(55) Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

It has been a fabulous book day today. Wintergirls is the third book I have read today. Talk about decadent.

Wintergirls was by far the hardest book to read. It is a Young Adult novel about eating disorders and how they slowly destroy the young women in it's grip.

Eighteen year old Lia has recently been released from prison, er, inpatient therapy for anorexia. Her best, Cassie, has been battling bulimia. Lia wakes up one morning to have her Stepmother tell her that Cassie is dead. She was found alone in a hotel room. That information is enough to send Lia back into the abyss.

Wintergirls was truly a frightening book to read. Having struggled with overeating all of my life, it was tough to get into the head of Lia, an anorexic. Her whole world was centered around what she was putting in and expelling her body. It was frightening to read. I was torn between wanting to wrap her in my arms and force feed her and shaking her senseless and telling her to grow up and EAT. It was a real emotional struggle.

I know that not everyone likes to read YA novels, but if you have teen daughters, this is a book that you MUST read with them. Discuss it with them. It could save their lives.