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A review by beate251
Pieces of Us by Eve Ainsworth
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Canelo for this ARC.
Sara has a cat called Goose, works in a care home and misses her best friend Lottie who has recently died from cancer. Lottie's Mum Erica, bitter after her divorce and not very friendly towards Sara, gives her a present from Lottie - a Jar of Joy that she made for her designed to remember all the nice times they had together.
In highschool, Lottie, Sara, Jay and Dec all used to hang out together. The relationship between Sara and Jay was complicated - they seemed destined to end up together but their parents hated each other. The true toxicity however in this Romeo and Juliet scenario came from none other than Lottie who did everything to keep those two apart, even forging a letter.
Can you be violently angry towards a tragic young woman who died from cancer when all she wanted was to be loved by people? Yes, when she is selfish and jealous, directly conspiring against the happiness of her apparent best friend. So she had a father who neglected her and a bitter mother, and all her privilege didn't mean anything to her - you know what, I don't care. She did a horrible thing and she didn't make it right before she died.
Ok, some of that can be attributed to Sara's utter inability to communicate with those around her but especially Lottie and Jay. But she is a kind person with a complicated family life and I liked her relationship with old Derek who lives at the care home, and her colleague Jess. She was always a good friend to Lottie and forgave her anything, while the other way round this can't be said. I was so sad for her, thinking bad things about Jay for so long.
This is an emotional story about childhood traumas, toxic friendship, romance, secrets, grief, forgiveness and second chances which I really tried to like, but I got very impatient at the end. It just drags on and on while the reader knows the issue but it takes Sara ages to catch up, do the things from the Joy Jar and read Lottie's diary. There are two POVs, two timelines and a lot of repetition. This book could have been at least 50 pages shorter and half as infuriating. As it stands, this wasn't for me.
Sara has a cat called Goose, works in a care home and misses her best friend Lottie who has recently died from cancer. Lottie's Mum Erica, bitter after her divorce and not very friendly towards Sara, gives her a present from Lottie - a Jar of Joy that she made for her designed to remember all the nice times they had together.
In highschool, Lottie, Sara, Jay and Dec all used to hang out together. The relationship between Sara and Jay was complicated - they seemed destined to end up together but their parents hated each other. The true toxicity however in this Romeo and Juliet scenario came from none other than Lottie who did everything to keep those two apart, even forging a letter.
Can you be violently angry towards a tragic young woman who died from cancer when all she wanted was to be loved by people? Yes, when she is selfish and jealous, directly conspiring against the happiness of her apparent best friend. So she had a father who neglected her and a bitter mother, and all her privilege didn't mean anything to her - you know what, I don't care. She did a horrible thing and she didn't make it right before she died.
Ok, some of that can be attributed to Sara's utter inability to communicate with those around her but especially Lottie and Jay. But she is a kind person with a complicated family life and I liked her relationship with old Derek who lives at the care home, and her colleague Jess. She was always a good friend to Lottie and forgave her anything, while the other way round this can't be said. I was so sad for her, thinking bad things about Jay for so long.
This is an emotional story about childhood traumas, toxic friendship, romance, secrets, grief, forgiveness and second chances which I really tried to like, but I got very impatient at the end. It just drags on and on while the reader knows the issue but it takes Sara ages to catch up, do the things from the Joy Jar and read Lottie's diary. There are two POVs, two timelines and a lot of repetition. This book could have been at least 50 pages shorter and half as infuriating. As it stands, this wasn't for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship