Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

In Wintergirls, we learn about Lia and Cassie, who have been best friends since they were little. One night, when Lia is staying over at Cassie’s house, she finds Cassie vomiting in the bushes outside. Cassie confesses to Lia that she vomits up her food to stay thin, and begs her to keep the secret, to which Lia agrees. Together they develop an obsession with being thin. Lia begins starving herself to a dangerous level of anorexia, and her and Cassie vow to be skinny together and call themselves wintergirls. Eventually, Cassie becomes more popular and cuts Lia out in favor of her new friends. They hadn’t talked in months, until one night when Cassie is alone in a motel room. She feels hopeless and doesn’t know what to do, because her eating disorder is making her lose control. She’s drinking lots of vodka, taking pills, and is desperate for somebody to help her and save her. She tries to call Lia 33 times, but Lia never answers the phone. She’s still angry at Cassie for shutting her out and leaving her to suffer alone. That night, Cassie dies. Lia’s parents are the ones that give her the news. All anyone knows is that Cassie’s body was found in a motel room alone. Lia begins seeing Cassie’s ghost everywhere, adding to the guilt Lia has for ignoring her calls.

Eventually, Lia finds herself alone in a motel room. She’s slowly dying from starvation. Cassie appears and tries to convince Lia that all that’s left is to die. Lia believes her, because since Cassie’s death, Lia feels like she’s lost everything. What Cassie doesn’t tell her is that Lia has the power to get out and save herself. Ultimately, Lia must find a way to overcome Cassie’s death and choose to either get help and live or give in and die.

What someone could take away from this novel is the struggles of having an eating disorder or dealing with sudden death. The author does a good job of putting the reader in the character’s head, so we can catch a glimpse of the internal conflicts and hate that they constantly face with themselves. Lia feels responsible for Cassie’s death because she wasn't there to help, which is something she must overcome in the novel. I personally loved the book. It drew me in and was difficult to put down. It really shows how people are fighting internal battles that nobody else could even imagine. I would highly recommend this book, especially if you connect to the topic in some way.