Gabi, a Girl in Pieces

by Isabel Quintero

Named to Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2014

Named to School Library Journal Best Books of 2014

Gabi Hernandez chronicles her last year in high school in her diary: college applications, Cindy's pregnancy, Sebastian's coming out, the cute boys, her father's meth habit, and the food she craves. And best of all, the poetry that helps forge her identity.

July 24

My mother named me Gabriella, after my grandmother who, coincidentally, didn't want to meet me when I was born because my mother was unmarried, and therefore living in sin. My mom has told me the story many, many, MANY, times of how, when she confessed to my grandmother that she was pregnant with me, her mother beat her. BEAT HER! She was twenty-five. That story is the basis of my sexual education and has reiterated why it's important to wait until you're married to give it up. So now, every time I go out with a guy, my mom says, "Ojos abiertos, piernas cerradas." Eyes open, legs closed. That's as far as the birds and the bees talk has gone. And I don't mind it. I don't necessarily agree with that whole wait until you're married crap, though. I mean, this is America and the 21st century; not Mexico one hundred years ago. But, of course, I can't tell my mom that because she will think I'm bad. Or worse: trying to be White.

Isabel Quintero is a library technician in the Inland Empire. She is also the events coordinator for Orange Monkey and helps edit the poetry journal Tin Cannon. Gabi is her debut novel.

• ISBN10: 1935955969
• ISBN13: 9781935955962
• Publish Date: 14 October 2014
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Cinco Puntos Press,U.S.
• Format: eBook (EPUB)
• Pages: 208
• Language: English

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

I absolutely loved Gabi! She was brutally honest, and had a lot of things to say. I loved when she poured her emotions into her poetry, and I love that it was a healthy outlet for her. We followed her through her senior year, and it was year filled with some super fabulous highs and some really devastating lows. Gabi grew so much over the course of the books nd also discovered a lot about herself and the people around her. All I know is that I hurt for her, I cheered for her, and I just adored Gabi.

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[Angie]

Gabi, a Girl in Pieces is Gabi's diary from her chaotic senior year of high school. She's working hard to get good grades to get into UC Berkeley and to be the good girl that her mother expects her to be. But then her best friend comes out and gets kicked out. Her other best friend gets knocked up. And her father's drug addiction rears its ugly head. It's a lot to deal with, but Gabi does it and shares it all with honesty and humor (when appropriate, and sometimes not).

I really enjoyed Gabi, a Girl in Pieces. Gabi has a very strong, identifiable voice. She sounds like a believable teenager. Meaning, she's not always likeable or making great choices or being perfectly nice. She screws up, she has negative thoughts, she writes things that nice girls would never say outloud. She asks the hard questions, even if they're just to her diary. These are thoughts that probably all teenage girls have had at some point! I found myself nodding and going "yep, I remember that" a lot! It's just so real.

Gabi, a Girl in Pieces is a very quick read. Not only because it's short, but because Gabi just draws you in to the drama that is her life right now. A lot happens over the course of a few short months. She learns a lot about herself and those around her. There's a ton of ups and downs and she handles them all as best as she could. The only thing that kept me from rating it higher was that I felt like there was no overarching plot. It's a very character driver story and very much reads like the diary that it is. That's not a problem in itself, but I guess I just wanted more beyond only seeing Gabi's final year of high school.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.