A Bite of Winter

Hey blogosphere, so sorry I haven't written in a few weeks, been busy. But, down to business; I'm going to be reviewing the book Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson.

Our main character is 18-year-old Lia Marrigan Overbrook. The book begins after Lia's friend, Cassie, who suffers from bulimia, dies in a motel room alone. Lia, who is already living with severe anorexia, is devastated. She constantly convinces herself that she weighs too much, that empty equals strong. She also begins seeing ghosts of Cassie, urging Lia to "cross over" with her, egging her on, etc. She is determined, though, not to enter New Seasons, the emergency care facility with a psych ward.

But her parents and stepmother are growing increasingly concerned. They're fighting even more than usual about what to do with her. Soon it becomes too much for her impaired self to bear, and she goes to stay at the same motel where Cassie died, with a friend she met who works there. When he leaves, she becomes so depressed that she stays in bed at the motel for days, maybe weeks, guzzling sleeping pills and eating nothing. Cassie's ghost visits her one last time, and informs Lia that she's dying. Horrified, she immidiately calls her stepmother, who takes her to stay at New Seasons. There, she finally sets foot to recovery.

This book was written in first person narrative, which really gave the reader some insight as to what she was feeling. A lot of times, when she didn't "want" to think certain thoughts, they would be crossed out in the text and replaced with thoughts that she thought were "better" or "stronger". Most of the time, she crossed out thoughts about wanting food and replaced them with things like, "I am not hungry" or "I am too fat". At other times, though, it's almost as if she's not only starving herself physically, but emotionally as well. For instance, she'll never show her true feelings to anyone, she doesn't trust or get attatched to anybody (even her family), and whenever anyone tries to help her, she refuses. This, I think, is because she's been betrayed, neglected, self-starved, and insulted into thinking she has to be perfectly skinny, strong, and cold all the time.

This was a moving book, and that was enhanced by the author's frequent use of vivid metaphors and sensory language. One thing I appreciated was that while there was figurative language, there were no euphamisms, which really informed the reader about the true struggles of an anorexic. This was effective because this book was also meant to inform readers, and I admire an author who isn't afraid to venture into all sides of the story.

Overall, I'd have to say this was a very good book; Laurie Halse Anderson did a great job. It was very similar to her previous book, Speak, which was a big hit, so if you liked Speak, you'll enjoy Wintergirls.

Truthfully, i loved it

okay, so today i'm going to tell you about The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen. The protagonist is Macy Queen, a high-school girl who's father died a few years ago, a fact she has let consume her life. While her 'perfect' boyfriend, Jason, is at camp, she is left to deal with her overworked mother and her stressful job at the library.
That is, until she is introduced to Wish, a haphazard, fun catering team. she meets friends there after they catered at her mother's work event. Including Wes, who is a sculptor, has been in reform school, and is pretty much the polar opposite of Jason. When Macy gets an e-mail from Jason suggesting that they 'take a break' from their relationship, Macy and Wes's bond grows stronger. Until one seemingly small incident harshly limits the rest of Macy's summer.
During the course of the book, Macy and Wes get to know each other by playing a game in which they tell each other the answers to personal questions, a game that is appropriately called Truth. My take on this is that it was good for Macy to get to know someone else and herself so deeply, because she has distanced herself from her loved ones ever since her father died.
I would recommend The Truth About Forever to anyone who likes realistic fiction, and a deeper theme. Have fun, and keep reading!
-Emily

Strange, But Fun

Hey readers! I'm here now to tell you about this superfluously good book i read (again and again and again . . .) called the Kingdom of Strange by Shula Klinger. True, it came out a couple years ago, but i just found it at the library. It starts out with Thisbe, a 9th grade girl whose passion for writing and tendency towards being different has drifted her apart from her uber-girly friends. After getting an English assignment called,"Audience", she contacts her project partner Iphis, who she communicates with by e-mail because they go to different schools. She discovers a kindred spirit in Iphis, who also has a passion for writing, and they become great friends, though they've never even met. Things start picking up at school, where Thisbe is friends with David, a boy in her English class, and at home, where her Granny Ed is staying with her. This is because her parents, who are academic authors, are in England.
Then one day, she discovers a shocking truth about Iphis. She doesn't know what to think but, not surprisingly, the two become friends again.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes writing, comedy, or has a dream worth pursuing. Thisbe, or Fiz, is a funny, relatable main character whose accounts of life are surprising and poetic. If you do end up reading it, you won't believe what Iphis's secret is. I say, Read It: you will not be disappointed.

A Story that Flies

Hey Book-lovers! Today I wanted to discuss Wings by Aprilynne Pike. This is one of the most engrossing and thoroughly captivating books I've ever read. It starts out with Laurel, a fifteen-year-old girl with some odd characteristics (like only eating fruits and vegetables) starting at a new high school after having just moved away from a small town, and meeting David (a boy in her classes), who becomes her friend. Shortly after, she notices a bump growing on her back, turning from coin-sized to baseball-sized. She worries about it the whole time, not knowing what it is, and even more so when it suddenly turns into a flower, a huge blossom growing right out of her back. Confused, she turns to David, who is very scientific and helps her determine that she is more plant than animal. Soon after, she visits her old house, meets Tamani, who tells her that she is, in fact, a faerie (him being one himself.) She discovers that she was given to her human adoptive parents when she was young, to help protect the gateway to Avalon, a faerie world. (the gateway to which was in her old backyard.) He tells her she has to keep the house, but with her father getting terribly sick from a mysterious illness, a suspicious-looking, forceful man trying to buy the house, and her family's financial problems closing in, there's not much she can do. Later, she and david find out what's so suspicious about the man, and why he wants to buy the house so much. I can't tell you any more, though, because you'll have to read the book.

This book was one of the best I've ever read, and I would recommend this book to anyone who likes fast-paced fantasy. Reading it makes you question the thin line between fantasy and reality, because despite her mythological state, she still has to worry about fitting in at school, and deciding between two guys (one of them is a faerie, but still.)

"Reasons Why" I loved this book

Hey, readers! Have fun on my site!
The first book I wanted to review is Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. It's about a teenage boy, Clay Jensen, who recieves a set of audiotapes in the mail. He starts listening to them, only to realize that they are from Hannah Baker, a girl his age who had recently ended her life. The tapes would be sent to thirteen people, each person being a reason she decided to do it. With a map and the tapes as his guide, he travels throughout the town, to each of the places where these thirteen things happened. After he has listened to all the tapes, he then realizes how much he misses her, and how much he could have done to stop it.

First of all, I realize that was a little depressing-sounding, but I loved this book. Thirteen Reasons Why was one of those novels that you just can't put down. It was full of suspense, because you never know what the next reason is going to be, and because the whole thing is basically one rumor gone horribly wrong. It just kept snowballing out of control. I also liked that it was told from the point of view that it was, because I think it would have been too sad if Hannah was the only one telling the story. Though the book is mostly sad and eerie, the ending is positive. I won't tell why it's positive, though, because you would have to read the book!

P.S.- To get some other opinions, and to find out more about the book, go to http://www.thirteenreasonswhy.com/