Trigger warnings: The main character of Girl in Pieces self-harms through cutting, but there are other forms of self-harm mentioned. One character commits suicide. There are also many instance of drug and alcohol abuse, and many mentions of addiction as a whole.
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.
Review: I was surprised at how much I related to Girl in Pieces, and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book considering I related to it. Charlie was an interesting character. She begins the story in a hospital after cutting too deep and almost dying. She is quiet at first, and we see how the other girls in the treatment center act towards her. I kind of which we spent a little more time in the treatment center, mostly so we get a better idea of how Charlie manages a very repetitive lifestyle.
One thing I loved was seeing Charlie's day-to-day struggle, outside of the hospital, to not self-harm. I feel like people brush off the "after" when characters are in hospitals, and then released. Girl in Pieces didn't do that. There was even a scene that hit closer to home than I expected when Charlie feels like she has 2 options in front of her. She can drink, or she can cut. And she chooses to drink. Again, moments like this aren't usually brought up, so I appreciated seeing how Kathleen handled that. I was also shocked at how closely Charlie's relationship with Mikey mirrored something in my own life. I'm going to go into details, but I know what it's like to be the fill-in girlfriend until you aren't wanted anymore. It sucks, and I felt for Charlie, especially in that moment.
While I did enjoy most of this book, there were some things that didn't gel quite well with me. For one, Charlie interacts with a girl named Blue at the beginning of the story. They never really struck me as friends, but Blue gets out of the hospital after Charlie, and Charlie lets this girl move in with her. I also felt like some things between Charlie and Riley were not very well-resolved, which was a bummer.
I was hesitant to read Girl in Pieces, but it was a very well-done book.
4 howls
Comments