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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
Fantastic book that tackles all kinds of complicated issues with an air of humor.
This is a diary account of Gabi's senior year of high school. It's an "issues" book, and Gabi and her friends and family have a lot of them. Racism, overeating/obesity, sex, slut shaming, teen pregnancy and abortion, rape, homophobia, drug abuse, body image issues, oppressive religious and ethnic expectations, poverty. Could have been pretty preachy and "issue-y".
But it really didn't seem so to me, even though Gabi deals with all these issues. She deals in a really real way, she feels really real, and despite all her problems there is a ton of teenage silliness, overly dramatic emoting, philosophical musings, and semi-decent poetry, as well as a reprint of a fictional zine she makes at one point. Gabi is fierce, sex-positive, brave but full of self-doubt, and sarcastically funny.
Some parents might have objections to some of the content, but none of it is gratuitous, and frankly, I feel like Gabi deals with it all in a really responsible way, aside from one bad decision which ends up having realistic consequences. There's a lot for kids and parents to talk about, but it's real stuff, and it's important stuff.
But it really didn't seem so to me, even though Gabi deals with all these issues. She deals in a really real way, she feels really real, and despite all her problems there is a ton of teenage silliness, overly dramatic emoting, philosophical musings, and semi-decent poetry, as well as a reprint of a fictional zine she makes at one point. Gabi is fierce, sex-positive, brave but full of self-doubt, and sarcastically funny.
Some parents might have objections to some of the content, but none of it is gratuitous, and frankly, I feel like Gabi deals with it all in a really responsible way, aside from one bad decision which ends up having realistic consequences. There's a lot for kids and parents to talk about, but it's real stuff, and it's important stuff.
I loved this book so much. I’ve recently been rereading a lot of my teenage journals while writing memory essays for my collection, and Gabi, A Girl in Pieces could literally have been pulled from them. I relate to Gabi so much (even though it’s been many years since I have been a teen).
Gabi, A Girl in Pieces is narrator Gabi Hernandez’ senior year journal, where she records her feelings, her everyday life, school, poems, life events, and random thoughts. It really reads just like a journal too, something which writer Isabel Quintero pulls off fantastically. On the surface Gabi’s days may be mundane, routine, but her life is the exact opposite. Her father is an addict, her mother tries her best to keep her family together, one of her best friends is pregnant, and the other has just come out to his very anti-gay family. Gabi is also stuck between two worlds, a born and raised American girl with Mexican immigrant parents, and her journal shows how difficult, but also rewarding, it can be to navigate both of these worlds.
Gabi could easily have been me: living with an addict parent, dealing with parental death, growing up trying to fit in and being oneself at the same time, using writing as escape, navigating different cultures... So smart but unable to see it, to understand all the potential that lays ahead. Reading this book gave me so many feels, and I wept, and laughed out loud, so many times. I really, really loved this book, loved how many of the important topics it brings up, and loved how it deals with them in a way that a teen would.
Gabi, A Girl in Pieces is narrator Gabi Hernandez’ senior year journal, where she records her feelings, her everyday life, school, poems, life events, and random thoughts. It really reads just like a journal too, something which writer Isabel Quintero pulls off fantastically. On the surface Gabi’s days may be mundane, routine, but her life is the exact opposite. Her father is an addict, her mother tries her best to keep her family together, one of her best friends is pregnant, and the other has just come out to his very anti-gay family. Gabi is also stuck between two worlds, a born and raised American girl with Mexican immigrant parents, and her journal shows how difficult, but also rewarding, it can be to navigate both of these worlds.
Gabi could easily have been me: living with an addict parent, dealing with parental death, growing up trying to fit in and being oneself at the same time, using writing as escape, navigating different cultures... So smart but unable to see it, to understand all the potential that lays ahead. Reading this book gave me so many feels, and I wept, and laughed out loud, so many times. I really, really loved this book, loved how many of the important topics it brings up, and loved how it deals with them in a way that a teen would.
If this book had been published recently, I'd probably rate it a little lower. It was a good read, but I don't think it really resolved any of the issues it presented in especially positive ways, and those issues included absolutely everything you could possibly add into a book about teenagers: body image/shaming/eating disorders, SA, misogyny, addiction, teen pregnancy, death, and probably so much more that I have forgotten already. As it was published 10 years ago, however, I think it is an important book that probably moved YA literature forward in a positive direction and started so many conversations that needed to be had.
My only other criticism, which is slight, is that the voice of the 17/18 year old narrator feels very young to me. She definitely matured throughout the story, but overall, it kind of read like I was listening to the thoughts of someone much younger.
Honestly, I'd love to read another, more recent YA book from this author.
My only other criticism, which is slight, is that the voice of the 17/18 year old narrator feels very young to me. She definitely matured throughout the story, but overall, it kind of read like I was listening to the thoughts of someone much younger.
Honestly, I'd love to read another, more recent YA book from this author.
emotional
funny
reflective
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
Actually 3.5 - Gabi is looking forward to her senior year of high school and keeps track of her thoughts through a journal/diary. She discusses body image, boyfriends, sex, gay relationships and leaving for college. This is a realistic diary and the book would have a wide appeal. Especially for those who don't want to read a formal story.
This is one of the best examples I’ve read of how to handle sensitive topics in YA with grace while still maintaining the voice of a teenager. This book is funny, poignant, and a blast to read, despite the difficult subjects it contains. “Gabi, A Girl in Pieces” is a mosaic of all the hardest parts of coming of age, narrated by a main character you can't help but love.
Apparently I am not too old for a diary novel! This is an honest, feminist, and emotional high school coming of age story that I wish I'd actually read in high school. Gabi has all the up and down emotions and stressors of high school but there is such a clarity to her way of thinking as she is forced to make tough decisions and grow up in a world of contradictions. She has pithy observations and all the questions most adults are afraid to ask or discuss. Loved this book so much!
Full review here: https://amandasbookblog.wordpress.com/2015/10/23/gabi-a-girl-in-pieces/
Full review here: https://amandasbookblog.wordpress.com/2015/10/23/gabi-a-girl-in-pieces/
"Gabi A Girl in Pieces" is a fantastic Latina YA that I'd 100% recommend.
It's written as diary entries over Gabi's senior year of high school, so we get the entire story through Gabi's reflections. I love that we get to see a fat girl live her life without having to get over being fat. It comes up a lot, but Gabi's story isn't about becoming skinny. She lives her life and finds success in school and boys. Lots of boys. Gabi knows she's boy crazy and has to deal with Christian guilt and older women's lectures about not being "easy". And this is the heart of the story: Young Latinas wanting to live their lives and all the things that get in the way.
Gabi and her friends are faced with addiction, shitty teenage boys, sexual assault, police, and dysfunctional families. They come out better for it though, with more love & understanding for each other, their community, and those same messy families. Hell, even the adults learn a couple things.
That's not to say I didn't have issues with it: Gabi complains that people don't think she's Mexican cause of her white skin which made me eye roll. The diary entry format removes a sense of tension and disconnects us from events slightly.
This is also another book about an academically successful Latina wanting to go to college & be a writer, so at this point I wanna see a book about Latinxs who don't adore school.
It's written as diary entries over Gabi's senior year of high school, so we get the entire story through Gabi's reflections. I love that we get to see a fat girl live her life without having to get over being fat. It comes up a lot, but Gabi's story isn't about becoming skinny. She lives her life and finds success in school and boys. Lots of boys. Gabi knows she's boy crazy and has to deal with Christian guilt and older women's lectures about not being "easy". And this is the heart of the story: Young Latinas wanting to live their lives and all the things that get in the way.
Gabi and her friends are faced with addiction, shitty teenage boys, sexual assault, police, and dysfunctional families. They come out better for it though, with more love & understanding for each other, their community, and those same messy families. Hell, even the adults learn a couple things.
That's not to say I didn't have issues with it: Gabi complains that people don't think she's Mexican cause of her white skin which made me eye roll. The diary entry format removes a sense of tension and disconnects us from events slightly.
This is also another book about an academically successful Latina wanting to go to college & be a writer, so at this point I wanna see a book about Latinxs who don't adore school.
I loved this book! At the beginning it was like reading my own high school diary- Gabi's voice so genuine. There is a lot going on plot-wise, but it reminded me of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian... hilarious and heart-breaking.