Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Synopsis (as taken from Goodreads): 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 step-mother 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
S’s Rating: ❤❤ ½ (out of five hearts)
D’s Thoughts:
As much as Laurie Halse Anderson is not S's favorite author, I really do love her books. Speak actually isn't my favorite (but I will admit that it's my guilty pleasure), nor is Wintergirls. The nerd girl that takes too much for granted that essentially describes me simply adores Catalyst above all else. But hey, that's another story for another day.
Why did I choose this book for our sister read? Well, for starters, I expected more out of the book, so it would be more enjoyable for us...I'll get there momentarily. More importantly, however, I chose Wintergirls because I know S and I have both felt the way the main characters, Cassie and Lia, felt. I didn't feel the need to deny myself food because I had to be the most gorgeous person, though, but instead because I felt undeserving of food entirely. This made it harder for me to connect with Lia, as I didn't understand why she cared so much about how she looked to others when she made absolutely no respectable attempt to communicate or socialize with anyone. I suppose that's a mental aspect of anorexia that will never be clear to me. The lack of logic in a single character--not just Lia, but everyone--was what turned me off to this book. It's either a real eye-opener to how little people think or a poor plot execution. I believe it's a little of both.
The thing that redeemed (and then some) Wintergirls was Anderson's astounding analogies and way of expressing the emotions of a broken girl. Throughout the book, Anderson would literally cross out what Lia was actually thinking and replace it with something more acceptable. I personally wouldn't have ever thought of that! Additionally, as you'll see in my quotes section, she composes bold-yet-fragile statements that, when taken out of context, are beautiful--not conceitedly, but silently so--and are too easy to relate to in the ways you don't really want to talk about, in the ways you don't really want to remember...
And that is why Wintergirls will still be memorable.
Standout Quotes:"The doctors tied me back together with twine...they tied me back together, but they didn't use double knots. My insides are draining out of the fault lines in my skin, I can feel it, but every time I check the bandages, they're dry."
"...Anesthetic turns into poison and by then it's too late because you are mainlining it now, straight into your soul. It is rotting you and you can't stop.
Look into a mirror and find a ghost. Hear every heartbeat scream that everysinglething is wrong with you.
"Why [we hurt ourselves] is the wrong question. Ask "Why not?""
"Dr. Parker and all my parents live in a papier-mache world. They patch up problems with strips of newspaper and a little glue."
"There is no magic cure, no making it all go away forever. There are only small steps upward; an easier day, an unexpected laugh..."
Album to listen to while reading this book: Not an album, but instead the Deryck Cooke version of Gustav Mahler's 10th Symphony. For those who don't know, Mahler died before completing this work, and it is often said that he knew he was dying when he wrote the 10th Symphony. The piece reflects on the choice between life and death. Just. Like. Wintergirls.
As much as Laurie Halse Anderson is not S's favorite author, I really do love her books. Speak actually isn't my favorite (but I will admit that it's my guilty pleasure), nor is Wintergirls. The nerd girl that takes too much for granted that essentially describes me simply adores Catalyst above all else. But hey, that's another story for another day.
Why did I choose this book for our sister read? Well, for starters, I expected more out of the book, so it would be more enjoyable for us...I'll get there momentarily. More importantly, however, I chose Wintergirls because I know S and I have both felt the way the main characters, Cassie and Lia, felt. I didn't feel the need to deny myself food because I had to be the most gorgeous person, though, but instead because I felt undeserving of food entirely. This made it harder for me to connect with Lia, as I didn't understand why she cared so much about how she looked to others when she made absolutely no respectable attempt to communicate or socialize with anyone. I suppose that's a mental aspect of anorexia that will never be clear to me. The lack of logic in a single character--not just Lia, but everyone--was what turned me off to this book. It's either a real eye-opener to how little people think or a poor plot execution. I believe it's a little of both.
The thing that redeemed (and then some) Wintergirls was Anderson's astounding analogies and way of expressing the emotions of a broken girl. Throughout the book, Anderson would literally cross out what Lia was actually thinking and replace it with something more acceptable. I personally wouldn't have ever thought of that! Additionally, as you'll see in my quotes section, she composes bold-yet-fragile statements that, when taken out of context, are beautiful--not conceitedly, but silently so--and are too easy to relate to in the ways you don't really want to talk about, in the ways you don't really want to remember...
And that is why Wintergirls will still be memorable.
Standout Quotes:"The doctors tied me back together with twine...they tied me back together, but they didn't use double knots. My insides are draining out of the fault lines in my skin, I can feel it, but every time I check the bandages, they're dry."
"...Anesthetic turns into poison and by then it's too late because you are mainlining it now, straight into your soul. It is rotting you and you can't stop.
Look into a mirror and find a ghost. Hear every heartbeat scream that everysinglething is wrong with you.
"Why [we hurt ourselves] is the wrong question. Ask "Why not?""
"Dr. Parker and all my parents live in a papier-mache world. They patch up problems with strips of newspaper and a little glue."
"There is no magic cure, no making it all go away forever. There are only small steps upward; an easier day, an unexpected laugh..."
Album to listen to while reading this book: Not an album, but instead the Deryck Cooke version of Gustav Mahler's 10th Symphony. For those who don't know, Mahler died before completing this work, and it is often said that he knew he was dying when he wrote the 10th Symphony. The piece reflects on the choice between life and death. Just. Like. Wintergirls.
S’s Thoughts:
Ahhh… Laurie Halse Anderson… the author of Speak, that much overrated-everyone’s-reading-it-in-high-school-so-I-should-too book. I hated Speak… probably because it was the book to read. I don’t know. Moving on from that though, let’s have a look at Wintergirls.
I found the book to be a bit unnerving in that I could see some of my habits within Lia’s. Not to the extreme as with her but I do count calories constantly (though I don’t know calories by heart) and I do work out on almost a daily basis nowadays. I’ve lost nearly 30lbs since January, not out of compulsion but because I had to, both for my self esteem and my physical health. Lia, on the other hand, is without a doubt extremely anorexic.
I knew girls like Lia and Cassie growing up. Starvation and bulimia are infectious, especially when your friends are doing it, and I’d be lying if I said I’d never tried either. Really though? I like chocolate way too much and I hate barfing, so both options were immediately out. Some of these girls now have serious health problems from diabetes to being infertile. It’s sad, really. But I do know what it’s like, to feel that desperate need to be thin or to be “clean.” It’s a tough emotion, one that I still occasionally struggle with.
So what did I like about the book? While I didn’t like/appreciate Speak, Anderson’s almost lyrical prose is very engaging. She reminds me a lot of one of my favourite authors, Francesca Lia Block. That’s definitely a plus in my book! (If you haven’t read anything by Block, smack yourself and then pick up I Was a Teenage Fairy.)
What didn’t I like? I’m not sure what it was about this book that made me give it 2 ½ hearts. I just didn’t feel like I liked it very much. It wasn’t a bad book, it wasn’t a fantastic book. Insert shrug of shoulders here.
Standout Quotes:
"I don't need a muffin (410), I don't want an orange (75) or toast (87), and waffles (180) make me gag."
Album to listen to while reading this book:
September’s book is S’s choice and is Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman. It may be super early in the month or towards the end as S will be relaxing on the beach for two weeks in the middle of the month. Additionally, D will have begun school and will have a marching band competition almost every Saturday, plus a few details regarding S and D's mother's upcoming marriage. Be jealous of S and extend your innermost pity to D!
See you soon! S & D
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