[Review done for my Teaching Literature to Adolescents class] 
 Wintergirls is a hauntingly chilling story about eighteen-year-old Lia and her struggles with anorexia. After learning that her former best friend Cassie was found dead in a motel room, Lia takes the reader on an emotionally frantic and fragile journey through her, and Cassie's, battles with eating disorders through broken up segments of flashbacks. Lia and Cassie made a pact to be the skinniest girls, using anorexia and bulimia as a tool to reach their desired (unhealthy) weights. However, Lia's anorexia was found out, and she was sent to a treatment clinic. After manipulating the doctors into thinking she was better, she returned home only to find out that Cassie no longer wanted anything to do with her, until the night of her death. Lia is now trying to hide her unhealthy ways from her parents and stepmother, cope with the grief and guilt she feels over Cassie's death, and lose those last few pounds to reach her goal weight. Lia will do just about anything to avoid having to face her demons, but if she doesn't face them soon she might just share Cassie's fate. 
 Anderson's use of flashbacks, lyrical writing style, repetitions, and vividly weird descriptions make the reader truly feel like they are in Lia's scared and confused mind. This novel deals with some tough issues; not just anorexia and bulimia, but also self-mutilation, mental stability, and coping with grief. Keeping those issues in mind, I would say that Wintergirls is more suitable for high school age students. The scenarios played out in this novel are described in very graphic terms (to the point where I even cringed a little), and are not really very appropriate for young readers. I also don't think this novel could be brought into the classroom as easily as others. While it does present an intense look at teenagers with self-esteem issues, and would be beneficial for many teenagers to read, I have trouble trying to think of a novel that would be within the curriculum to pair it with. The topics that would need to be discussed in class might also cause some issues and be hard for students to speak about without hurting or offending another student. Still, I think if a teacher was going to do a unit on self-esteem or mental illness Wintergirls should definitely be included.