1. Discuss the line: "I pretend to be a fat, healthy teenager.

They pretend to be my
parents." What does this line expose about Lia's feelings for her parents? What does
Lia's frequent use of the word "pretend" throughout the book tell you about the way
she views others? Why does Lia feel she and others must pretend?
Answer: This line shows how Lia feels her parents really are. They dont act like
parents towards her. She feels they are against her and not with her. Therefore
Lia pretends to be a perfectly normal teenager and they pretend to be her
parents. Lias use of the word pretend throughout the book shows that she
feels that the people around her are also against her. She thinks that everyone is
judging her but are pretending not to. They are pretending to care and
pretending to be her friend. All while Lia pretends to reciprocate the feelings.
Lia thinks she must pretend because she feels that when being herself, people
dont accept her, and dont understand her. Therefore she must pretend to be
someone shes not just to feel like she fits in.
2. What do the crossed-out words and phrases reveal about Lia? Why cant she allow
herself to say or think some things? What is she afraid will happen if she does?
Answer: What the crossed out words and phrases reveal about Lia is how afraid
she is. Crossing out those words and phrases show how afraid and uncertain Lia
really is. She cant allow herself to say those words because she thinks its wrong
to think those things. They way Lia is living with her disorder is normal to her. To
have those thoughts about eating or insulting her family arent normal in her
book so she cant allow them through. Lia is afraid that if she does let those
thoughts out, they will be the truth and a slap in the face from reality. That
concept is too big to handle, so Lia just pushes it out of mind. She does so by
crossing out the words and phrases.
3. Does Cassies death trigger Lias restrictive eating patterns to reemerge? Why or Why
not?
Answer: In some ways yes and in some ways no. Lia was already restricting before
Cassie died. Cassies death may have made Lia restrict more often and more
violently though. The pressure to beat Cassie in the skinny pact was gone, but the
pressure on Lia to beat herself in the pact more than tripled. Cassies death made
an already existing problem, worse.
4. Lia repeats the phrase When I was a real girl If shes not real now, what is she?
When did she stop being real? Will she ever be real again?
Answer: Lia is a wintergirl. Shes stuck in between reality and her own little world.
Shes a hologram, thats flickering in and out of consciousness. Lia stopped being
a real girl the minute she saw Cassie throwing up in her moms rose garden.
The only thing different about Lias situation from Cassies is, Lia saw how sad
throwing up made Cassie, so Lia just decided to not eat in the first place. Lia can
be a real girl again if she wanted to be. It will take a lot of work and
cooperation and communication from everyone, but it can happen. If Lia really
wants to get better, she will and hopefully shell stay that way.
5. What does Lia think makes her strong? What do you think of as Lias strengths?
Would Lia agree with you? How does Lias perception of strength change toward the
end of the story?
Answer: Lia thinks being empty and shiny clean makes her strong. Being able to
resist the urge to eat is strong to Lia. Personally my strength for Lia would be her
little sister. How she acts with Emma, does projects and activities that she
doesnt have to do, with her. How Lia gives Emma advice and watches movies
with her in her room and sleeps with her. That is Lias biggest strength, being the
best big sister she can be to Emma. Lia might agree partially. She would want to
be the best big sister she could be, but shed probably say that being empty and
clean gives her motivation to be that good big sister. Towards the end of the
book, Lia starts to see that being empty and clean isnt such a good thing
anymore. Its brought her a lot of trouble and pain and nows the time to try and
get better. Lia does it for herself and she does it for her little sister, to get over
her anorexia and come out on top.
6. The night Cassie dies, why does she call Lia? Would it have made a difference if Lia
had answered? Why or why not? Could anything have saved Cassie?
Answer: Cassie calls Lia the night she dies to tell her that she won the pact that they
made. Lia was the skinniest of the two, and alive. Maybe Cassie didnt want to die
either. With no one else to turn to, she called the person who she defriended long
before that night. Lia. If Lia had answered the phone when Cassie called, it would have
been a whole different ball game. Lia couldve gone to the motel and helped Cassie out
of the situation and helped her survive. Lia never wouldve had the ride of the extreme
roller coaster to show her she needs to change her ways. Nothing anyone did could have
saved Cassie from herself. She didnt want help and she didnt want to get better. Cassie
made that apparent when she decided that she and Lia were no longer going to be
friends. Cassie was a ticking time bomb that exploded. Luckily when she blew up, she
only took herself down and didnt take Lia with her.
7. What is friendship? Describe the important elements of Lia and Cassies relationship.
Are they really friends?
Answer: Friendship is when two or more people have a good, strong relationship
with each other. They can share secrets, have somebody to run to when times
get tough. A friend is a person you can trust with anything and everything, love
like a sibling and act crazy with. In friendships, you never leave each other. They
should always be there for each other, through thick and thin. Lia and Cassie
were like that in the beginning. They always had each others backs no matter
what. Slowly over time though, Cassie started to become popular. Lia didnt.
Eventually Cassie ditched Lia and all the years of their friendship went down the
toilet. When they were younger, Cassie and Lia were good best friends. They
hadnt been exposed to the harsh world or high school yet. As they got older,
thats when they started to slip. They were covering up their eating disorders for
each other. They participated in the game together. As time went on, they both
pushed the other to be the skinniest. Suddenly they werent on the same team
anymore. They were fighting against each other, trying to win the game to be the
skinnier of the two. More importantly, they didnt try to save on another. That is
not true friendship.
8. What do we learn from Cassies ghost? Does her presence help or hinder Lia on her
path to recovery? What does Cassies ghost come to symbolize by the end of the
novel?
Answer: We learn from Cassies ghost how she felt when she was alive. How she
feels now that shes dead and what she misses about being alive. We learn that
she wants Lia to give up and join her as a ghost. As Cassies ghost starts to come
into the picture, we learn how Lias brain really works and how she deals with
stress. Cassies ghosts presence does both help and hinder Lia on her path to
recovery. If it hadnt been for the ghost wanting Lia to give up and join her, Lia
might not have ever gotten better. Cassies ghost showed Lia what she was
actually doing and how she was going to die soon if she kept that same behavior
up. If it wasnt for Cassies ghost telling Lia she was dying at the motel, Lia might
have really met the same fate as Cassie had. On the other hand, Cassies ghost
scared Lia very much. She made Lia very paranoid and unsure about everything.
She didnt even want to sleep because she knew if she did Cassies ghost would
show up and she couldnt handle that. Cassies ghost, at the end comes to show
as almost Lias conscience. Cassie kept telling her she was going to die and that
she was going overboard and that her mineral levels and such were too low.
After much convincing, Cassies ghost managed to talk Lia into getting help for
herself and to get better.

9. Lia is particular about the names she calls her family members (i.e. Jennifer instead
of Stepmother, Dr. Marrigan instead of Mom, Professor Overbrook instead of
Dad). What does this reveal about what Lia thinks of her family members?
Answer: Lia doing so shows how she really feels about her adult family. Lia calling
them by their first names or professional names shows that that is how she sees
them. Even when theyre not at work they still act like it. They arent acting like
theyre her parents; they are acting as if they are just there to supervise her. Lia
feels unwanted and disconnected from her parents. She doesnt want to talk to
them or even be around them. To assure her brain that that will happen, she calls
them their professional names instead of Mom, Dad, and Stepmother.
10. Dr. Parker tells Lia: In one aspect, yes, I believe in ghosts, but we create them. Do
you agree with her? How much of what happens to Lia is a result of her own doing?
How much of it is caused by others?
Answer: I believe that some ghosts are real. On the other hand the majority of
ghosts, I agree with Dr. Parker, come from our imagination. It just depends on the
situation. Lia doesnt eat. The way she acts and what she almost says shows that
shes hungry, starving even. If shes not feeding her body, her mind will start to
go numb. Most of the time Lias eyes, brain, and body are probably playing tricks
on her, making her think that she sees Cassies ghost. The pressures of others on
Lia to be the perfect sister, daughter, human and to get better are also too much
for her. She doesnt really have any friends or anyone to turn to. Out of an
overload of stress and pressure from everyone, Lia created Cassies ghost to see,
talk to and interact with on occasion. Sixty-five percent of the blame can go to Lia
for doing this to herself and Thirty-five percent of the blame can go to others for
doing this to Lia.
11. Lias mother tells her: Cassie had everything: a family who loved her, friends,
activities. Her mother wants to know why she threw it all away. According to Lia,
asking why Cassie died is the wrong question. She says to ask why not. What do
you think she means by this? Which do you think is the right question to ask? Is there
an answer to either?
Answer: Cassie had an eating disorder, she had to try and fit in and shed lost her
best friend. She was going through a lot. No one really understood what, so they
couldnt help her. She went through her struggles alone. Inside of Cassies head
she had already been dead. Her fathers breakdown was the breaking point
where she decided no more. She physically and emotionally couldnt do it any
longer. That is why the question shouldve been why not instead of why.
Personally, why and why not are the same questions. Why is listing off all the
reasons she did it. Why not is like asking why shouldnt she have? which is
then going to list off reasons she did it. The question that shouldve been asked is
for how long? How long had Cassie been thinking about killing herself, how
long had she been having those thought and feelings? To Cassie there was an
answer. Everyone around her couldnt look inside her head, step into her shoes
for one day, so even if Cassie had told them the answer, they still wouldnt have
understood. In Cassies mind there was an answer, but for everyone else there
wasnt one.
12. What does the see-glass mean to Lia? What does she think she needs it for? Does
this end up being true?
Answer: The sea-glass is a connection to Cassie. When Cassie told Lia that it was
magical, she believed her. Lia thought that the sea-glass could determine her
future. Lia thinks she needs the glass to see her future. To see if anything good
will come. When Lia meets Cassies ghost in the motel when Lia starts dying, she
gets a chance to look through the sea-glass. Lia sees that there are very many
options to choose from in her future. She realizes that maybe things can get
better than what they are at the moment and decides to call for help. In a sense,
that sea-glass helped Lia survive her battle with death.
13. What is Lia using her thinness to communicate to her parents? What is her body
saying that her voice cannot?
Answer: Lia is showing her parents with her thinness that she needs healthy love
and attention from them. Theres obviously something going on in her head
thats making her do this. Lias parents need to realize that she just needs love
and assurance. No matter what the voices and others say about her, how she
feels is what matters most. Lia should be her own person and not worry a single
bit about what the others think of her. Her body is saying that shes in dire need
of help. Shipping her off to a facility and a shrink wont make things perfect again.
Lia just need her parents to be normal loving and supportive parents and thats it.
14. Elijah calls himself a wanderer in search of truth. Does he find truth by the end of
the story? Does Lia? Are any of the other characters able to do so? Explain.
Answer: Elijah finds out Lias real name and that she is very sick. He didnt know
what type of sick or that Cassie was sick either. Once he found out that Lia was
troubled and running from her parents, he drove out on her and made her face
her problems head on. Lia finds out the truth about dying and what it feels like
and what she would be spent doing for the rest of eternity. Lia also finds out the
truth of eating. Eating isnt such a scary thing and its a part of life. It needs to be
done in order to survive and if you work on it, its actually not that bad of a thing.
Lias parents find a little bit of truth about whats happening because, Lia is
opening up and cooperating in family sessions at the treatment facility.
15. Lias dad says to her: I wish I understood what goes on inside you why youre so
afraid. Is fear part of Lias problem? What is she afraid of?
Answer: Fear is part of Lias problem. Shes afraid of admitting that she doesnt
like to eat. Shes afraid of not being included and being disregarded of. Most of
all, Lia is afraid of disappointing her parents. Lia doesnt want to put it into stone
that she has a problem that is a burden on the family at most times. Admitting
that she has a problem to her parents means letting them through her brick wall,
and showing them the war that is happening on the other side of it. Lia doesnt
like the idea of letting them inside of her brain but she doesnt like letting them
down just as much. She is the oldest daughter and she has to live up to good
expectations. If she says that she really does have this problem, she thinks that
from that point and on from the confession, her parents will be disappointed
with her. Lia cant let that happen, so she just stays quiet.
16. Read the two epigraphs printed at the front of the book. How do you think each
relates to Lia and her situation?
Answer: Epigraph 1: Lia is like Persephone. She reached out to observe a
plaything and the earth beneath her opened up and swallowed her up. As she
was falling into the black hole she was crying out, but no one seemed to hear her.
Then she was trapped.
Epigraph 2: Lia is also like Sleeping Beauty. Even though letting her lay by herself
was a bad idea, the people still let her lay there by herself. When she needed
awakened, needed help, she was left there to rest alone.
17. What ultimately changes for Lia by the end of the story? Why does she survive when
Cassie didnt?
Answer: Lias whole perspective on her life and her ways change. She sees whats
happening to her, with the help from Cassies ghost, and decides that things need
to change if she wants to live. Lia survived because she realized at the last minute
what was happening and decided she wanted to live. Cassie didnt have anyone
either, but a difference is, she didnt have mental help from a late friend to help
her see just how far she was going. She couldnt stop herself on her own and
unfortunately she couldnt pause in time and died. Cassie was there for Lia
though, and helped her pause just in time so that she could live.
18. In the newspaper article about Cassies death, the superintendent of schools says,
Most teens today struggle with something. Do you agree? Explain your opinion.
Answer: I strongly agree. Todays society is so harsh. If you dont wear the right size, if
you dont own the right clothes, if you dont have the most expensive house and car or
the right make-up and hair youre not as good as those who do. Putting that idea into
teenagers heads add in school work, school drama, a job, friends, family and time for
themselves. That is so intense its nearly impossible to handle. Eventually overtime all of
those pressures and expectations will get too heavy and crash down on the person who
is carrying them. This leads to eating disorders, self-harm, etc. All of these problems are
why teens have personal problems in the first place!! Ninety-nine point Ninety-nine
percent of teens will struggle with something in their lifetime.