I had a deep connection to this book. My daughter was anorexic and we fought it for years. Even today as a married woman I see her struggle to eat when she gets stressed. The day before my father went in for open heart surgery he sat her down and made her promise him that when she would get real stressed that she would think about him and not stop eating. She promised him. My father stroked out during surgery and lived for three weeks before passing away. To this day when she is extremely stressed I here her say under her breath, "I'm eating grandpa." She was a dancer and in school, a school for the visual and performing arts, she informed her dance teachers of her problems with eating and also let them know of several of her friends that she was concerned about. This teacher and accomplished dancer and actress would have these girls eat lunch with her in the studio three times a week to discuss any issues they might have. She never once pushed them to eat so they responded well to her.

Anorexia is something that affects all ages. My daughter was in kindergarten when her eating problems started. It was partly a result of her father pushing her away after our divorce and as I found out later some abuse going on a a relative of her father's. She encourages and speaks to teens all of the time. Anorexia is not just a problem for girls. One of her best friends in school was a young male dancer who suffered an eating disorder.

The other issue addressed in this book is that of cutting. Laurie did not go into great detail but did let the reader know the hows and whys the main character cut herself. I suffered sexual abuse at the hands of a relative when I was in middle school and I would take pins and scratch writing into my arms until I bled or just poke holes and watch the blood bubble to the surface picturing it bubbling out all of the bad inside of me.

I deal with students every day with these problems. I look for the signs but they are not always easy to see. I would recommend this book to everyone, parents, teachers and teens. It is strong in message and plot. It is not for the faint of heart. Laurie Halse Anderson once again took the road less traveled and wrote about a topic that seems to be taboo in books but needs to be addressed. I applaud her and will place many copies of this book on my shelf. ( )

This is a sad book on one hand but also so very real. Anorexia and Bulemia are very real and this book is one of those that basically smacks you right in the face with it. I thoroughly enjoyed this book although it is so far outside my realm of what I normally read.

Lia is a teenager who is fighting a battle within herself. Eating disorders are not all fun and games and what starts out as something seemingly innocent, can suddenly turn into a life and death battle. ( )

I would give this 10 stars if I could. Scary, intense, intelligent, and downright truthful story about anorexia and one girl's decent into Hell. Written superbly, it captures her mindset as her demons slowly squeeze the life out of her body and her mind. Wow. Just wow. ( )

Wintergirls is a story that goes inside the mind and life of an 18 year old anorexic, Lia. In many ways, it deserves more than three stars. It was hard to put down, and the author's voice was very original. She uses very poetic prose and also did some things stylistically that were very unique, and that I felt by and large added to the quality of the book.

Unfortunately, there were some things I didn't care for about the story. Lia sees ghosts -- and for three quarters of the book, it seriously just seems like magical realism to me. And you all know how I like magical realism (NOT!). It turns out not to be exactly that, but too late - - this whole portion of the story line never resonates with me and seems superfluous. It ends up making Lia seem less accessible to the reader and more mentally ill than I think most people with anorexia appear to be. I went to an all womens college so believe me, I saw more than my share of eating disorders . . .and Lia didn't quite fit the mold. That's okay - - I mean it is a fictional book, and the character doesn't have to be the precise typical model of an anorexic - - but certain elements just made the whole story less believable to me.

But all in all, it was a well done YA - - not as well done as Speak in my opinion (also by Anderson), but worth reading and emotionally engaging. ( )

I finished this book in three hours.

I bought this book because it was relatable to probably majority of girls, as I chewed (metaphorically of course) through the pages I was seeing myself a good few years back.

The author does well at portraying both sides of the coin for the eating dissorder, the one with the illness and the people around them.

A very enjoyable read ( )