Review by Sara...
I thought I was ready for this book but I wasn't. It was such a raw and powerful book. This is a very important book.
GIRL IN PIECES
By Kathleen Glasgow
Series: No
Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: Delacorte Press (August 30, 2016)
Grade Level: 10 Up
Language: English
For fans of Girl, Interrupted, Thirteen Reasons Why, and All the Bright Places comes Kathleen Glasgow’s debut novel about a girl who has lost everything—almost even herself.
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. A deeply moving portrait of a teenage girl on the verge of losing herself and the journey she must take to survive in her own skin, Kathleen Glasgow’s debut is heartbreakingly real and unflinchingly honest. It’s a story you won’t be able to look away from.
I thought I was ready for this book but I wasn't. It was such a raw and powerful book. This is a very important book.
This is the story of 17-year old
Charlie and her road to recovery from being a cutter. That sounds pretty bleak
and straight forward, I know, but it is so much more complicated than you may
think. She was removed from a very horrific period in her life to a rehab
center. Before rehab, she was being forced to work as a prostitute and felt
there was no way out. She loves being in rehab because it means that none of
the bad people from her past can get to her. Rehab was not all peaches and
cream so she was checked out of there and did her best to find her way on her
own. She found a job, a place to stay, and even makes friends. These are all huge
steps for Charlie but every day she fights her demons. She struggles to make
the right choices but the old ones seem so much easier. Will Charlie be able to
overcome the past that haunts her? Will she be able to put herself back
together?
The first thing that caught my
attention about this book was the writing. Glasgow's writing style really is
full of raw, thick emotion. It is a different writing style than I am used to,
but it really is an added element to this story. Simply beautiful. The
way Glasgow weaved a mesmerizing atmosphere blew me away. This story took
no time sinking its claws in to me. My heart ached at Charlie's constant
struggle with her sense of self, her ongoing pain, and her self doubt. As the
story continues, the secrets of Charlie's past come to light. That is when the
reader learns who has hurt Charlie and how. I must warn you that there is so
much hurt and ache in the story that it will stay with you long after you
finish the story.
This was a very difficult story to
get through. There are talks of physical acts of cutting and how that affects
the person afterwards, both emotionally and physically. Charlie has a lot of
scars she must carry - both internal and external. She starts out being ashamed
of her physical scars but over time learns that they are part of her past
and make her who she is. She can still be loveable with these scars. Cutting is
not the only illness/disease covered in this story. Drug addiction and other
forms of self harm are discussed. Glasgow does not shy away from covering some
very, very tough topics.
With all of that said, this story
is not one simply of various forms if mental illnesses, it is about survival.
It is about both physical and emotional survival. Charlie had to learn and
come to the realization that she is a surviver. She survived being homeless
with no food or shelter, no one to rely on, being addicted to drugs,
being sold for sex, cutting to releave the pain she has built up inside, and
abandonment and abuse on nearly every level. It is also about finding your
voice in this world and embracing it. Whatever it takes to help you feel whole
and like you have a place.
This was such an intense and
beautifully written book that I hope everyone reads. Yes, it is difficult and
at times you will want (or need) to put the book down and walk away for a bit,
but it is a necessary story. I am so very grateful I was able to read it
because Charlie is the type of protagonist that everyone shoud know. This was a
true 5 star read and I hope everyone will give it a chance.
@agingerlyreview
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