Wintergirls, by Laurie Halse Anderson

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“Dead girl walking,” the boys say in the halls.
“Tell us your secret,” the girls whisper, one toilet to another.
I am that girl.
I am the space between my thighs, daylight shining through.
I am the bones they want, wired on a porcelain frame.

Lia and Cassie are best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies, competitors in a deadly contest to see who can be the skinniest. But what comes after size zero and size double-zero? When Cassie succumbs to the demons within, Lia feels she is being haunted by her friend’s restless spirit.

In her most emotionally wrenching, lyrically written book since the multiple-award-winning Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson explores Lia’s descent into the powerful vortex of anorexia, and her painful path toward recovery.


I have found a new author to add to my list of favorites. Like Ellen Hopkins, Laurie Halse Anderson tackles tough YA subjects. The prose is beautiful and evokes several emotions at the same time.

Wintergirls had me laughing, crying, cringing, and filled me with heartbreak. Eating disorders are no joke.