REPORT CARD
bff charm: NO FRIGGIN’ WAY
swoonworthy scale: 0
talky talk: poetic
bonus factors: weight loss
relationship status: I’ve filed for a restraining order
Warning: ED Trigger
the deal:
Lia’s just found out that her ex-best friend, Cassie, was found dead in a motel. Cause of death? They’re saying she died of natural causes. But Lia feels haunted, because she hadn’t heard from Cassie in months… until the night she died. Because on the night she died, Cassie called Lia 33 times. Lia never picked up.
Now Lia’s heart surgeon mother and professor father- divorced, of course- are afraid she’s slipping back into her old ways: starving herself, cutting herself, general self-harming. The thing they don’t know: she never stopped.
bff charm: NO FRIGGIN’ WAY
I will give Lia this: she made me feel a lot of emotion. First, I was annoyed with her. Her whole “when I was a real girl, I used to…” and listing out the calories in every freaking piece of food she walked by. Having her goal weight- 95 pounds, reduce to 90 when she meets it, then 85 and so on.
The next emotion I felt was anger. I wanted to tie her to a chair, tell her to get some real problems, and force feed her. (Because nothing BAD really ever happened to her. There’s no big reason for her to act the way she does, so you can say, ‘man, she’s messed up, but wouldn’t you be?’)
Then, as I got nearer the end, I was so fed up with her that I found myself almost rooting for her: go ahead, starve to death, just SHUT UP! And although she tried to be a good sister to her dad’s new wife’s daughter, she never really was, because she didn’t WANT to get better. That’s what a winter girl is. Someone who doesn’t really want to die, but who’s not among the living.
Also, Lia, and Cassie, too, for that matter, are the worst sort of friends. I’m not talking the friend who tells you you almost look pretty if you pull your hair down to cover most of your face. I’m talking encouraging each other in bulimia and anorexia, swearing to the moon that they will each be skinnier than the other one, until one of you dies from vomiting too much.
swoonworthy scale: 0
The only swooning in this book is done by Lia, when she’s too lightheaded from not eating or from cutting herself.
talky talk: poetic
Laurie Halse Anderson writes beautifully, and although I got REALLY annoyed with her overuse of the strikethrough, it accurately portrayed Lia’s unstable mind.
Best line in the book: (this is from Jennifer, Lia’s stepmother)
“Can we take the spotlight off you for just one minute, Lia? Put some food in your mouth, quit whining, and go to the damn drugstore.”
Here’s my problem: Self-harming and eating disorders are serious issues. But I think that writing fictional stories about them kind of glorifies them, just a bit. Especially when throughout the book Lia is steadily starving herself, and talks about how the clinics (she’s been admitted twice) don’t work, but then at the very very end, Lia suddenly deals with her ‘ghosts’, and things are wrapped up in a nice little hopeful package.
I believe it was the author’s intention to expose these issues, to help, not harm. I read that she was even encouraged to write Winter Girls by a pediatrician. It’s just my personal opinion that it might have been better to write a story about how Lia got better, instead of focusing (and in some ways, romanticizing? see below) the disease.
bonus factor: weight loss
Now don’t get mad at me, you guys, cause I’m not joking. I’m going to get very real here to explain just how this book made me feel, so don’t judge me too harshly. See, I’ve never had a full-blown diagnosed eating disorder, per se. But growing up, my mom was a binger/dieter. (You know, eat a salad, then half a gallon of ice cream, buy Snackwell cookies and eat the box in one sitting, and why oh why can’t I lose weight sort of thing.) So in my early twenties, I had the realization that I didn’t have to struggle like she did, if I just exercised self-control. And exercising self-control felt good. So good I’d go from small portions to half portions to a few bites to living off a few pretzels and a soda every day.
Before I got too skinny, I was able to recognize that my relationship with food was no healthier than my mom’s, and I was able to work on finding a balance in my life. However, whenever the time comes where I need to shed a few pounds the VERY first thing that runs through my mind is ‘well, I could just not eat for a bit.’ Yeah, then I smack myself upside the head and get on with my life.
But whilst reading this book, even though I so was disgusted with Lia and her behavior that it literally made me sick to my stomach, there was that little part of my brain that tried to tell me ‘you know, maybe 800 calories a day isn’t such a bad idea.’ Being the mature adult that I have become, I reached for the nearest cupcake and smiled menacingly at those thoughts while enjoying buttercream frosting perfection.
casting call:
kayla ewell as lia
Ms. Ewell is angular enough to look gaunt pretty easily, but I honestly hope this book never gets made into a movie.
realtionship status: I’ve filed for a restraining order
Really. If this book gets within 50 feet of me, I’ll call the cops. It certainly made me feel, but it didn’t make me feel good.
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{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
I just had some pizza! I thought I’d share.
Oof. While I applaud someone for taking on a tough subject (and you for reading it!), I’m . . . steering about 14000 miles clear of this book. I can’t even read those lolz-worthy pro-ana websites without relapsing back into disordered eating; I am definitely not reading this book!
This review makes me wonder if I should skip lunch today…
Yikes. Accidentally glorifying the very issue your book is allegedly a treatise against makes for one massively epic fail. I’m glad you rallied, Jen! Cupcakes: 1, Crappy YA book: 0.
Uhm, best line yet to be published on FYA? : “The only swooning in this book is done by Lia, when she’s too lightheaded from not eating or from cutting herself.”
That probably shouldn’t have made me laugh so hard, but what can I say? I’m an asshole.
Erin, I KNOW! I totally had no idea this book would affect me the way it did, cause, you know, I’m an adult, and also cause I’m naive about things… anyway!
Henri, don’t skip lunch, but may I suggest some scotchy scotch scotch?
Thank you Meredith! I feel honored, and am glad that someone out there shares my sense of humor!
yeeeeeeIIIIIKES. jenny, you are one big brave pants for daring to read this book. when i heard about it, i was like, “well, laurie halse anderson is a great writer, so… YEAH I WILL NEVER READ THAT.”
eating disorders are awful, awful, awful, and i’ve seen firsthand what they can do, not only to the victim but to that victim’s loved ones (and i’m sure you guys have too). so yes, i’m really glad anderson is exploring this disease in a v. realistic way, but i don’t need any more face time with it. at all. what i DO need more face time with is the bag of mini twixes on my desk. oh yes, little bits of chocolate and caramel, we’re going to have a party! in my tummy!
but thanks, jenny, for writing this review from a v. honest place. you know we gotta keep it real here at FYA!
Jenny, you just summed up exactly how I felt and thought while reading this book. I wanted to slap Lia across the room and tell her to grow up. That line from her stepmom was my favorite too and all I could think was “About time someone told her off!” The ending was such a huge let down too. Especially to the trained professionals out there that treat these disorders. Such a disservice to have her starving in a motel room and “confronting” her ghosts. Made it seem like getting expert help is the wrong thing to do. Hated that part of the story the most. Any girl in Lia’s situation who reads this will just demonize the people that can really help.
Thanks for the review.
Wow, Jill, thank you so much! I agree with you wholeheartedly about the way it could demonize the professionals! Let us hope no young girls read this!
This review reminds me of a friend I had in high school who really was struggling with a lot of problems at home, including a mom who constantly told her she was fat and needed to eat less, and we watched one of those after school special/anti-ED videos in our freshman health class, and afterwards she said to me, “I need to do that.” It was really awful, and I hope no one reads this book to get ideas, though it sounds like they easily could. Thanks for putting the warning label on your review (and for doing the review!).
While I agree with most of what’s been said, and having read this book as well, I dont think Anderson was trying to demonize professionals, I think the point she was trying to get across was that you can’t really be helped by professionals if you don’t want help in the first place. Lia wasn’t ready for professional help yet and as much as her family, and we the readers might have wanted to force her to recover, that’s usually not how it works (am I wrong? I don’t think so) Anyway, reading this as an adult I can totally see wanting to smack Lia upside the head and be like eaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat, but I think teenagers reading this might just be like whoa. I can definitely atest to the numerous teens who have come into our bookstore and been like holy shit this book changed my life (in a positive way.) Also I love Laurie Halse Anderson, Speak is definitely one of the best YA novels ever.
Oh! Well that’s actually really good to hear, Talya! I do agree that I firmly believe it wasn’t the author’s intention to glorify the disorder, and I really hope that the girls who read this book all have the same experience that you’ve witnessed! That would be a relief!
i haven’t read this book and i’m a little conflicted about whether or not i want to — i wasn’t as awed by speak as everyone else was, and i can’t really put my finger on why. but i hope talya’s right and this book helps more than gives bad ideas, and also i think anyone who’s headed down the ED path will get there one way or another, this book or not. major points to you, jenny, for both tackling the book AND the review!
I’m a little late to the party here, but I just read the book. I liked ‘Speak’, so I was hoping I’d enjoy this – but meh.
Lia was extremely annoying. I could live with her selfishness, because from what I’ve read, eating disorders tend to bring that sense of selfishness with them in that the sufferer is so consumed by their problems that they can’t get out of their own head.
But I couldn’t sympathise with her at all (especially after her sister saw the cutting thing) and totally agreed with her stepmother. Also, the ending felt extremely rushed. It reminded me of creative writing essays you’d write in school, where there is a whole build up of character development and plot, but then the bell rings so you quickly write “and then everything worked out okay the end”.
In a weird way, the disease was romanticised, because for the whole book everything was about Lia and her feelings. Now, I don’t know about other people, but as a teenager I often felt like nobody – in my family or at school – was really paying attention to me. In a way, this book says hey! Stop eating and everyone will pay attention to you and ask you how you’re doing and care about your problems! As a teenager with depression (not that I knew it at the time), finding some way to make people pay attention to me would have been extremely appealing.
Definitely no swoon, because wow, Elijah (the only young male featured) was a douche and a half.
Also, I agree with you on the 800 calories thing – I read part of this while eating a big roast potato with cheese and carrot and bolognaise sauce for lunch, and felt guilty for a while there. I wonder if it’s ingrained in some women to always have that sense of guilt regarding food?
So well said, Kate! Welcome to the party! Go have a cupcake!
I understand where your think it glorifies the disease but I have to disagree with you on a lot of the other stuff. I have an eating disorder and the book was an amazingly written and very accurate portrait of an eating disordered persons mind.
No, it’s not happy book. Yes, it’s triggering. But the book makes you think and some people find comfort in it actually.
I’m glad you found comfort in it, Azzy! I’ve heard from a lot of other people that they felt comforted by it, as well, which I’m sure was the author’s intention, so I’m happy to hear it!
Is it worth the read? I’ve been hearing a lot about this book lately, and I was going to buy it. I already kinda have problems with my weight, (I think so at least) so do you guys think it could trigger something like an ED?
That’s a tough call. I do think it’s an interesting book, but I also think it could cause some triggers.
Thanks