She was a good girl from a good family, with everything she. Wintergirls came to my attention when i read writing irresistible kidlit by mary kole. In a world riddled with madefortv, paintbynumbers eating disorder cliche, wintergirls by laurie halse anderson separates itself from the pack. They make a pact to be the skinniest girls in school but both have different yet equally dangerous ways of reaching that goal.
Please be sensitive to this fact when creating an account and contributing to the board. And of course adults can get so much from them as well. A ya reading list for viewers of to the bone stacked books. Months after a fall out with her best friend cassie, lia. Wintergirls is deep and disturbing, but at the same time it is very real. These books have been challenged for a number of reasons, but each book has so. She consulted with a psychologists who specialized in treating eating disorders for over four decades. In the tradition of go ask alice and lucy in the sky, a harrowing account of anorexia and addiction. You can read more about the merits and potential problems with books about eating disorders in a ny times article on the troubling allure of eatingdisorder books. The troubling allure of eatingdisorder books the new york times. Five subtle differences between diets and anorexia. Mpa is a site dedicated to the support or recovery of those suffering from eating disorders or body dysmorphic disorders.
The author nails it, not as beautifully or articulately as marya hornbacher, but beautifully and articulately nonetheless. How books on anorexia can inadvertently become howto books for teens. In writing about eating disorders, are authors, unwittingly, creating an alluring guidebook to the disease. Wintergirls is a fiction novel by laurie halse anderson. Wintergirls is the story of eighteenyearold lia overbrook, an anorexic cutter who loathes her body, her family, and her life. Because although poor bodyimage and diet culture are problematic in their own right s, anorexia nervosa takes on a whole new level of dangerous. The two main characters, the wintergirls of the title, both have emotional problems that lead to and exacerbate their disorders. The book incapsulates the true hell that eating disorder s evoke in the lives of those who suffer from them as well as their loved ones. Laurie halse anderson writes some great ya books that really speak to the issues of teenagers. Normally i wait to read a book before i write about it, but this is being a very dense period with lots of travel. It also acknowledges the role online communities play in supporting disorders. This is why books about eating disorders are needed. According to the national eating disorder association, eating disorders affect over 70 million people worldwide.
This study guide consists of approximately 40 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of wintergirls. I can remember reading a book when i was around her age which made the dangers of anorexia and bulimia stick in my mind crystal clear, but cannot for the life of me remember the title. Anderson wrote this book because many girls wrote to her about their struggles with eating disorders, and a physician urged her to write it. Lia and cassie are best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick. For me it was nice to find a book that wasnt 50% bs, or some cute little story about a teenager who doesnt eat for a week and. Lia is the caucasian, teenaged daughter of divorced parents. She struggles to fight her mental illness while balancing everything else in her life. I ve heard many, many anorexia stories over my years of size acceptance work, and its an issue that always feels urgent to me. Inside the head of an anorexic childrens books the. I prefer fiction, but will read a memoir if you promise its super, super good. The sentences build a fence around her, a times roman 10point barricade, to keep the thorny voices in her head from getting too close. Goodreads members who liked wintergirls also liked. Here some of the best options for books about eating disorders out there, across several genres.
It is the closest ive ever seen to an actual version of someone with an eating disorder without making a mockery and it was actually a truthful side to it all. But, like speak, is an especially important read for any teenage girl in the united states today. I would definitely recommend wintergirls for adults and teenagers alike. The new young adult novel wintergirls by laurie halse anderson explores the haunting struggle of a teen with anorexia. Acute anorexia, selfmutilation, dysfunctional families and the death of a childhood friendreturning to psychological minefields akin to those explored in speak, anderson delivers a harrowing.
Wintergirls was the best fictionalized version of eating disorders that i have found. Wintergirls has plenty of descriptions about lias tactics to escape detection. Should authors be supplying readers with starvation tips and new various ways to give in to their disorder. I credit wasted for inspiring me to seek help, and i applaud wintergirls for its incredibly raw, realistic depiction of what its like to be a teen with an eating disorder. There are shocking descriptions of the impact of eating disorders on the body. She tabulates the calories of every item of food she eats or even sees, for that matter. Wintergirls follows lia who has been struggling with anorexia for years shes been in and out of a hospital for treatment twice, but its made no difference. She purposely wrote a book about rape for ages 1215 because that is the age in which many girls are raped. A memoir of anorexia and bulimia by marya hornbacher, unbearable lightness. Wintergirls is a novel by laurie halse anderson in which lia and cassies friendship becomes increasingly toxic after they both develop to eating disorders longtime friends. I personally think books like this are very important. This girl shivers and crawls under the covers with all her clothes on and falls into an overdue library book, a faerie story with rats and marrow and burning curses. It tells the story of a girl, lia overbrook, who suffers from anorexia and self harm. The troubling allure of eatingdisorder books the new.
She is an 18yearold girl, a senior in high school, and has been anorexic since middle school. Those numbers seem to be rising as well, due to the increased impact media has on our everyday lives. After the death of her best friend, lia is forced to deal with her own struggle with an eating disorder, or else face a similar fate. But from time to time, you come across a book that reminds you just why this is such an exciting and exacting field. Find books like wintergirls from the world s largest community of readers. Instead, anderson simultaneously explores both the brutally isolating self. Booktalking wintergirls by laurie halse anderson the. She covers multiple pages of the books with slogans like empty is good, empty. In her most emotionally wrenching, lyrically written book since the multipleawardwinning speak, laurie halse anderson explores a girls descent into the powerful vortex of anorexia, and her painful path toward recovery. Wintergirls was published by viking books for young readers on 19 march 2009. Wintergirls has been said to be like a guide for teens who. The new young adult novel wintergirls by laurie halse anderson.
Click on a title, author name or category to see similar books. Parents need to know this is a very, very intense book about the mental and physical pain endured by teens with eating disorders. I had heard of laurie halse anderson because speak is a banned book and that gets a lot of publicity during banned books week. Having struggled with an eating disorder as a teenager, i can attest that this book does true justice to the experience of anorexia.
The novel wintergirls by laurie halse anderson is narrated by the main character, lia overbrook. Wintergirls has many of the obsessions of current teen fiction, including the use of repetition and formatting to convey the state of mind of lia, the protagonist. I have read other books written by her, and i am truly a great fan. A memoir tells the story of her battle with anorexia, here she tells us what its like to have the torturous eating disorder and the. Healing from an eating disorder is almost as stigmatized in discussion as admitting the problem itself. From books like wintergirls to movies like starving in suburbia, the media presents a. Loved the book although i didnt like the ending cause it got too teenage book i can relate to your troubles bla bla blaish for me but otherwise it was great. If you liked wintergirls by laurie halse anderson, here are some books like this.
Wintergirls is one of best books released on 2009 containing 278 pages, this book written by laurie halse anderson whom known as an author and have wrote many interesting books with great story telling. Lia overbrook is the eighteenyearold protagonist of the novel. We need to bust eating disorder myths and discuss how theyre different from diets especially anorexia nervosa, which is categorized by restricting calories, just like a weightloss diet is. As fucked up as it is, i loved it for how triggering it was to me. Wintergirls by laurie halse anderson everyday reading. Halse andersons writing style is absolutely intriguing and poetic. Some of these quotes might be spoilers, it depends on how you look at them. As the book opens, lia is reeling from the loss of her estranged bestie, cassie. The books below take on eating disorders, treatment and recovery. Wintergirls, laurie halse andersons new novel, takes us into this dark, tyrannical world through the experience of lia, the 18yearold narrator, who has struggled with anorexia since the. Talking with tweens and teens about eating disorders a.