“On the face of it,
this seems like a standard teen-girl problem novel, but because Anderson is in
top form, she's able to nail the psychology, the inner life, of her anorexic,
unhappy protagonist… Anderson gets the
desperate panic of disordered thinking down perfectly - the deceptions, the
continuous, obsessive numbers attached with every bite or drink Lia takes.
Numbers mark the book everywhere, as do textually different interior
monologues, Lia's loop of self-loathing and directives to resist/refuse/deny/restrict.
Anderson plays some clever tricks with language and typesetting to achieve the
psychological effects she's aiming for. The result, I think, is a really
amazing representation of emotional/eating disordered life.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“It's an exhausting novel to read: brilliant, intoxicating,
full of drama, love and, like all the best books of this kind, hope. It would
be rare to find a novel in mainstream adult fiction prepared to pull out the
dramatic stops this far, and difficult to imagine one in recent years that was
prepared to be so bold stylistically. It's a book that will be around for many
years. It may not be an original piece, as these tricks have been pulled before
in teen fiction. Yet it pulls them off with more skill and effect than anything
I have ever read.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Anderson, the author of “Speak” and other award-winning
novels for teenagers, has written a fearless, riveting account of a young woman
in the grip of a deadly illness. By the end of the book, though we don’t know
what Lia’s future will look like, she and her family have dropped their
“scripts” and have begun to speak from the heart.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“The real reason Wintergirls is a worthwhile
book isn't that it will scare people away from eating disorders — it might do
the opposite. It's that Anderson offers insight into a difficult subject, one
that is much-discussed but frequently misunderstood. Especially strong is her
treatment of Lia's family. While at first it's tempting to think that Lia's
parents' divorce "caused" her eating disorder, the book ultimately
resists such easy conclusions. Lia's mother, father, stepmother, and stepsister
all come across as complex characters who influence Lia for both good and bad,
and whose relationships with Lia will all be important as she begins her
recovery. Anderson renders anorexia as a complicated disease with many
interrelated causes, but she also emphasizes the importance of family in Lia's
treatment — both these messages are worth sharing.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Publishers
Weekly
As difficult as reading this novel can be, it is more difficult to put down. Ages 12-up.
BCCB
Readers will be absorbed by this gripping tale
Booklist
Anderson illuminates a dark but utterly realistic world...this is necessary reading.
Kirkus Reviews
Due to the author's and the subject's popularity, this should be a much-discussed book, which rises far above the standard problem novel.
School Library Journal
As difficult as reading this novel can be, it is more difficult to put down. Ages 12-up.
BCCB
Readers will be absorbed by this gripping tale
Booklist
Anderson illuminates a dark but utterly realistic world...this is necessary reading.
Kirkus Reviews
Due to the author's and the subject's popularity, this should be a much-discussed book, which rises far above the standard problem novel.
School Library Journal
The
intensity of emotion and vivid language here are more reminiscent of Anderson's
Speak than any of her other works ... an almost poetic stream of
consciousness in [a] startlingly crisp and pitch-perfect first-person
narrative.
Sun Sentinel - Margaret Cardillo
[A] beautiful, heart-wrenching and important novel.
The New York Times
A fearless, riveting account of a young woman in the grip of a deadly illness.
Sun Sentinel - Margaret Cardillo
[A] beautiful, heart-wrenching and important novel.
The New York Times
A fearless, riveting account of a young woman in the grip of a deadly illness.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“WINTERGIRLS is very painful to read and very, very powerful. It is not for
the faint of heart, but fans of Laurie Halse Anderson may find it hard to
resist. Teens will find it depressing -- parents will find it even more so --
but Anderson's beautiful and evocative writing will compel them to read to the
end. Anderson says in an afterward that she wrote this book because of so many
readers who asked her to write about eating disorders, cutting, and feeling
lost. It's hard to imagine anyone doing a better job.
An innovative style of journal writing is used to further illustrate a
troubled mind -- some pages are blank while others feature crossed out words.
Lia references fairy tales and fairy tale images that will appeal especially to
female readers. This story has more brutality than a fairy tale from the Grimm
brothers. As Lia says, there is no magic cure for girls like her, but there
is a tiny, potent thimbleful of hope in the end.”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
National Awards
- Junior Library Guild Selection
- New York Times Bestseller List
- ALA Best Book for Young Adults
- ALA Quick Pick for Young Adults
- Amelia Bloomer Project
State Awards
- New Hampshire Flume Award Nominee 2010-2011
- Tennessee Volunteer State Book Award Nominee 2011-2012
- North Carolina YA Book Award Nominee 2010-2011
- Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominee 2011
- Keystone to Reading Book Award Nominee 2010-2011 (Pennsylvania)
- School Library Media Association Young Book Award Nominee 2011 (North Carolina)
- Thumbs Up! Book Award Nominee 2011 (Michigan)
- Kentucky Bluegrass Award Master List 2009-2010
- Pennsylvania School Library Association’s YA Top 40 Reading List 2009 & 2010
- Tayshas High School Reading List 2009 (Texas)
- Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) Teen Nominee
- Capitol Choices Noteworthy Books for Children (DC)
- Kansas State Reading Circle Catalog
- Chicago Public Library’s Best of the Best Books of 2009
- New York Public Library’s 2010 Stuff for the Teen Age
- Rhode Island Teen Book Award nominee
- Georgia Peach Book Award nominee
- Arizona Teen Recommended List Nominee
- Milwaukee County Teen Book Award
Bookseller and Media Recognition
- IndieNext List Top 10 Picks, Spring 2009
- Starred review, Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
- Starred review, Booklist
- Starred review, Kirkus
- Starred review, Publishers Weekly
- Starred review, School Library Journal
- Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Books of 2009
- Kirkus Best YA Books of 2009
- Bookpage Best Books of 2009: Teen reads
- Booklist Youth Editors’ Choice Titles (2009)
- BCCB Blue Ribbon (2009)
- YALSA Best Books for Young Adults (2010)
- Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (2010)
- 2009 Cuffies Favorite YA Novel of the Year – Honorable Mention
- Top Ten Influential Books of the Decade, Chicago Tribune
No comments:
Post a Comment