“You’re not dead, but you’re not alive. You’re a wintergirl. . . .” If it’s been a long time since you’ve cried while reading a book, you should read Wintergirls, by Laurie Halse Anderson. Wintergirls is a realistic fiction about Lia, a high school girl whose only priority is to be skinny. And to stay skinny. But then her best friend, Cassie, dies and Lia believes that herself is to blame. Now Lia’s lost the only person who understood her battle to stay thin. And with Cassie’s ghost haunting her wherever she goes, Lia must decide if she is going to stay a “wintergirl” forever. Or not.

Laurie Halse Anderson wrote this book beautifully. Her writing chills you to the bones. It makes you feel like there are ghosts and monsters all around you, yet the writing is as breathtaking and graceful as a ballerina. This book’s emotion and sadness makes it impeccable for reading on a gray, cold, rainy day. It scares you. It makes you cry. It makes you notice things outside of your own world. It’s a book that you want to throw on the floor and run away, yet because of that, you never ever want to put it down. Anderson finds the perfect mix of tension, sadness, and an almost haunted feeling. As well as beautiful, breathtaking, wonderful hopefulness. If you’re looking for a book that will send shivers up your spine, will make you cry, and make you be dazzled by its beauty, Wintergirls is the one for you.