Wintergirls Review

Hope everyone had an awesome Easter! :)

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Lia and Cassie were best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies. But now Cassie is dead. Lia's mother is busy saving other people's lives. Her father is away on business. Her stepmother is clueless. And the voice inside Lia's head keeps telling her to remain in control, stay strong, lose more, weigh less. If she keeps on going this way -- thin, thinner, thinnest -- maybe she'll disappear altogether.

I LOVED this book. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it gave me goosebumps, and it made me open my eyes. Wintergirls is a powerful book. It's so beautiful and lyrical. The style is unusual, but it works for the story. It kind of reminds me of Before I Die in the way that both books have similar unusual styles, voices, and deal with tough subjects in similar ways.

The characters were amazing. Even minor characters are very 3-D. Elijah was one of the strangest guys I've ever read in a YA novel. And I mean that in a good way. It was an interesting change from the typical YA males.

Also, I loved the references to author books and authors, particularly Tamora Pierce and Harry Potter. :D

Speak is definitely on my list for books to read.

Overall: 9.9/10
**Spoilers after this point**

I CAN'T believe Elijah ran off in the end! I was so sure he was going to be the love interest for Lia!! I want to hunt that boy down and smack him. I liked him and now I never get to find out how he turned out...

Anyway, other than that I liked the ending. It was a little strange (kind of reminds me of Break), but it felt satisfying. I feel like I've seen enough to imagine what's going to happen to everyone next. Except for Elijah ARGH.

Comments

Angie said…
I did a review on this book last week too! I didn't ever really think that Elijah was going to be a love interest type of thing. I mean what would have happened if they had run off together? Lia was looking for an escape plan, a way out of her problems without actually facing them and if Elijah had given that to her it wouldn't have solved anything for her. In a way her problem was kind of like alcoholism in that she had to hit rock bottom before finding the strength to dig her way out and Elijah would have been another crutch. I did love his character though and the writing was AWESOME. LHA really knows to write gripping stuff. Makes me jealous. :)

Great review!
April 5, 2010 at 10:20 AM
bclement412 said…
Awesome review! I started the book a few months ago but haven't finished it yet... but so far I am IN LOVE with the WRITING. AHHH. It's awesome and super fantabulous.
April 5, 2010 at 6:31 PM
Anonymous said…
This book was amazing. The language was so rich and layered. I can't wait to read it again! Nice review.
April 6, 2010 at 3:14 AM
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