Girl in Pieces

by Kathleen Glasgow

[whisperingchapters]

This review was originally posted on Latte Nights Reviews.


Girl in Pieces shows a very realistic side to self-harming.. It is so very raw, that it shook me to my very core. Normally, I would have eaten this book up, but the beginning was very hard for me to get through. Charlie's thoughts are very realistic and I could relate to all the thoughts she was having about self-harm.

I'm so lonely in the world I want to peel all of my flesh off and walk, just bone and gristle, straight into the river, to be swallowed [...]

I'm so happy I read Charlie's story in Girl in Pieces because it's the rawest one I've read to date, especially when it comes to cutting. The thoughts that Charlie would have throughout the story used to be my own a while ago. We sought out self-harming as our release.

I cut because I can't deal. It's as simple as that. [...] I need release, I need to hurt myself more than the world can hurt me.

Kathleen Glasgow went full in with topics such as self-harming, drug and alcohol addiction, suicide, death, and self-esteem. Girl in Pieces describes all the feelings and thoughts that a person who self-harm has. The author didn't sugar-coat any of it. It also shows the dangers of self-harming and abusing of drugs and alcohol. When it came to self-esteem, Charlie had the lowest of the low. She felt she really was unlovable and that she was all alone in the world. The written words in these parts felt like they were coming from a real, living and breathing person, not from a book character.

I'm so unwhole. I don't know where all the pieces of me are, how to fit them together, how to make them stick. Or if I even can.

I'm glad the author wrote this story for everyone to read because it needs to be read. Something that I liked about this book is that it explored forms of self-harm that aren't mentioned much, such as burning, pulling hair, among others. Self-harm tends to be overshadowed or not talked about in Young Adult novels, when they should be. This type of story will motivate readers to find out more about self-harm. Also, many readers will relate to this story in so many ways.

Things are never easy in real life, and they were never easy for Charlie. When things would start to get good, they would start to go bad again, which is exactly how it is in real life. Real life never gives you a chance to breathe, and Glasgow brought that into the story.

Girl in Pieces is so very raw and poignant. It's also dark and petrifying, but it's also hopeful.

I received an eARC from the publisher for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I won an ARC from Brittany's Book Rambles.This review was originally posted on Latte Nights Reviews.