Girls Speak and Reviving Ophelia

On my walk home tonight I noticed a girl walking in front of me who was waifish and looked very sick. It was difficult not to glance at her, but at the same time painful to look. I noticed everyone staring her as they passed and it made me think immediately of Wintergirls. It was very apparent that there was something wrong. 

I recounted the story to my roommate as well as the plot of Wintergirls …she had picked up my SLJ and read the cover story about Laurie Halse Anderson and was interested. My roommate knew about the “pro ano” websites already- at least that’s what she called them. We started discussing our experiences in high school and how it was hard to relate to the many deep and troubling issues of eating disorders, cutting, abuse, and suicide that many teens, especially girls face today. Both of us had read…well she read Reviving Ophelia by Mary Pipher and I read Ophelia Speaks by Sara Shandler much later in college, and had always been unable to relate specifically to these issues. I’m curious as to whether these books are read by teen girls today and whether they are still relevant. Ophelia Speaks would definitely be a good selection for a YA section and even would be effective if partnered with Wintergirls. I think any books that give a voice to teens is important not only for other teens and parents, but also society as a whole. This also reminds me of a recent video I saw of Laurie Halse Anderson reading a poem based on the 10th Anniversary of Speak. It is definitely worth checking out:

http://www.earlyword.com/2009/07/09/kids-on-speak/