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teadragonreads 's review for:
Pieces of Us
by Margie Gelbwasser
Well...it took me a few hours to get my head wrapped around the book. It was just so raw and heart breaking; I don't think i've cried this hard for a book in a while. This book made me feel so many different emotions, and i absolutely loved it for that.
Gelbwasser writes this book from four different POVs' so that we get to see each character's story and understand their part. Contrary to what people might think, this does not break the pace of the book, which is what i really love about this book. A few of Katie's parts are written in verse form, which makes them even more emotional and almost lyrical, a nice touch by the author. Also, Most of Kyle's parts are written in second form which makes it much easier to feel his part of the story as he is the most complex (and weird) character in this book.
Margie Gelbwasser's writing gave life to the characters, and their flaws made them that much more real. The only character that i really truly liked in this book was Kyle. Even though he did seem messed up at times, he was the most sympathetic character in the book (besides Katie's Dad, but we don't see him much). I loved it how he stuck with Katie till the end when even her mother turned her back on her (That's not to say that i didn't hate him for not standing up to his brother Alex).
I really liked Katie despite everything. I could see why she did what she did, even though it was very wrong. She had her reasons and i understood them. In the beginning, i might have hated her a little, but that changed as we saw more of the story from her POV. She wasn't a strong character, but she was real enough to make me pity her. The one thing that bugged me about her was her stupidity with Alex. I wanted to scream at her that Alex was no saint. Sure he seemed a little sweet with Katie, but the way he treated other girls like trash was just messed up.
Alex. Alex. Alex. How can i say it nicely? Let's just say he was a total you-know-what (use your imagination). He had a very bad childhood and he was treated like trash, but that's really no excuse for what he became when he grew up. I understood a little of his anger towards Katie, after all Katie could have told him about the incident, but still, the way he treated her afterwards was just heartless and really cruel.
Now Julie is an another character that rivaled Alex for my hatred. She was just so jealous and bitter, it was impossible to think that she was Katie's sister. If only she had taken the time to ask Katie rather than just jump to conclusions about the incident, and so quick to judge her sister, she might've been a little likable. Don't get me wrong, she was sweet sometimes. But sadly, she was a heartless little sister, and i hated her as much as Alex.
As for Katie's mother, well let's just say she was a sorry excuse for a mother. I mean, what kind of mother chooses between her daughters, then turns her back on said daughter when she is less-than-perfect and needs her mom the most? That made me super mad at her.
The ending wasn't what i was expecting. It was abrupt, but it did give us a little flicker of hope. I was rather happy that Julie, her mom and Alex were outta Katie's life because really she deserves way better than them. And Kyle. He was with her till the end and that is the only thing that made the end a little bearable.
I loved the cover as soon as i saw it, but reading the book and knowing it's significance just made me love it that much more. This book broke my heart and crushed it. I know for a fact that this book will stay with me for a long while.
Gelbwasser writes this book from four different POVs' so that we get to see each character's story and understand their part. Contrary to what people might think, this does not break the pace of the book, which is what i really love about this book. A few of Katie's parts are written in verse form, which makes them even more emotional and almost lyrical, a nice touch by the author. Also, Most of Kyle's parts are written in second form which makes it much easier to feel his part of the story as he is the most complex (and weird) character in this book.
Margie Gelbwasser's writing gave life to the characters, and their flaws made them that much more real. The only character that i really truly liked in this book was Kyle. Even though he did seem messed up at times, he was the most sympathetic character in the book (besides Katie's Dad, but we don't see him much). I loved it how he stuck with Katie till the end when even her mother turned her back on her (That's not to say that i didn't hate him for not standing up to his brother Alex).
I really liked Katie despite everything. I could see why she did what she did, even though it was very wrong. She had her reasons and i understood them. In the beginning, i might have hated her a little, but that changed as we saw more of the story from her POV. She wasn't a strong character, but she was real enough to make me pity her. The one thing that bugged me about her was her stupidity with Alex. I wanted to scream at her that Alex was no saint. Sure he seemed a little sweet with Katie, but the way he treated other girls like trash was just messed up.
Alex. Alex. Alex. How can i say it nicely? Let's just say he was a total you-know-what (use your imagination). He had a very bad childhood and he was treated like trash, but that's really no excuse for what he became when he grew up. I understood a little of his anger towards Katie, after all Katie could have told him about the incident, but still, the way he treated her afterwards was just heartless and really cruel.
Now Julie is an another character that rivaled Alex for my hatred. She was just so jealous and bitter, it was impossible to think that she was Katie's sister. If only she had taken the time to ask Katie rather than just jump to conclusions about the incident, and so quick to judge her sister, she might've been a little likable. Don't get me wrong, she was sweet sometimes. But sadly, she was a heartless little sister, and i hated her as much as Alex.
As for Katie's mother, well let's just say she was a sorry excuse for a mother. I mean, what kind of mother chooses between her daughters, then turns her back on said daughter when she is less-than-perfect and needs her mom the most? That made me super mad at her.
The ending wasn't what i was expecting. It was abrupt, but it did give us a little flicker of hope. I was rather happy that Julie, her mom and Alex were outta Katie's life because really she deserves way better than them. And Kyle. He was with her till the end and that is the only thing that made the end a little bearable.
I loved the cover as soon as i saw it, but reading the book and knowing it's significance just made me love it that much more. This book broke my heart and crushed it. I know for a fact that this book will stay with me for a long while.