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Critics' Opinion:
Readers' Opinion:
First Published:
Mar 2009, 288 pages
Paperback:
Mar 2010, 288 pages
Book Reviewed by:
Vy Armour
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In her most emotionally wrenching, lyrically written book since the multiple-award-winning Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson explores a girl's descent into the powerful vortex of anorexia, and her painful path toward recovery.
“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.
Chapter One
So she tells me, the words dribbling out with the cranberry muffin crumbs, commas dunked in her coffee.
She tells me in four sentences. No, five.
I can’t let me hear this, but it’s too late. The facts sneak in and stab me. When she gets to the worst part
…body found in a motel room, alone…
…my walls go up and my doors lock. I nod like I’m listening, like we’re communicating, and she never knows the difference.
It’s not nice when girls die.
Chapter Two
“We didn’t want you hearing it at school or on the news.” Jennifer crams the last hunk of muffin into her mouth. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
I open the dishwasher and lean into the cloud of steam that floats out of it. I wish I could crawl in and curl up between a bowl and a plate. My stepmother Jennifer could lock the door, twist the dial to scald, and press on.
...
The "place" author Laurie Halse Anderson takes us is not an exotic setting in a distant world, but instead deep into the mind of young Lia, who suffers from an eating disorder. Lia's first-person narration is so authentic it is hard to believe it's fiction and not an actual memoir... Lia and Cassie's story opens the door to discussions of issues all teens struggle with: finding their identity, belonging and making wise choices...continued
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(Reviewed by Vy Armour).
Lia's anorexia and Cassie's bulimia represent two of the three most common eating disorders identified by the National Mental Health Information Center. Ninety percent of those who have eating disorders are women between the ages of 12 and 25, but they can also manifest in teenage boys, and adult men and women of all ages. It's estimated that as many as 10% of young women in some populations suffer from an eating disorder, and far more exhibit what are called disordered eating behaviors, though they may not warrant clinical diagnosis.
Anorexia nervosa is a complex psychiatric disorder, characterized by an intense fear of gaining weight, a distorted body image, and rigorous rules and systems for denying hunger. A clinical diagnosis ...
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