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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
4.5 stars
When I read glowing reviews of a book, my expectations are super high. And I read a few reviews of Gabi, a Girl in Pieces from teenlibrariantoolbox.com and the interviews with the author on YALSA's The Hub. I was interested and really hoping that this book would deliver. And it did!
While I didn't love Gabi, a Girl in Pieces to pieces (har har), I did really appreciate this book. Normally, me appreciating a book doesn't really warrant 5 stars, but this book feels like a 21st century mix of Judy Blume's Are You There God, It's Me Margaret? and Forever. The issues Gabi faces (sex, drug addiction, coming out, puberty, unplanned pregnancy) are real and handled in a way that feels authentic. Gabi is no fallen woman or some teen horror story written to show teens what not to do. Gabi is just a girl who faces very real problems and discovers that she had the strength inside her to overcome it. And, my goodness, she faced so many problems.
There's so much I really appreciated about this book. I liked that Gabi was a fat girl. I liked that she didn't abide slut shaming. I liked that she is able to balance family life, friendships, and romance. I liked that there was a romance but it most definitely was not the focus of the book. My only complaint is that the dialogue/Gabi's inner monologue sounds preachy. And while I agree with what the author/Gabi is preaching (example: the saying "boys will be boys" is really terrible and boys should be held accountable), I don't think teens enjoy being preached at.
If I were a teen, I would've loved this book. The teen in me recognizes that Gabi is a female character that I could really look up to and I wish that there had been a character like Gabi when I was growing up.
When I read glowing reviews of a book, my expectations are super high. And I read a few reviews of Gabi, a Girl in Pieces from teenlibrariantoolbox.com and the interviews with the author on YALSA's The Hub. I was interested and really hoping that this book would deliver. And it did!
While I didn't love Gabi, a Girl in Pieces to pieces (har har), I did really appreciate this book. Normally, me appreciating a book doesn't really warrant 5 stars, but this book feels like a 21st century mix of Judy Blume's Are You There God, It's Me Margaret? and Forever. The issues Gabi faces (sex, drug addiction, coming out, puberty, unplanned pregnancy) are real and handled in a way that feels authentic. Gabi is no fallen woman or some teen horror story written to show teens what not to do. Gabi is just a girl who faces very real problems and discovers that she had the strength inside her to overcome it. And, my goodness, she faced so many problems.
There's so much I really appreciated about this book. I liked that Gabi was a fat girl. I liked that she didn't abide slut shaming. I liked that she is able to balance family life, friendships, and romance. I liked that there was a romance but it most definitely was not the focus of the book. My only complaint is that the dialogue/Gabi's inner monologue sounds preachy. And while I agree with what the author/Gabi is preaching (example: the saying "boys will be boys" is really terrible and boys should be held accountable), I don't think teens enjoy being preached at.
If I were a teen, I would've loved this book. The teen in me recognizes that Gabi is a female character that I could really look up to and I wish that there had been a character like Gabi when I was growing up.
I loved this coming-of-age novel. Wonderful and thoughtful.
I really really loved this. I want to say a lot about it when I have time to get it all out. It's so good at so many things, like being Latina and not being a skinny bitch and not being wealthy and speaking Spanglish and just being PEOPLE. To be fair, this book (or at least the Kindle edition I read) never saw a copyeditor, and that's a shame. Misused punctuation, almost no accents where they're required in Spanish, made up words, etc. And it was enough for me to notice a lot. But it's also so fucking good and so fucking essential to be added to the literary world and so long overdue, and I'm happy it's here and I'm going to make everyone read it and buy it.
One of the best YA lit books I've ever read. Gabi's voice is so real, I felt as if she could have been any one of a number of students I've had over the years. This book made me laugh out loud, cry, and stay up late to finish it. Great read!
Great book about finding yourself: your place in your family, with your friends, in relationships, in school. The book summary does not give this book enough credit. Beautiful, beautiful story, great poetry. Love, love love. One of my favorite books now next to Infinite in Between by Carolyn Mackler. DO NOT BE FOOLED BY SIMPLE SUMMARY! SUCH A GOOD READ!
It took me about 100 pages to truly get into this book, but once I did I finished it in one sitting. I love how this book deals with complexity— to keep with the poetry theme, I would sum up this book with Whitman’s line: “I am large, I contain multitudes.” I love how this book grapples with Mexican-American culture, death and grief, feminism, family, sexuality, body image, drug use, teenage pregnancy, abortion— yes, it is a lot but each topic is handled with nuance and care in a way that is seldom didactic and quite relatable. A fun bonus is the different genres we get within the book— several amazing poems and a zine!
I'm just really glad that I read this book. The main character's voice is so strong; she's funny, inappropriate, and honest. I wasn't sure how I felt about the story as I was reading, but at the end I sat with the book my hands for a while. And, I actually took the time to read the acknowledgements at the end. This is always an indication to me that it was a good one.