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A review by marenkae
Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero
5.0
Gabi, a Girl in Pieces reminded me a lot of Sherman Alexie's [b: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian|693208|The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian|Sherman Alexie|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327908992s/693208.jpg|829330]--they're told in a very conversational, somewhat rambly diary format. Both books give readers an intensely honest look at a (very charismatic) teenager and their highs and lows with cultural identity, fathers who struggle with addiction, sexuality, etc. But while I definitely liked and appreciated The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Gabi, a Girl in Pieces had an immediate lock on my heart. Everything about it just worked for me and I connected with the text so strongly. Some of that was personal (Gabi is a poet! I can't express how much of a sucker I am for protagonists who write poems!) but a lot of my love for this book came from universal themes as well.
Gabi is a protagonist that you root for--I felt like the biggest cheerleader on the sidelines of her life. She is messy and flawed but so genuine and earnest. She's charming and honestly hilarious and I enjoyed her narrative voice so much. I wish this book was an actual person so I could hug it. Reading this book felt very empowering, even at times when Gabi expressed negativity about her Mexican heritage, family, or body image, because it was an extremely real experience for her that she needed to go through in order to reach the other side.
A major part of this book is how Gabi processes the misogynistic society she's grown up with and internalized. She is stumbling to reassess her own values and isn't always perfect but you can hear this strong feminist voice emerging within her and I loved it. This book deals with a lottt of tough topics (teenage pregnancy, rape, death, and homophobia to name a few) but I didn't feel bogged down by all this nor did I feel like anything was written about disrespectfully. There were a lot of relationships in this book--family, friends, and romantic alike--and all of them had weak and awful moments but ultimately there was so much strength between Gabi and the people she cared about.
Yeah, I just loved this and have nothing negative to say about it. Definitely a new favorite.
update: re-reading this has made me a bit more aware of a handful of flaws so maaaybe this is more of a 4.5 but I don't mind rounding it up. I still adore this book with my whole heart. There are a few things I struggled with especially in the beginning of the book but by the end I was just as enraptured with Gabi and her story.
Gabi is a protagonist that you root for--I felt like the biggest cheerleader on the sidelines of her life. She is messy and flawed but so genuine and earnest. She's charming and honestly hilarious and I enjoyed her narrative voice so much. I wish this book was an actual person so I could hug it. Reading this book felt very empowering, even at times when Gabi expressed negativity about her Mexican heritage, family, or body image, because it was an extremely real experience for her that she needed to go through in order to reach the other side.
A major part of this book is how Gabi processes the misogynistic society she's grown up with and internalized. She is stumbling to reassess her own values and isn't always perfect but you can hear this strong feminist voice emerging within her and I loved it. This book deals with a lottt of tough topics (teenage pregnancy, rape, death, and homophobia to name a few) but I didn't feel bogged down by all this nor did I feel like anything was written about disrespectfully. There were a lot of relationships in this book--family, friends, and romantic alike--and all of them had weak and awful moments but ultimately there was so much strength between Gabi and the people she cared about.
Yeah, I just loved this and have nothing negative to say about it. Definitely a new favorite.
update: re-reading this has made me a bit more aware of a handful of flaws so maaaybe this is more of a 4.5 but I don't mind rounding it up. I still adore this book with my whole heart. There are a few things I struggled with especially in the beginning of the book but by the end I was just as enraptured with Gabi and her story.