Really? Really?

Starred reviews. "...startlingly crisp and pitch-perfect first-person narrative..."; "...a beautiful, haunting look..."

Really?

Really?

Which book did they read? Was it After the Wreck, I Picked Myself Up, Spread My Wings and Flew Away by Joyce Carole Oats?

No....all of these reviews said those things about Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson. Really? Really?
I have to be honest, I am listening to it on cd and I am only near the end of the fourth of six discs. Maybe I'll change my review when I finish it. But right now, I am really, really hating this book. First of all, as alluded to above, it is so reminiscent of After the Wreck that I wonder why more people haven't mentioned it. Second, I am so tired of authors who write about teens reading. Lia is struggling between life and death. Her brain is dying. She is seeing visions of her dead best friend. But yet-- yet-- she still remarks that she is reading Neil Gaiman. Not only does she mention Gaiman but she says she is reading his ..."latest work of genius..." ! And of course when she is remembering her best friend some of her most favorite times with her were spent talking about the books and authors they love!
Really? Really?
Okay...I just finished this book and NO it did not redeem itself in my humble opinion. I know I am in the minority here, but I must be honest!
The main character is just totally unappealing. It is hard to feel sympathy for Lia. I have known girls and women and one young man who struggled with the pure tell of this terrible disease. I have read and heard the stories of many others. I think Lia does a disservice to them by coming across as a truly spoiled brat. To make it worse she pretty much heals herself all up in a couple pages! Hooray for Lia!
There is so much wrong with this book I can't even go on but maybe, after a week or so, I will look back on it differently. Sometimes that does happen to me!