Title: Girl in Pieces
Genre: Contemporary YA with triggers
Author: Kathleen Glasgow
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication: August 30th 2016
Cover Rating: 4/5
Girl in Pieces is a pretty straightforward title for a book that isn't actually straightforward. There are a ton of triggers in this book; sexual, self-harm, drugs, etc. I would recommend this book for fans of Ellen Hopkins.
Charlie(Charlotte) is a seventeen year old girl who landed her ass in a mental health hospital because she went a little too far. She is a very screwed up girl with an even more screwed up life. She is also a very unsteady, unreliable narrator. At first I thought she was gay with how she described her fellow female patients. Then I thought she was bisexual with how she describe a few guys. By the end of the book I was still confused as to who Charlie really was but I did figure out that the way she views and describes people comes from her artists soul.
After Charlie is discharged and arrives in the town she was destined for everything kind of went all weird. It's like the author took every drug addicted, down on their luck, wannabe/washed up musician/artist and dumped them in this town. There were just way too many sob stories and way just way too many people to keep up with.
The relationship between Charlie and Mikey was very strained and awkward feeling. After Charlie met Bunny things just got super weird and I could literally feel the discomfort coming off of them when they were together. But the way Charlie felt towards Mikey kind of gave me a better view of who Charlie really was. Best friend gone? Check. Try to start a romantic relationship with best friends ex? Check. Make the entire book awkward from that moment on? Check.
The book is told through these journal like entries from Charlie's point of view. So I expected there to be some bumps and sporadic issues along the way. The synopsis for this book gives nothing away. I thought I was going to get a book about a girl cutting herself, gets committed to hospital, recovers and then the happily ever after ending. Nope. Not even close.
Sometimes the book made me feel weird. Like the way Charlie conversed with people and certain situations and events. Then I realized it felt like I was reading a different book than what I started. It didn't really feel like the book belonged together. Transitions weren't smooth and the plot was all over the place. I think there were too many situations jammed into one book.
In the end I found myself feeling disappointed. Maybe if the synopsis had let on a little more then I would have been okay with this book. But I just can't understand how one 17 year old girl could possibly have so much bad luck. I have had more than my fair share of horrible issues but Charlie's entire life just seemed over-fabricated. This was one of my most anticipated 2016 releases and it missed the bar. The book had a lot of good quotes and messages and I think I will check out the next book this author writes just to see how it compares.
Overall, I gave the book 2.5/5 stars.
I have been thinking about this book a lot lately. I find myself playing some of the scenes over in my head. The one big thing I do have to say that I liked about the book was the ending. Charlie was a very weak person. She caved to the pressures of life. But in the end I thought she was going to let her guards down and forgive this ONE person but I was wrong and I felt proud of her. She might just be a fictional character in this book and years from now maybe no one will remember this book but for that moment, I was proud of a fictional character.
Have you ever wanted an update on characters lives after you finished a book? I have plenty of those books. Maybe we should just start making up our own updates. I think Charlie was accepted into the art world, not only because of the powerful people she knows, but because of her raw talent. I think Blue tried to move on but ended up getting stuck in that small town where everyone knows what color your underwear are every damn day. I think she met a nice guy and settled down in that little studio apartment and they lived paycheck to paycheck but they were happy. I think Mikey ends up getting divorced and having to pay child support for the 3 kids he fathered. Riley ends up becoming a missionary and goes on trips near and far. He needed something to turn to because he never took responsibility for all of his horrible actions. He spent his life pining after the girl he wrong his last song about.
Charlie(Charlotte) is a seventeen year old girl who landed her ass in a mental health hospital because she went a little too far. She is a very screwed up girl with an even more screwed up life. She is also a very unsteady, unreliable narrator. At first I thought she was gay with how she described her fellow female patients. Then I thought she was bisexual with how she describe a few guys. By the end of the book I was still confused as to who Charlie really was but I did figure out that the way she views and describes people comes from her artists soul.
After Charlie is discharged and arrives in the town she was destined for everything kind of went all weird. It's like the author took every drug addicted, down on their luck, wannabe/washed up musician/artist and dumped them in this town. There were just way too many sob stories and way just way too many people to keep up with.
The relationship between Charlie and Mikey was very strained and awkward feeling. After Charlie met Bunny things just got super weird and I could literally feel the discomfort coming off of them when they were together. But the way Charlie felt towards Mikey kind of gave me a better view of who Charlie really was. Best friend gone? Check. Try to start a romantic relationship with best friends ex? Check. Make the entire book awkward from that moment on? Check.
The book is told through these journal like entries from Charlie's point of view. So I expected there to be some bumps and sporadic issues along the way. The synopsis for this book gives nothing away. I thought I was going to get a book about a girl cutting herself, gets committed to hospital, recovers and then the happily ever after ending. Nope. Not even close.
Sometimes the book made me feel weird. Like the way Charlie conversed with people and certain situations and events. Then I realized it felt like I was reading a different book than what I started. It didn't really feel like the book belonged together. Transitions weren't smooth and the plot was all over the place. I think there were too many situations jammed into one book.
In the end I found myself feeling disappointed. Maybe if the synopsis had let on a little more then I would have been okay with this book. But I just can't understand how one 17 year old girl could possibly have so much bad luck. I have had more than my fair share of horrible issues but Charlie's entire life just seemed over-fabricated. This was one of my most anticipated 2016 releases and it missed the bar. The book had a lot of good quotes and messages and I think I will check out the next book this author writes just to see how it compares.
Overall, I gave the book 2.5/5 stars.
I have been thinking about this book a lot lately. I find myself playing some of the scenes over in my head. The one big thing I do have to say that I liked about the book was the ending. Charlie was a very weak person. She caved to the pressures of life. But in the end I thought she was going to let her guards down and forgive this ONE person but I was wrong and I felt proud of her. She might just be a fictional character in this book and years from now maybe no one will remember this book but for that moment, I was proud of a fictional character.
Have you ever wanted an update on characters lives after you finished a book? I have plenty of those books. Maybe we should just start making up our own updates. I think Charlie was accepted into the art world, not only because of the powerful people she knows, but because of her raw talent. I think Blue tried to move on but ended up getting stuck in that small town where everyone knows what color your underwear are every damn day. I think she met a nice guy and settled down in that little studio apartment and they lived paycheck to paycheck but they were happy. I think Mikey ends up getting divorced and having to pay child support for the 3 kids he fathered. Riley ends up becoming a missionary and goes on trips near and far. He needed something to turn to because he never took responsibility for all of his horrible actions. He spent his life pining after the girl he wrong his last song about.
