Book Review: Girl in Pieces*
As some of you know, I've been using Blogging for Books for almost a year now. I absolutely love reading, so it's nice to get a free book every once in a while :)
Over the course of the last few months, I've had an interesting experience to say the least. I mostly joined because I wanted to get a copy of one of Mindy Kaling's books, but there weren't any available by the time that I signed up.
Nevertheless, I looked around the available books and picked a couple out! Since then, I've reviewed The Little Paris Bookshop, Approval Junkie, and June. The first one I loved, but I can't truly say the same about the others.
I was almost ready to sever the relationship until I saw that Blogging for Books was offering review copies of The Sun Is Also a Star. I had been dying to get my hands on a copy and I'm so glad I did! Since then, I've stuck with the company and I've seen a couple other awesome books hit their website too!
This time around, I requested Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow. I had seen the book mentioned on a couple of bookstagram accounts and book roundups, so I thought I'd give it a shot! Luckily, my request was approved and they sent me a copy :)
Synopsis:
Charlotte Davis is in pieces. At seventeen she’s already lost more than most people do 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.
A deeply moving portrait of a girl in a world that owes her nothing, and has taken so much, and the journey she undergoes to put herself back together. Kathleen Glasgow's debut is heartbreakingly real and unflinchingly honest. It’s a story you won’t be able to look away from.
Review:
First I'd like to admit that I was beyond excited to find Girl in Pieces on Blogging for Books! It had been on my TBR list forever and I was happy to get a chance to read it!
Now I'm sad to admit that it didn't really play up to all of the hype. I was slightly disappointed with the read, but I still liked the book nonetheless!
For one, I absolutely love the cover! Not only is it symbolic to the story, but it's simple as well. I'm not a fan of clutter or over exotic covers, so this one spoke to me. I also have to mention that the international covers are gorgeous too! Especially the one that was hand stitched!
When it comes to Kathleen's writing, there are a few things that I absolutely loved! For example, I was a huge fan of the books layout. I liked that it didn't follow the usual chapter formatting and I think that added to the main character's uniqueness.
I also enjoyed the way that the author used different characters to help the reader visualize the main character. She sprinkled information throughout each "chapter" and never just dumped information onto the reader.
Unfortunately, I felt like I never truly got to know the main character, Charlie. There was so much going on in the story and so many characters that I think the author focused a little too much on everyone else. Of course, this could also have been on purpose. It would make sense that Charlie isn't the type of character that likes to talk about herself, so I guess we'll never know if that was intentional or not.
While we're on the subject of characters, I think I'm still undecided about whether or not I really liked Charlie. When I first started reading Girl in Pieces, I made the note that I liked the main character's voice. However, as I continued reading, my opinion began to change. Often times, I felt like she was constantly repeating herself and it really began to annoy me.
Eventually, I got to the point that I was turning the pages, not out of pure enjoyment, but because it would increase my daily page count. And frankly, that just isn't a good enough reason to read a book. A small part of me still cared about the story, but I think had it been a little less repetitive, I would have remained interested.
There's two more things that I'd like to touch upon before getting to my final opinion: the book's timeline and the book's ending.
When it comes to Charlie's actually story, I'm really confused on the timeline. Honestly, I think the author knew this would happen, because she actually included a physical timeline in the book. Unfortunately, that didn't really clear everything up for me. There were a few scenarios that I couldn't place and they weren't included in the timeline either. I kept going back to reread the parts about what happened after she ended up on the streets, but I'm still lost :/
As for the ending, I didn't really like it. I understand why the author decided to end the book the way that she did, but I wish she hadn't. Of course, the writer in me applauds her for leaving the reader with questions and lining up the possibility of a second book; but the reader in me is pissed! I have so many questions that need to be answered!
Overall, I would recommend this book. It wasn't my favorite, but I think that the story within the book is one that people all over the world NEED to hear! And honestly, there need to be more stories like this out there!
Charlotte Davis is in pieces. At seventeen she’s already lost more than most people do 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.
A deeply moving portrait of a girl in a world that owes her nothing, and has taken so much, and the journey she undergoes to put herself back together. Kathleen Glasgow's debut is heartbreakingly real and unflinchingly honest. It’s a story you won’t be able to look away from.
Review:
First I'd like to admit that I was beyond excited to find Girl in Pieces on Blogging for Books! It had been on my TBR list forever and I was happy to get a chance to read it!
Now I'm sad to admit that it didn't really play up to all of the hype. I was slightly disappointed with the read, but I still liked the book nonetheless!
For one, I absolutely love the cover! Not only is it symbolic to the story, but it's simple as well. I'm not a fan of clutter or over exotic covers, so this one spoke to me. I also have to mention that the international covers are gorgeous too! Especially the one that was hand stitched!
When it comes to Kathleen's writing, there are a few things that I absolutely loved! For example, I was a huge fan of the books layout. I liked that it didn't follow the usual chapter formatting and I think that added to the main character's uniqueness.
I also enjoyed the way that the author used different characters to help the reader visualize the main character. She sprinkled information throughout each "chapter" and never just dumped information onto the reader.
Unfortunately, I felt like I never truly got to know the main character, Charlie. There was so much going on in the story and so many characters that I think the author focused a little too much on everyone else. Of course, this could also have been on purpose. It would make sense that Charlie isn't the type of character that likes to talk about herself, so I guess we'll never know if that was intentional or not.
While we're on the subject of characters, I think I'm still undecided about whether or not I really liked Charlie. When I first started reading Girl in Pieces, I made the note that I liked the main character's voice. However, as I continued reading, my opinion began to change. Often times, I felt like she was constantly repeating herself and it really began to annoy me.
Eventually, I got to the point that I was turning the pages, not out of pure enjoyment, but because it would increase my daily page count. And frankly, that just isn't a good enough reason to read a book. A small part of me still cared about the story, but I think had it been a little less repetitive, I would have remained interested.
There's two more things that I'd like to touch upon before getting to my final opinion: the book's timeline and the book's ending.
When it comes to Charlie's actually story, I'm really confused on the timeline. Honestly, I think the author knew this would happen, because she actually included a physical timeline in the book. Unfortunately, that didn't really clear everything up for me. There were a few scenarios that I couldn't place and they weren't included in the timeline either. I kept going back to reread the parts about what happened after she ended up on the streets, but I'm still lost :/
As for the ending, I didn't really like it. I understand why the author decided to end the book the way that she did, but I wish she hadn't. Of course, the writer in me applauds her for leaving the reader with questions and lining up the possibility of a second book; but the reader in me is pissed! I have so many questions that need to be answered!
Overall, I would recommend this book. It wasn't my favorite, but I think that the story within the book is one that people all over the world NEED to hear! And honestly, there need to be more stories like this out there!
If you're interested in purchasing this book, you can find it here.
Have you read Girl in Pieces? I would love to hear what you thought about it in the comments!
* This book was provided by Blogging for Books in exchange for a review. However, all opinions and comments in this review are 100% my own. *
* This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I'll receive some type of commission. For more information, you can read our full disclosure here. *
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