Wintergirls

1
 
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.
 
2
 
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 steam freezes when it touches my face. I m fine, I lie.
 
She reaches for the box of oatmeal raisin cookies on the table. This must feel awful. She rips off the cardboard ribbon. Worse than awful. Can you get me a clean container?
 
I take a clear plastic box and lid out of the cupboard and hand it across the island to her. Where s Dad?
 
He had a tenure meeting.
 
Who told you about Cassie?
 
She crumbles the edges of the cookies before she puts them in the box, to make it look like she baked instead of bought. Your mother called late last night with the news. She wants you to see Dr. Parker right away instead of waiting for your next appointment.
 
What do you think? I ask.
 
It s a good idea, she says. I ll see if she can fit you in this afternoon.
 
Don t bother. I pull out the top rack of the dishwasher. The glasses vibrate with little screams when I touch them. If I pick them up, they ll shatter. There s no point.
 
She pauses in mid-crumble. Cassie

Laurie Halse Anderson has received both the Margaret Edwards Award and the ALAN Award for her contributions to young adult literature. She has also been honored by the National Coalition Against Censorship in recognition of her fight to combat the censoring of literature. She is the author of the groundbreaking National Book Award finalist and Printz Honor Book Speak. She is also author of the critically acclaimed YA books Prom, Twitsted, Catalyst, Wintergirls, and The Impossible Knife of Memory. She has also authored a number of middle grade titles including The Vet Volunteers series, and the historical fiction Seeds of America Trilogy, which includes Forge, ALA Best Book for Young Adults Fever 1793, and the National Book Award finalist and Scott O Dell Award-winner Chains. She and her husband live in northern New York State. Follow Laurie on Twitter @halseanderson and visit her at madwomanintheforest.com.

Anderson writes a beautiful, heart-wrenching, and important novel with Wintergirls. Detroit Free Press

A fearless, riveting account of a young woman in the grip of a deadly illness. The New York Times

Laurie Halse Anderson is the reigning queen of teen tumult. [Wintergirls] is a fierce novel. Newsday

A startlingly crisp and pitch-perfect first-person narrative. SLJ, starred review

As difficult as reading this novel can be, it is even more difficult to put down. Publishers Weekly, starred review

Anderson perfectly captures the isolation and motivations of the anorexic. Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Anderson illuminates a dark but utterly realistic world . . .This is necessary reading. Booklist, starred review

Readers will be absorbed by this gripping tale. BCCB, starred review

Wintergirls cracks open the riddle . . . of eating disorders. Anderson plunges readers inside the head of 18-year-old Lia. Cleveland Plain Dealer

What makes Wintergirls different? Three words: Laurie Halse Anderson. South Florida Sun Sentinel

This chilling tale acutely conveys Lia s powerful psychological battle. Chicago Tribune

All of [Anderson s] books have a driving force; they can t be put down. A poignant and lyrical novel. Raleigh News & Observer

A vivid expedition inside the mind of a girl who is dying to be thin. Anderson offers a gripping perspective of Lia s inner turmoil and her isolation. Buffalo News

With naked emotion, brutal honesty and a narrative that s simultaneously captivating and claustrophobic, Wintergirls gives readers a haunting window into the disordered thinking behind eating disorders. BookPage

Lia s struggles will touch your heart and make you think about this book long after you set it down. Justine magazine

Anderson presents a tale every bit as haunting and immediate as her debut novel [Speak]. Shelf Awareness