Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Gabi, A Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero

6 reviews

amandalorianxo's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is what I expected and wanted from Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter that I didn’t get. Gabi is written with an authentic voice of a teenager who is juggling senior year in California with a lot of family & friends baggage. I laughed & cried. Questioning so much it was like I was seeing me in these pages. Gabi is being told that a good Mexican girl has a checklist but despite being the only (& oldest) daughter in the family yet her younger brother isn’t given those same rules. Yet Gabi has dreams of her own that don’t involve staying with an overworked, controlling mother. Backlist gems from nearly ten years ago, this didn’t feel outdated at all. Ironically, I was graduating college in 2014 but even 21 year old Amanda would have loved this as much as 31 year old me does today. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy and Drug abuse

Minor: Religious bigotry, Homophobia, and Death of parent

thewordsdevourer's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

told in the format of a journal interspersed w/ poems and even a zine, gabi, a girl in pieces reads like a YA classic w/ its story of identity, family, friendship, relationships, and grapples w/ the world.

the main character gabi is painfully, frighteningly relatable w/ her sturggles w/ body image, eating, complicated relationship w/ family, and her narrative voice is wry and at times hilarious. it's satisfying to see her grow and evolve thruout the novel, gradually thinking critically abt the world around her and the way girls are treated in her cultural context, and eventually speaking up and making her voice heard.

there's a lot going on in this short book, w/ quintero tackling numerous topics and issues, and tho it can feel a lil overwhelming at times, it's also realistic. there's addiction, teen pregnancy, rape culture, coming (and getting kicked) out, body image, internalized misogyny, and cultural pressure, to name a few. quintero approaches them all w/ equal parts realism and empathy. furthermore, the poems - esp those abt gabi's family - can be particularly touching, while the zine poems are technically great yet incisive.

i only wish things didnt peter out for cindy and sebastian towards the end, w/ gabi seeming hyperfocused in her own head. also i cant help but be a lil confused as to why many boys suddenly flock to gabi when nothing abt her has rly changed internally or externally. the narrative can also get repetitive at times, w/ some things mentioned or happening over and over, blurring many of the events tgt into one indistinct blob. the end couldve been less abrupt too.

while this novel contains serious themes and topics, it addresses and explores them w/ empathetic realism thru a humorous and wry narrative voice; an inevitable YA classic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Grief, Addiction, Body shaming, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Homophobia, and Misogyny

Moderate: Abortion, Drug abuse, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, and Sexual content

Minor: Excrement and Rape

nitya's review against another edition

dark emotional funny sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Read for MLIS elective

I really liked the epistolary/diary style format! Gabi was such a honest and wonderfully flawed character.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Misogyny

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Addiction, Child abuse, and Homophobia

Minor: Ableism, Infidelity, and Rape

aconfundityofcrows's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This hit me in all the right places.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Homophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Abandonment, Ableism, Abortion, Drug use, Excrement, Infidelity, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Cursing

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Cultural appropriation, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, and Dementia

ginadapooh's review against another edition

emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Addiction, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

allzen_nochill's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

We stan a fat protagonist who gets to stay fat. Gabi's voice is quintessentially teenage girl, which is great in many ways & grating in others (man, do I not miss high school at all). The only thing about diary-style books is that sometimes we don't get as rich of a backdrop as we do with other narrative styles and this is definitely a case here. We spend a lot of time in Gabi's head - admittedly a great place - but not enough in her world. The book is good, but it's that one little quality that makes me think this probably won't be on my obsessive re-reading list.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Death

Moderate: Body shaming, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Fatphobia, and Sexual assault

Minor: Rape and Bullying