Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

I read Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson this week for Banned Books Week. This is the third young adult novel I've read by Laurie Halse Anderson and as usual, her writing is powerful, emotional, and phenomenal! I've also read and reviewed Speak and Catalyst by Laurie Halse Anderson.

With that said, I found Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson to be a difficult novel to read. In fact, Wintergirls is my least favorite novel by the author to date as I found it to be too raw and depressing. Wintergirls deals with anorexia, bulimia, and cutting/self-mutilation.

According to an article I discovered on the Penguin Teen website titled, 10 Books to Celebrate During Banned Books Week, Wintergirls has been banned because it "has been said to be like a 'guide' for teens who want to starve themselves, and possibly triggering for those who have suffered."

Below is the plot summary for Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson from Amazon:

“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.

I am giving Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!