Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero

10 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 Backlist gems from nearly ten years ago, this didn’t feel outdated at all.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

luna_bear's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad fast-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Abortion, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Rape, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Sexism, and Violence

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

asaugustine's review against another edition

funny reflective fast-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

I picked this book up because it was in my classroom library and the cover was… provocative. I really enjoyed the epistolary style, and felt like it moved the story along at a quick pace. I also appreciated the honesty with which the book tackled complex issues; the internal conflicts felt very real, and the ebbs and flows of Senior year were also quite realistic - I appreciated how not all of the conflicts occurred at the very end of the novel, because, you know, sometimes problems happen in the middle of January in the midst of a school year. 

I would best describe this book as a grittier version of “I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter”, advancing many of the same themes and tropes, but with a slightly older audience in mind. A good read, although I will reserve it for only a few of my eighth grade students who are mature enough to handle the material. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Rape, Body shaming, and Abortion

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

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

queen_emmy's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

Gabi is a loveable narrator and hearing the story in “diary” format directly from her gives the reader almost omniscient insight into who she is and how she thinks. She and her friends all go through their fair share of tough situations during their final years of high school, but they are fiercely loyal to one another and always have each others’ backs. While parts of this book are hard to read because such likable characters are struggling, I think this book paints the issues that some teens face in a very honest light and I felt that this was one of those books that needed to be written.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, and Homophobia

vanessamex's review

emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• 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, Sexual assault, Rape, Drug abuse, and Death

rileyreadsbooks's review

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, Grief, and Sexism

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence

Minor: Ableism, Dementia, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Infidelity, Self harm, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

allzen_nochill's review

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