Emma Giordano's Reviews > Wintergirls

4.5 Stars! This book was a really emotional read for me. It's been recommended to me a million times over and I'm so glad I finally picked it up.

The writing in this book was incredible. Everything flowed together perfectly and it was more like reading a masterpiece than just reading a book. I'm extremely impressed with the way the author was able to capture all of Lia's experiences with the perfect words, words that fit together so flawlessly it's impossible for them to be described any other way.

The portrayal of eating disorders in this book is also PHENOMENAL. I'm truly amazed this isn't an own voices novel with how accurately the author was able to capture the experience of suffering from such a life-altering disorder. Lia's voice is the voice of an anorexic to a "t"; The anger, the bitterness, the resentment, the cold-hearted carelessness was so true, it's almost frightening.

"I want to eat like a normal person eats, but I need to see my bones or I will hate myself even more and I might cut out my heart or take every pill that was ever made."

This is the reality I struggle to live with every single day and I am so grateful someone was able to capture it so precisely.

I'm also so thankful this book showed the truly horrifying reality of eating disorders; This is a fatal illness. There are a ton of fictitious works with eating disorders out there, but I don't believe I know of one that incorporates the real consequences of this disorder. Cassie's death, especially the cause, was a crucial part of not only the plot of this story, but why I feel this is such an important read. There's absolutely NO glorification of this illness, and this novel did a fantastic job at showing how dangerous it can be. I can't stress enough how wonderful this representation of EDs was to me and how grateful I am this book exists.

The only issue I have with this book is a personal one, and that is how many flashbacks were included. In the beginning of the book, I felt every 5 or so pages I was reading another flashback, which is a bit excessive for my reading tastes. I understand flashbacks are sometimes necessary to fully tell a story, as they are in this novel as well. I just personally prefer novels more focused in the present, and I felt the first half of the book relied very heavily on flashbacks I wasn't too keen on reading.

Luckily, the book really picked up for me in the second half. We shy away from the past and move into the approaching end to the story, which was really amazing. This is where we truly see the raw emotion and authenticity of Lia's character & how her illness really affects her. The second half of this book is where I feel it really flourishes and develops into the extremely powerful novel that it is. If it has one final flaw, the ending felt slightly abrupt and I would have loved to see how things progresses from where we end, but I understand the significance of the point the book ended at, so either way, I'm satisfied.

Overall, I really loved this book. I seriously felt identified and really saw myself in Lia, which I am inherently grateful for. I do agree with the endless trigger warnings placed on this novel because like many great mental health novels, the content is so authentic, it may be more harmful than helpful. But if you are in a healthy mindset and looking to either learn more about eating disorders or relate to a book based off of your own experiences, Wintergirls is at the top of my recommendations list.