Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow

For this book, I would recommend it for the older and mature YA audience due to trigger warnings and some graphic descriptions.

Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow is a dark, YA psychological novel about addiction and hope.

Synopsis:

“Charlotte Davis is in pieces. At seventeen she’s already lost more than most people lose in a lifetime. But she’s learned how to forget. The broken glass washes away the sorrow until there is nothing but calm. You don’t have to think about your father and the river. Your best friend, who is gone forever. Or your mother, who has nothing left to give you.

Every new scar hardens Charlie’s heart just a little more, yet it still hurts so much. It hurts enough to not care anymore, which is sometimes what has to happen before you can find your way back from the edge.”

My Review:

Before I get into the depths of this book, I want to warn you that there are a lot of trigger warnings including suicide, depression, cutting, self-harm, abuse, and mental health.

The content of this book is very eye opening and emotional especially if you experienced any of the above issues yourself. While reading, I felt very tense and dark.

But that is not to say that there isn’t something great hidden inside. The message is so strong and eye-opening that I could not put this down. If you’ve never witnessed yourself or someone you loved go through the lowest of lows then I highly recommend reading this book. If not for the content of following a person reach their ultimate bottom, then just to get the new perspective. We are literally inside her head to the point where I felt her intensity and emotions like they were my own.

The writing is beautiful. Even though it was dark, it felt so real and relevant to our world. When reading most teen psych books that deal with dark issues, usually (not always) the characters, plot, or world is sugar-coated in some way that leads to unrealistic situations, but not this story.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. The story and characters are so raw and true that we think it can’t be worse, but then the real world hits and of course it does get worse. The decisions made definitely do not follow the typical novel way and we keep struggling to tell her not to do it but then we get to see the mind set of someone who has fallen as she has.

I honestly cannot recommend this book to you enough. I truly believe every teen and adult alike should experience reading Charlotte’s story. It will really hit you to see how someone’s world could be affected by these situations, and if you may have experienced it yourself, you may want to be careful reading it until you are ready. It can definitely bring back unwanted memories if you aren’t careful, but Charlotte’s story could be inspirational. I promise the ending is not as dark as 95% of the rest of the story.

One unique part of this book is that the chapters are more like short PIECES of her life which brings in the perfect title. The Author Note at the end of the book also brings light to how the story was formed. We get to see the connection the author has with the story, so I also highly recommend reading it after you finish the book.

The raw emotions of the story are captivating and the relationships are heart-wrenching. The ending was a great finish to the story full of pain and healing.

More Book Information:

Published: 30 August 2016

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary / Mental Health

Pages: 416

How I Read It: BEA 2016 ARC

**Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher during BEA 2016. All of my reviews are my honest opinions only and are not influenced in any way.*

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Happy Reading,