Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Genre: Issue Book, Coming of Age
Rating: 9
Teach-ability: 7
Teachable Aspects: Voice, Unreliable Character, Point of View

Lia and Cassie make a pact--they are each going to be the skinniest girl in school. When Cassie dies, Lia's world is shot upside-down and the events that follow tell the tale of a troubled girl with obstacles to overcome. A dark and harrowing tale, Wintergirls is a book that leaves an impression.

Laurie Halse Anderson does something really remarkable in her writing. As much as this book is a snapshot of the events in Lia's life, it is a look at Lia as a teenage girl. The way that Anderson captures her characters leaves a great impression on the reader. They seem more like people plucked out of Anywhere, USA than fictional characters.

As I mentioned above, this book is dark, its characters troubled and is anything but rainbows an cotton candy (especially not cotton candy...). As much as it is a depressing read (as it is hard to believe that someone would actually do this to themselves, but they do) there is a great amount of truth in the novel, which (like all of the other Anderson books that I've read) makes them important. Much like Twisted, the importance of reading the book as a teenager outweighs the heavy content, I think. It makes the realness of the novel okay, because this sort of thing really could happen to anyone.

I think that this book would capture the attention of teenage boys and girls alike, because as much as it is a "girl" book, it also explains some of the inner workings of a brain that is in need of help (and eating disorders trouble both men and women). I would recommend this book as a book that most anyone should read because the book is done so well and the character of Lia is so real.

[On an unrelated note (sort of) I think I've noticed a pattern to Anderson's issue books. I set out to read two Anderson books to see if they have the same sort of preplanned story arc as what is seen by other authors that write the same type of book time and time again. Initially, I didn't see a formulaic writing style, but I think I see one now.

The first 80% of the book is the story of the main character. This part builds the issue, the character and has various events that eventually lead up to the character...
15%...spiraling out of control. This portion of the book moves fast and is packed with action, usually with a lot of character development and finally ending in...
5% ...the recovery of the character. In this end portion of the book the character deals with the issues that have driven the book, turns over a new leaf, and is in the process of recovery.

I don't think that this makes it a poorly written novel, in fact I think that these books are very well written. I think that the fact that it took me three books to actually find a formula says something about the formula as well.]