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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
Recommended by another HS Librarian. Gabi is a Mexican HS Senior on California. This is her journal where she writes about about being overweight, growing up, finding her passion, falling in love, and facing life's saddest inevitabilities. Funny and sad but mostly just honest.
Deals with some serious issues, but it's also extremely funny. This book meant so much to me because these are people I know. These are situations I've experienced, like buying dresses made by some random lady on the cheap and then them turning out to look terrible, or the urge to rage against the old ways that older relatives try to make you conform to.
There was some criticism recently about the lack of a glossary, but even with my limited knowledge of Spanish, I understood. I think those people who complained need to reread Gabi's last line.
Fabulous book. Fabulous teenage voice. All the praise for this book is well-deserved!
There was some criticism recently about the lack of a glossary, but even with my limited knowledge of Spanish, I understood. I think those people who complained need to reread Gabi's last line.
Fabulous book. Fabulous teenage voice. All the praise for this book is well-deserved!
I genuinely loved this book. I liked Gabi. She was fun and it made for a great read!
(This book was recommended to me by the Brooklyn Bookmatch program I participated in when I was at Book Riot Live this past November in NYC. BPL matched me up with books based on a list I gave them of some of my favorite books/genres.)
Overall I enjoyed this book for the very reasons I think a lot of readers might not. The author did a great job of writing like an actual teenage girl writes when she writes in her journal. I should know; I have a bureau full of old journals from high school and they all sound exactly like this. (Note: we can be insufferable. But also highly endearing, right?)
I liked that Gabi eats her feelings and owned that shame without apologizing for it; I liked how devastating things happened to her and her loved ones but she just rolled with it, like teenagers do (and still worried about prom dresses and phone privileges). I liked how she said things like "chillax" and how she wrote haikus and how she was boy crazy and felt misunderstood and bullet-proof (as all teens do) but still made smart choices. I loved how she wrote in both Spanish and English. I liked the occasional typo; whether that was planned or poor editing I'll never know, but it worked.
I thought it was a pretty realistic portrayal of being a teenager and I could relate to a lot of how she was feeling. The things I couldn't relate to (being a Mexican-American in a community of Mexicans and not always feeling like you belong to either nationality, death of a parent, the cultural and socio-economical issues of her situation) kept me engaged and interested.
I just think I'm about 15 years too old to give it anything other than three stars. A great book for what it was, truly, but it lacked the emotional depth I was hoping to find. I didn't laugh out loud or get misty or feel any one strong emotion I would have liked to experience.
Overall I enjoyed this book for the very reasons I think a lot of readers might not. The author did a great job of writing like an actual teenage girl writes when she writes in her journal. I should know; I have a bureau full of old journals from high school and they all sound exactly like this. (Note: we can be insufferable. But also highly endearing, right?)
I liked that Gabi eats her feelings and owned that shame without apologizing for it; I liked how devastating things happened to her and her loved ones but she just rolled with it, like teenagers do (and still worried about prom dresses and phone privileges). I liked how she said things like "chillax" and how she wrote haikus and how she was boy crazy and felt misunderstood and bullet-proof (as all teens do) but still made smart choices. I loved how she wrote in both Spanish and English. I liked the occasional typo; whether that was planned or poor editing I'll never know, but it worked.
I thought it was a pretty realistic portrayal of being a teenager and I could relate to a lot of how she was feeling. The things I couldn't relate to (being a Mexican-American in a community of Mexicans and not always feeling like you belong to either nationality, death of a parent, the cultural and socio-economical issues of her situation) kept me engaged and interested.
I just think I'm about 15 years too old to give it anything other than three stars. A great book for what it was, truly, but it lacked the emotional depth I was hoping to find. I didn't laugh out loud or get misty or feel any one strong emotion I would have liked to experience.
Gabi, a Girl in Pieces reminded me a lot of Sherman Alexie's [b: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian|693208|The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian|Sherman Alexie|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327908992s/693208.jpg|829330]--they're told in a very conversational, somewhat rambly diary format. Both books give readers an intensely honest look at a (very charismatic) teenager and their highs and lows with cultural identity, fathers who struggle with addiction, sexuality, etc. But while I definitely liked and appreciated The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Gabi, a Girl in Pieces had an immediate lock on my heart. Everything about it just worked for me and I connected with the text so strongly. Some of that was personal (Gabi is a poet! I can't express how much of a sucker I am for protagonists who write poems!) but a lot of my love for this book came from universal themes as well.
Gabi is a protagonist that you root for--I felt like the biggest cheerleader on the sidelines of her life. She is messy and flawed but so genuine and earnest. She's charming and honestly hilarious and I enjoyed her narrative voice so much. I wish this book was an actual person so I could hug it. Reading this book felt very empowering, even at times when Gabi expressed negativity about her Mexican heritage, family, or body image, because it was an extremely real experience for her that she needed to go through in order to reach the other side.
A major part of this book is how Gabi processes the misogynistic society she's grown up with and internalized. She is stumbling to reassess her own values and isn't always perfect but you can hear this strong feminist voice emerging within her and I loved it. This book deals with a lottt of tough topics (teenage pregnancy, rape, death, and homophobia to name a few) but I didn't feel bogged down by all this nor did I feel like anything was written about disrespectfully. There were a lot of relationships in this book--family, friends, and romantic alike--and all of them had weak and awful moments but ultimately there was so much strength between Gabi and the people she cared about.
Yeah, I just loved this and have nothing negative to say about it. Definitely a new favorite.
update: re-reading this has made me a bit more aware of a handful of flaws so maaaybe this is more of a 4.5 but I don't mind rounding it up. I still adore this book with my whole heart. There are a few things I struggled with especially in the beginning of the book but by the end I was just as enraptured with Gabi and her story.
Gabi is a protagonist that you root for--I felt like the biggest cheerleader on the sidelines of her life. She is messy and flawed but so genuine and earnest. She's charming and honestly hilarious and I enjoyed her narrative voice so much. I wish this book was an actual person so I could hug it. Reading this book felt very empowering, even at times when Gabi expressed negativity about her Mexican heritage, family, or body image, because it was an extremely real experience for her that she needed to go through in order to reach the other side.
A major part of this book is how Gabi processes the misogynistic society she's grown up with and internalized. She is stumbling to reassess her own values and isn't always perfect but you can hear this strong feminist voice emerging within her and I loved it. This book deals with a lottt of tough topics (teenage pregnancy, rape, death, and homophobia to name a few) but I didn't feel bogged down by all this nor did I feel like anything was written about disrespectfully. There were a lot of relationships in this book--family, friends, and romantic alike--and all of them had weak and awful moments but ultimately there was so much strength between Gabi and the people she cared about.
Yeah, I just loved this and have nothing negative to say about it. Definitely a new favorite.
update: re-reading this has made me a bit more aware of a handful of flaws so maaaybe this is more of a 4.5 but I don't mind rounding it up. I still adore this book with my whole heart. There are a few things I struggled with especially in the beginning of the book but by the end I was just as enraptured with Gabi and her story.
2015 Reading Challenge
read a book by a non-white, non-male author.
I made up this prompt, because I thought that "read a book by a female author" was really stupid.
read a book by a non-white, non-male author.
I made up this prompt, because I thought that "read a book by a female author" was really stupid.
3.5
I liked this a lot because of its easy prose and likable protagonist, although she's a bit of a Mary Sue... except she's overweight. She has several boys liking her and a posse of friends, her grades are stellar, she's struggling with Algebra, but is eligible to apply to the best colleges in the country so isn't as isolated as she seems to feel she is... Her parents love her despite her father being a meth addict, and she has support from her extended family. So all of her teenage angst seems to be just that: teenage angst. I feel like more could have been done with her father's behavior. It felt almost tangential to me to have him in the novel.
The novel was interesting to read, but doesn't feel outstanding to me because it introduces so much in Gabi's life, but also lacks the depth of insight I wanted as a reader entering someone else's life. Perhaps too much is spelled out for the reader in the diary form so the reader doesn't draw her own connections and therefore, it doesn't feel as insightful when it actually is. I'm not sure.
Somewhat spoiler ahead:
Its almost flippant last line felt like it changed the tone when she could have had way more insight beyond: "I belong to my family and I love them." That was never a question the reader had about her, so seemed a disjointed "revelation" for her.
I liked this a lot because of its easy prose and likable protagonist, although she's a bit of a Mary Sue... except she's overweight. She has several boys liking her and a posse of friends, her grades are stellar, she's struggling with Algebra, but is eligible to apply to the best colleges in the country so isn't as isolated as she seems to feel she is... Her parents love her despite her father being a meth addict, and she has support from her extended family. So all of her teenage angst seems to be just that: teenage angst. I feel like more could have been done with her father's behavior. It felt almost tangential to me to have him in the novel.
The novel was interesting to read, but doesn't feel outstanding to me because it introduces so much in Gabi's life, but also lacks the depth of insight I wanted as a reader entering someone else's life. Perhaps too much is spelled out for the reader in the diary form so the reader doesn't draw her own connections and therefore, it doesn't feel as insightful when it actually is. I'm not sure.
Somewhat spoiler ahead:
Its almost flippant last line felt like it changed the tone when she could have had way more insight beyond: "I belong to my family and I love them." That was never a question the reader had about her, so seemed a disjointed "revelation" for her.
Such a real, honest depiction of a teen's life. I loved how frank Gabi was a narrator: she sounded just like teens I've known (and as the teen I was!). With various hardships and an unbreakable spirit, this book was an empathetic look into being a young, minority woman in this country.
dark
funny
hopeful
I like that the book had a lot of feminist stances, but I didn't care much for the plot and I didn't feel anything for any of the characters.