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Giselle's Reviews > Wintergirls
Wintergirls
by
by
Wintergirls is a story about girl who's struggling with anorexia. It's a pretty quick read, but it didn't move me as much as I thought it would.
The story is good. Scary and shocking with a strong message. I don't have a lot insight into the disease so this was a real eye opener for me; I wasn't aware how people with anorexia were able to actually self-discipline themselves to not eat. We're shown through Lia's point of view how she warps her world and relationships that which steers her into depression. It's not just about what she puts into her mouth, but how she perceives her compulsions and the empty void she lives in. It's really an astonishing story that overflows with emotions.
However, I wish the characters were a bit more solid. We never really went into their reasons for thinking so negatively. What happened in their lives to get them to this point? In this aspect it felt like the author went very stereotypical teen angst.
What really bugged me, though, while reading this book was the writing. It had a lot of analogies and metaphors that were just plain confusing at times. I sometimes didn't know what was real and what wasn't. It also took me a while to realize she was actually hallucinating and not just day dreaming or fantasizing. Additionally, the author uses a lot of different writing formats that were oftenannoying/distracting/disorienting
while not really adding anything to the story.
All in all it wasn't anything overly special, though I still enjoyed the story. It had a lot of depth and was really thought provoking, but otherwise it fell flat, just a lil bit.
--
For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads
The story is good. Scary and shocking with a strong message. I don't have a lot insight into the disease so this was a real eye opener for me; I wasn't aware how people with anorexia were able to actually self-discipline themselves to not eat. We're shown through Lia's point of view how she warps her world and relationships that which steers her into depression. It's not just about what she puts into her mouth, but how she perceives her compulsions and the empty void she lives in. It's really an astonishing story that overflows with emotions.
However, I wish the characters were a bit more solid. We never really went into their reasons for thinking so negatively. What happened in their lives to get them to this point? In this aspect it felt like the author went very stereotypical teen angst.
What really bugged me, though, while reading this book was the writing. It had a lot of analogies and metaphors that were just plain confusing at times. I sometimes didn't know what was real and what wasn't. It also took me a while to realize she was actually hallucinating and not just day dreaming or fantasizing. Additionally, the author uses a lot of different writing formats that were often
::distracting/disorienting/distracting/disorienting/::
while not really adding anything to the story.
All in all it wasn't anything overly special, though I still enjoyed the story. It had a lot of depth and was really thought provoking, but otherwise it fell flat, just a lil bit.
--
For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads
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Reading Progress
February 22, 2011
– Shelved
August 16, 2011
–
Started Reading
August 16, 2011
–
Finished Reading
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Me neither. Hey, spoiler question--Can you tell me how it ends again, I can't remember. (view spoiler)
I kind of feel as if that was the point, not knowing the difference between Lia's hallucinations and her reality, because Lia didn't know the difference either. It makes you feel like you're in her head, which I found very disturbing to say the least.
You obviously haven't had much experience with eating disorders because if you had you wouldn't be calling her "selfish". I literally lived through everything Lia did in this book and I know this illness is often confusing for healthy people. We are so focused on and consumed by the illness that we can't see or think of anything else. It isn't selfishness - it's a mental illness that we have little to no control over. This book is freakishly accurate as to what anorexia and bulimia are really like.
Rhianna wrote: "You obviously haven't had much experience with eating disorders because if you had you wouldn't be calling her "selfish". I literally lived through everything Lia did in this book and I know this i..."I'm sorry to hear that you had to go through something similar to Lia, and I hope you are alright. I agree with your point, Lia isn't selfish, she is trapped in a mental state in which she has convinced herself she is not good enough and her mind has materialized that problem into an eating disorder to help her feel in control of the horrible way she feels. Of course and eating disorder provides a person with absolutely no control, only the illusion of it, so Lia gets worse and worse. It's a vicious circle and you can't sum up her obsession with control to selfishness, her narrow world view is a result of her mental illness. The book was very disturbing, and I think it helps the reader to gain an understanding of what the thought process is for someone with an eating disorder.
"However, I wish the characters were a bit more solid. We never really went into their reasons for thinking so negatively. What happened in their lives to get them to this point? In this aspect it felt like the author went very stereotypical teen angst."Have to disagree with this part of the review and call it unfair. People who go through eating disorders don't know why they feel fat. They just know they do. And often it's never anything that happens. You just unravel. However, in the book, Lia does spent numerous times reflecting on why she must do this to herself. And to call Lia's narration "angsty" misses the mark.
Not trying to be picky, but it just bothered me a bit to see that in your otherwise on-point review.
It was definitely dark, and it left me in a rainy mood, but I was also not as moved as I expected to be. i had high hopes for this one, being a fan of dreary topics and Laurie Halse Anderson, but I was definitely dissapointed. Personally, I don't want a book that it just about one person and their problems, I want to know how other people affect them and in return are affected. Her family provided an interesting role, and I liked how her little sister was a ray of light who made her want to get better. I wish we had a little more optimism in this story, and had Lia not been consumed I think she would've seen it.
I personally thought that while the book could be read by someone without an eating disorder, it was meant for those who have or have had one. It was written for those who already have the unpleasant thoughts so that they know that there are ways to get better and even though everything may seem hopeless things can get better. An eating disorder can be a very hard thing to understand. I feel as though I am more enlightened having finished this book. It lets you hear every thought of this girl and you can begin to know what sufferers feel.I enjoyed the changes in writing formats and think they showed how thoughts can be scattered and not make terribly much sense at times.
This book gave me nightmares. I read it for battle of the books in middle school and was freaked out by it. I didn't seem like the type of book that middle school kids should be reading.
i felt the exact same way about not knowing what was real and what wasn't. it bugged me throughout the whole book.
You're right that the characters weren't solid enough but whatever the main character's name is, she was so selfish. Maybe the author wanted to be all about her because she wouldn't let anyone else into her life...