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knicke25 's review for:

Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero
4.0

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.