorphic disorder, anorexia and self-harm--must now come to terms with the death of her best friend, Cassie (who died from bulimia). Lia and Cassie had promised each other to be wintergirls: frozen in their perfect size 0 bodies. But each girl has taken it too far...and now, after Cassie's death, Lia spirals out of control from her own issues, guilt, and Cassie's ghost.
While I recognize that this book has meant so much to many different women and girls...Anderson's writing was just way too graphic for me. I spent the entire book feeling anxious and nauseated. I will still recommend it to young adults (and even adults!) because it is apparent that Anderson put a lot of work into researching the many issues in this book, as such it can provide a lot of insight into anorexia/bulimia, self-harm, and body dysmorphic disorder.
While I recognize that this book has meant so much to many different women and girls...Anderson's writing was just way too graphic for me. I spent the entire book feeling anxious and nauseated. I will still recommend it to young adults (and even adults!) because it is apparent that Anderson put a lot of work into researching the many issues in this book, as such it can provide a lot of insight into anorexia/bulimia, self-harm, and body dysmorphic disorder.