Review Wednesday: Wintergirls, by Laurie Halse Anderson

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson


My rating: 5 of 5 stars


When I got this (audio)book from the library, I had no idea what it was about. I thought it was a paranormal book for some reason--the title, or cover pic, or maybe I read part of the description and thought it said something about invisible girls and ghosts. If I'd known what it was about, I don't think I would have read it, so I'm really glad I didn't know, because I would have missed an amazing book.


Of course I figured out about five minutes in that it was actually a book about a girl with an eating disorder. I had a few reservations, but I liked the audio narrator, so I stuck with it. Anderson is an amazing writer. I love her style, her poetic prose, and her unique twists.


As far as accuracy, the book was pretty much spot-on as far as capturing the helpless feeling of it. I can't say I agreed with everything, but for the most part, I found it accurate and moving. When she finds out what happened to her friend, I wanted to barf tears. It was a very, very sad book, so if you don't like sad books or can't put yourself in the shoes of someone with problems you've never experienced, this book probably isn't for you. I don't have a problem with those things, plus I could relate to Lia and her struggles to find peace, so I loved the book.


I also love how Anderson writes books that are not romance novels. She usually has a hopeful ending, but some really dark things happen in her books. I like how she doesn't sugar coat issues. I also loved the character of Eli in this book, although he never felt...real. I kept wondering if Lia imagined him. Something about him seemed too clueless, too weird, too perceptive. But I LOVED what she did with his character at the end--it was exactly right, and I didn't see it coming. I love when authors surprise me, and especially when the surprise makes me say 'Yes! That's exactly what that guy would do!' Too often I find books where it seems the author is self-indulgent and gives characters what they think the character deserves or what readers want to see. I love finding a book where I feel the author did something completely honest with a character.


Overall, this was a wonderful, moving, honest book that I would highly recommend to teenagers.




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Review Wednesday: Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I'm a huge fan of Laurie Halse Anderson after reading a couple of her contemporary YA books. I always see this one on the shelves, and I like historical fiction, so it seemed like a good fit. It was a good book. I did like it. But...it was missing that something special that has made me love her other books so much. It's hard for me to review this book without comparing it to her others.



As a historical fiction novel for YA, this had everything you'd expect. It was informative, interesting, sometimes exciting, sometimes sad. It had tragedy, suspense, all that. And I did learn about the yellow fever epidemic that I didn't know much about before this novel. The characters are loveable and well-written, especially the grandfather. I loved the relationship between the girl and her grandfather. I also liked that the women in this book were the real heroes, the tough survivors. I also liked how it showed both the black community's contribution to Philadelphia during the epidemic as well as how white doctors tried to help. And it was nice to read a age-appropriate YA book. I like YA on the scandalous side, but sometimes, it's a bit much. So it was nice to read a non-romance. Lately it seems like all the YA I've read has been romance. The romance in this novel is very understated, which I liked.



Maybe it's hard to put a lot of voice in a historical fiction novel, but for me, that was missing in this book. The wonderful voice full of humor despite tragedy was absent in this book. That's what made me really love the author after reading a few of her other novels. Overall, this was an interesting book, but nothing exceptional. Basically, it was pretty forgettable.



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Book Review: Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5 stars, actually, but I have to click on a whole star.

This is an awesome book! I go through stages where I read one or two young adult books that are so badly written that I start thinking I’m too old for YA books, that they are all trite and cliché and all have the same characters with the same issues, the same stock scenes, and the same ‘problems.’ And then I read a book like Speak.

I’ve noticed that some adult books deal with difficult situations and issues in a way that’s so graphic it makes me feel sick. But young adult books, the good ones anyway, deal with tough issues in a delicate way. Anderson leaves no doubt in the readers mind about what happened to Melinda, but she doesn’t shove it down your throat and make you gag. The ability to deal with disturbing situations without graphic detail is one of the things that makes YA literature so great. At least in the hands of a writer as talented as Anderson. The graphic violence in adult books sometimes is such a turn-off that it makes the scene comic. Leaving things mostly to the reader’s imagination can make the scene even more powerful than giving all the gory details.

I’d seen the movie Speak a while back, so I already knew going into the book what it was about. So I thought the mysteriousness over what happened to Melinda might get on my nerves. But Anderson is a good enough writer that it didn’t bother me more than a little. I did, however, think it would have been better if she’d let the reader know why Melinda was so screwed up a little earlier—maybe at the one-third mark instead of the two-thirds mark. The only other thing I didn’t like about the book was Melinda’s sudden decision to speak out. It just happened too fast and without a catalyst. I thought something should have happened to make her break her silence. Instead, she suddenly just thinks that it’s spring, and everything is coming to light, so she’ll do the same thing. I just don’t think teenagers pay that much attention to things like that—especially teenagers as screwed up as Melinda.

The most surprising thing about the book to me was the author’s ability to write humorously about such a dark issue. The book could have been a depressing story about a girl with no friends, full of guilt and going crazy inside her head. Instead, it managed to find humor while never making light of the situation. The author’s ability to make a reader laugh on one page and tear up on the next is truly a gift. If Melinda had whined about her situation (and she had every reason to), the book might have gotten tiresome. But she has such a strong, funny voice that you can’t help but love her. She never plays the victim, even though she was one.

This was an amazing read for me. It should be require reading for all teenagers, male and female.


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