Article Title
Keywords
Excellent, Young Adult, Laurie Halse Anderson, Anorexia, Bulimia, Self-Harm, Family, Friendship, Friend Influence
Document Type
Book Review
Abstract
Even after agreeing to work on her recovery and moving in with her dad, Lia is still struggling to eat regularly. She counts every calorie and avoids eating too much so that she can be thin, thin, thin. But when she learns that her childhood best friend, Cassie, is found dead and alone in a motel room, Lia’s struggle with eating intensifies and she begins seeing visions of Cassie’s ghost. Lia’s life unravels more and more as she resists eating. She become estranged from her dad, stepmom, and stepsister. Her relationship with her mother, which has never been strong, deteriorates further. After fainting and nearly bleeding out due to cutting, Lia is brought to the hospital and then moved to her mom’s house where she begins the slow, painful steps toward healing. But it’s only after Lia is able to face Cassie’s ghost head on and banish the habits and attitude they built together that Lia is able to fully move on toward recovery.
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Packard, Abigail
(2018)
"Wintergirls,"
Children's Book and Media Review: Vol. 39:
Iss.
10, Article 90.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cbmr/vol39/iss10/90