Wintergirls
Adriana Pires de Sousa
Lia has always been worried about how skinny she was, but things get worse when her best friend, Cassie, is found dead in a hotel room, alone. Lia tries but eating is more and more a struggle for her and she pretends to eat to make her parents and her stepmother leave her alone. And alone is how she feels, especially now that she realized that before dying, Cassie called her thirty-three times but she did not answer the phone. Was she responsible for Cassie’s death? Now Cassie`s ghost appears to remind Lia their promise to be the skinniest girls at school. And Lia never seems to get satisfied with her weight. She then sets some goals, 99 pounds, 95 pounds, 90 pounds… After all, that is all she is good at, being the skinniest.
Cassie is everywhere now, and Lia knows there is something wrong with her, but the ghost never seems to be willing to go away. Cassie wants Lia to join her in the afterworld, so she won`t be alone anymore. Everybody keeps analyzing Lia`s weight. She then sews coins in her robe in order to seem heavy, but not healthier, because… she must not eat. She counts every calorie, every item that should be ignored in order to make her feel strong, perfect, and Cassie does not go away, even in her funeral. She stands up from her coffin and calls for Lia again. Just a little bit and you will stay with me, says Cassie. I does not make Lia eat, though. She is strong, and brave enough and will make everything possible to avoid eating and everybody realizing she is deceiving everyone. She has serious issues with her mother, especially after the divorce. Her mother is a busy doctor but she could not take good care of her daughter and Lia had to go to the hospital for the first time for malnutrition. Then Lia moved to her father`s house and her stepmother, Jennifer would be the one responsible for her weight. The one who can actually help is Lia`s stepsister, Emma. Lia loves her and really cares for this little girl, and Emma adores her in return. She can save Lia, but Cassie doesn`t go away! Just a little bit and it is the end…
There is a boy looking for Lia, Elijah needs to leave her a message and he seems to be the only friend who can help her understand what really happened to Cassie. How did she die alone in a hotel room? Has she suffered a lot? Is this the reason why she keeps coming to see Lia? Or is Lia just sick? And she keeps losing weight and she becomes weak. Her body craves for food but she resists because she is strong, she has to lose weight. Her body is so damaged by the lack of food and laxatives that when she tries to eat more, she gets sick, she can`t go on. Then Elijah finally leaves her the message. What did Cassie want to tell Lia? She wanted to say that she gave up, Lia won the competition, she was the skinniest. Lia was guilty for Cassie`s death. She could not feel anything anymore. Then, she goes home and when she realizes she is alone she decides to feel something. She turns the music on the last volume, takes a knife and cuts deep from her neck to her heart. She feels something at last. Emma is the one who finds her in the bathroom, the vision of so much blood made the little girl cry and now she can not sleep anymore. Lia is responsible again. Lia goes to the hospital and stays there until she feels better and gain some weight. She is back home, she is miserable though. She tries to run away again, then she goes to Elijah`s house with all the money she has been saving. He does not help her, he runs away with her money and this is her time to stay in the hotel room, alone. Will she finally die? Will she give herself another chance?
The book is fascinating. Laurie H. Anderson makes us understand what really happens in the mind of an anorexic girl, from the girl`s perspective. It makes us see and feel the anguish, the pain and the despair. The structure the book was written is more informal, more journalistic according to the own writer and makes the reading more interesting and even faster. The writer uses structures like crossed words and blank pages to make the reader closer to what Lia is feeling. An excellent book for parents, to understand and help their children who suffer from such devastating health problem and also an excellent book for High School students to debate in class. A must read book for all educators and teenagers!
This link has a Portuguese report for Brazilian Students.
Lia has always been worried about how skinny she was, but things get worse when her best friend, Cassie, is found dead in a hotel room, alone. Lia tries but eating is more and more a struggle for her and she pretends to eat to make her parents and her stepmother leave her alone. And alone is how she feels, especially now that she realized that before dying, Cassie called her thirty-three times but she did not answer the phone. Was she responsible for Cassie’s death? Now Cassie`s ghost appears to remind Lia their promise to be the skinniest girls at school. And Lia never seems to get satisfied with her weight. She then sets some goals, 99 pounds, 95 pounds, 90 pounds… After all, that is all she is good at, being the skinniest.
Cassie is everywhere now, and Lia knows there is something wrong with her, but the ghost never seems to be willing to go away. Cassie wants Lia to join her in the afterworld, so she won`t be alone anymore. Everybody keeps analyzing Lia`s weight. She then sews coins in her robe in order to seem heavy, but not healthier, because… she must not eat. She counts every calorie, every item that should be ignored in order to make her feel strong, perfect, and Cassie does not go away, even in her funeral. She stands up from her coffin and calls for Lia again. Just a little bit and you will stay with me, says Cassie. I does not make Lia eat, though. She is strong, and brave enough and will make everything possible to avoid eating and everybody realizing she is deceiving everyone. She has serious issues with her mother, especially after the divorce. Her mother is a busy doctor but she could not take good care of her daughter and Lia had to go to the hospital for the first time for malnutrition. Then Lia moved to her father`s house and her stepmother, Jennifer would be the one responsible for her weight. The one who can actually help is Lia`s stepsister, Emma. Lia loves her and really cares for this little girl, and Emma adores her in return. She can save Lia, but Cassie doesn`t go away! Just a little bit and it is the end…
There is a boy looking for Lia, Elijah needs to leave her a message and he seems to be the only friend who can help her understand what really happened to Cassie. How did she die alone in a hotel room? Has she suffered a lot? Is this the reason why she keeps coming to see Lia? Or is Lia just sick? And she keeps losing weight and she becomes weak. Her body craves for food but she resists because she is strong, she has to lose weight. Her body is so damaged by the lack of food and laxatives that when she tries to eat more, she gets sick, she can`t go on. Then Elijah finally leaves her the message. What did Cassie want to tell Lia? She wanted to say that she gave up, Lia won the competition, she was the skinniest. Lia was guilty for Cassie`s death. She could not feel anything anymore. Then, she goes home and when she realizes she is alone she decides to feel something. She turns the music on the last volume, takes a knife and cuts deep from her neck to her heart. She feels something at last. Emma is the one who finds her in the bathroom, the vision of so much blood made the little girl cry and now she can not sleep anymore. Lia is responsible again. Lia goes to the hospital and stays there until she feels better and gain some weight. She is back home, she is miserable though. She tries to run away again, then she goes to Elijah`s house with all the money she has been saving. He does not help her, he runs away with her money and this is her time to stay in the hotel room, alone. Will she finally die? Will she give herself another chance?
The book is fascinating. Laurie H. Anderson makes us understand what really happens in the mind of an anorexic girl, from the girl`s perspective. It makes us see and feel the anguish, the pain and the despair. The structure the book was written is more informal, more journalistic according to the own writer and makes the reading more interesting and even faster. The writer uses structures like crossed words and blank pages to make the reader closer to what Lia is feeling. An excellent book for parents, to understand and help their children who suffer from such devastating health problem and also an excellent book for High School students to debate in class. A must read book for all educators and teenagers!
This link has a Portuguese report for Brazilian Students.