Cross-Book Inquiry: "You're not dead, but you're not alive"

Cross-book inquiry
Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind. —Dr. Suess

I strongly believe that Lia from "Wintergirls" by Laurie Halse Anderson, is similar to Mclean in "What Happened to Goodbye" by Sarah Dessen. They are not dead, but they don't seem alive either. In my opinion, both of them are not being honest to the readers or themselves. Both of them are trying to forgot the past but is facing struggles to accomplish that task. They don't live life like they exist. It's like they are borrowing someone's identity because of fear that their true self would be discovered. In general, I think that there are similarities between Lia and Mclean.

For instance, first, they both suffer because of their past. Lia, on one hand, is troubled with guilt because she felt that she was the reason her former best friend, Cassie, had died. She felt ashamed for not taking Cassie's calls at the times when she needed her the most. On the other hand, Mclean suffers from being stuck in between her mom and dad. They were divorced, and her mother has already remarried to a better, more richer man. These two girls have their past haunting them and is surely affecting their daily lives. They are similar also because they chose to escape the fact that they have problems. I think that Lia relieves herself by cutting her body to manage her stress. Mclean lives by changing her name every time she and her dad moves to a new town because of his job (and they move around many times a year). She does this so that she can leave her past behind and not bring any flaws with her. She does this so that she could be whoever she wants, whenever she moves and not have to face her old memories. I feel that even though both of them don't admit that they are having trouble (like when Lia denies that she has obstacles to her therapist, and when Mclean refuses to allow her dad talk to her about her new changes), the evidence of them struggling is still there. What they have to do is open up their hearts and talk truthfully with someone they trust. They have to face their problems and overcome them. There will still be dust in the floor if you don't clean it well. To conclude, these are the similarities between Lia and Mclean.

Another example is that both of them also say the opposite of what they think. They pretend to be someone else so that their true names won't be involved. This makes me think that they cannot accept themselves for who they are. In "Wintergirls", I've noticed that Lia's original thoughts were usually crossed out, then replaced with words that mean the opposite. I feel that the crossed out words usually shows her real feelings but they are crossed out because she is trying to trick herself into believing that the uncrossed-out words are what she really meant. She's not being honest this way either. Also, in Mclean's case, the fact that she always have a different identity and character whenever she is in a another neighborhood tells me that she isn't being real to herself and the people around her too.

Dr. Suess, the man who best understands kid's feelings, had said. "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." I like this quote especially because it's like saying you should have the courage to stand up and declare, "this is who I am." People who truly care about you won't be bothered with your past. In another words, Lia and Mclean are connected in some way because of their personality.

All the things considered, I think that they are similar because of how they manage their issues. Unless they clear out the mess they have, they will never become their true self. Worrying and stressing over something that won't exist anymore is nothing but a waste of life. And you'll only have one life to live with too. This is makes me connect "Wintergirls" and "What Happened to Goodbye" because of how alike the characters are.

Wintergirls in Haunt

Wintergirls
Blog Post

      Yesterday, I've picked up the book "Wintergirls", by Laurie Halse Anderson, to read because it seems interesting. The story revolves around Lia, who suffers from eating disorders. After knowing that her ex-best friend, Cassie, was found dead in a motel room by herself, she starts to fear the world. That is because Cassie has given her 33 phone calls the night she had died, but Lia purposely ignored them. This makes me think that Cassie is the antagonist because her death pressures her to assume that it was her fault she had commit suicide.
      To begin, Lia is "chased after" by Cassie because she keeps on remembering the times they have spent together having fun, and then it ends with the reminder of the 33 missed calls. She feels guilty over the fact that she could have saved her, if she had only picked up the phone. Cassie is like the antagonist that is preventing her from advancing in her journey. She struggles to maintain a normal life, and her obsession with her weight definitely did not do much to help either. Also, she said. "The body of Cassandra Jane Parrish is asleep in a cold silver box. They'll dig a hole in the ground and plant her on Saturday. What about the rest of her, the real Cassie? I think she's coming here." She feels haunted by her, even in her dreams. Everywhere she goes, she senses Cassie following her, revenging her for not picking up the calls, for not caring about her anymore. She feels ashamed because of her death, even though I feel that it is partially not necessarily her fault. She was not the one who had killed her, right?
      Because of the antagonist, it makes me feel that instead of thinking about what she could have done to prevent her death, she should think about what she should do now. She's wasting her time scaring herself when she could have something nicer to Cassie. She has low self-esteem which is why she chose to cut herself in order to lose weight. It's not like she could rewrite the past to change the future anyways, and so that's why I think that she should stop feeling guilty for what she have done. Sure, it's hard not to feel responsible for her death because she could have done something to avoid the tragedies, but it's too late to blame now. Time won't stop to help you regain yourself. The number 33 keeps on appearing in her mind because she feels guilty of crime for Cassie's death. This is why I can tell that she is the antagonist who is opposing the main character in the story.
      Therefore, I believe that Cassie is like Lia's enemy because her nonexistent slows her down from having a healthy lifestyle. It makes me think that another reason why she chooses to cut herself is because she is trying to punish herself. When Cassie was still alive, they often compete to be the skinniest. She is pretending not to feel haunted even though she is. In conclusion, I can tell that Cassie is the antagonist because she gives a negative impact to Lia in the story.