Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

"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 are best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies, competitors in a deadly contest to see who can be the skinniest. But what comes after size zero and size double-zero? When Cassie succumbs to the demons within, Lia feels she is being haunted by her friend's restless spirit.In her most emotionally wrenching, lyrically written book since the multiple-award-winning Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson explores Lia's descent into the powerful vortex of anorexia, and her painful path toward recovery.

Wintergirls is a haunting tale of a girl and her struggles with her body, her family, and the death of her ex-best friend.

The writing is remarkable; its style is catchy and adds to the raw feeling that come from Lia's thoughts. The story was very realistic and believable, it felt like I was reading the journal of a real girl who was in between life and death.

At some points Lia's pain really got to me, I wondered why should would hurt herself. But then I realized that she inflicted pain on herself because that was her own way of coping and trying and failing to get rid of the images of dead Cassie. And that she punishes her body by destroying it when her hunger overpowers her mind.

By far, this is the most alive and haunting novel I have ever read, it is powerful. Wintergirls is true, raw, and definitely a book that will stay with me and any of its readers. I highly recommend it.

Ratings:

Writing: 5/5
Story: 4/5
Character: 4/5
Cover: 4.5/5