About the book:The story is told through the main character’s personal journal. Gabi writes about her life the good, the bad and the ugly. The story begins at the beginning of her senior year of high school. She has never had a boyfriend or been kissed. She thinks she is fat, but really does not care. Her love of tacos, Mexican cuisine, beef jerky and chocolate is her weakness. She has to cope with a drug addicted father who OD’s and she was the person who found him. Her best friends are struggling also; one coming out gay and the other pregnant. She starts dating Martin. She struggles with her emotions of what is expected in a relationship. Her mother is old school and thinks she should be a “Good Mexican Girl,” but she wants to be an American teenager. She loves poetry and relates life’s hurdles in her poems. Ms. Abernard is her poetry teacher that becomes an adult role model/mentor for her. She dreams of going to Berkeley. Her and her boyfriend Martin have sex and she gets into Berkeley. She also makes a poor judgment call that could jeopardize her future. She bets up the boy who raped her best friend, even though it was not her place to intervene. In the end she graduates and eats tacos at her favorite restaurant.
Readers Response: I Loved this book! The realistic writing was hysterical, I found the use of curse words to flow with the text and helped make the character believable. Not everyone’s life is picture perfect and Gabi gives a reader a look into what a teenager reality. I could see this book being challenged because of the cursing and some of the social issues that arise in the book – like abortion. I do think the book gives a teen a glimpse of what another person their age deals with during high school, which could help them develop emotionally with the changes from adolescent to adulthood.
School Library Journal's book review with links about the social issues covered in the book:
http://www.teenlibrariantoolbox.com/2014/11/book-review-gabi-a-girl-in-pieces-by-isabel-quintero/
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