I'm back!
Family emergency completely took over the last 6 weeks of my life. Everything I was reading and all reviews I was writing were put on hold. Hope to get back on track this week. Stay tuned...
Top 10 Books to Read in a Day
All of my books are SHORT and based on the fact that I'm a SLOW READER.
(Lazy-eye handicapped)
1. The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E Pearson
2. Pain by Michael Carson
2. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
3. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
4. Firespell by Chloe Neill
5. Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen
6. Forever... by Judy Blume
7. The Clone Codes by The McKissacks
8. The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
9. The Giver by Lois Lowry
10. The Vow by Kim and Krickitt Carpenter
It's Monday, What are YOU Reading?
I also read and have the following reviews coming up this week:
Houserules, The Adoration of Jenna Fox, and Memoirs of a Geisha.
I am currently reading to review "Stray" by Mark Matthews.
My reading plans are always subject to change, but as of now, I plan on getting back on track with
In My Mailbox #5
Winners on "Steve Jobs"
book and audio book"
Review: "Wintergirls"
by Laurie Halse Anderson
Released March 2009 Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Author Info: Website / Blog
Twitter / Facebook / Youtube
National Eating Disorder Assoc.
Audio Rating - BEST AUDIO VOICES
Book Rating -4/5 Stars
Add to Goodreads
Book Depository / Indie Purchase
“Dead girl walking,” the boys say in the halls.Why I read this book:
“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 were best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies. But now Cassie is dead. Lia's mother is busy saving other people's lives. Her father is away on business. Her step-mother is clueless. And the voice inside Lia's head keeps telling her to remain in control, stay strong, lose more, weigh less. If she keeps on going this way—thin, thinner, thinnest—maybe she'll disappear altogether.
In her most emotionally wrenching, lyrically written book since the National Book Award finalist Speak, best-selling author Laurie Halse Anderson explores one girl's chilling descent into the all-consuming vortex of anorexia.
"Wintergirls" received great reviews from my friends and it was a topic I could somewhat relate to.
My Take
The novel begins with Lia finding out her ex-best friend was found dead in a hotel room. The ex-best friend she still wanted as a friend, but Cassie's parents decided Lia was a bad influence on her. It was actually the other way around. Cassie was a bad influence on Lia. Cassie had found a new way to stay thin at summer camp, and she couldn't wait to share it with Lia.
~This was the beginning of the end, of their eating disorder friendship.~
Cassie had called Lia last night, the night she died, 32 times; but Lia didn't answer her calls. Lia finally listens to the calls after her death, and becomes certain that she could have saved her, if she had only picked up the phone to talk to her. Overridden with depression and guilt, Lia's eating disorder spirals out of control. Lia begins to see Cassie everywhere. She can't tell a soul, they will think she is crazy, she has to keep it a secret. She has to stay in control. Keeping a secret is control. Control means not eating. The harder her family tries to make her eat, the more she becomes determined to starve.
The author, Laurie Halse Anderson, uses her own history and experience of living with an eating disorder, and takes you through the life of what it's like to be Lia. You learn what goes through her mind that makes her want to starve herself. It becomes easy to see who and how the controlling people in Lia's life become triggers for her.
There were times in the novel I thought the author could have gone deeper into what it was like to have an eating disorder, but after thinking about it, her way was better. #1 She took care of herself while approaching this issue, careful not to trigger herself. #2 She almost goes out of her way not to give young teens ideas to try. Yet the consequences of the characters actions in her book are devastating. The first person narration through Lia's point of view, made this possible.
I personally would have preferred a little more of the dynamics into Lia's and Cassie's relationship. Something to fill in the gaps before their friendship ended. Since this didn't happen, the novel ended with me still having questions.
Who I would recommend this book for:
I would recommend moms read "Wintergirls" along with their teen daughters, or to people who have family members with eating disorders.
Note to parents: - There are consequences in this book from "cutting", although it is not the main plot of the book.
Waiting on Wednesday
I am a serious "medical thriller junkie", although I haven't read any in a while. I've been trying to broaden my horizons with other genres, but the itch is coming back.
click here to enter giveaway by the author, Amy Rogers.
What if bacteria turned all the gasoline in Los Angeles into vinegar? Carmageddon doesn't begin to describe it. PETROPLAGUE does. Christina Gonzlez expected her research to change the world. But not like this. The UCLA graduate student wanted to use biotechnology to free America from its dependence on Middle Eastern oil. Instead, an act of eco-terrorism unleashes her genetically-modified bacteria into the fuel supply of Los Angeles, turning gasoline into vinegar. With the city paralyzed and slipping toward anarchy, Christina must find a way to rein in the microscopic monster she created. But not everyone wants to cure the petroplague-and some will do whatever it takes to spread it. From the La Brea Tar Pits to university laboratories to the wilds of the Angeles National Forest, Christina and her cousin River struggle against enemies seen and unseen to stop the infection before it's too late.
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