Quintero, I. (2014). Gabi, a girl in pieces (First ed.). El
Paso, TX: Cinco Puntos Press. ISBN 9781935955948
This funny, charismatic, and extremely relatable
protagonist, Gabi, brings a light to many issues and pressures teenagers feel
every day. From body image, to teen pregnancy, addiction, and homosexuality,
Gabi takes us on a humorous, lovable journey through her experiences as a senior
in high school. Her Hispanic heritage is prevalent and offers the reader a look
into the expectations of her Hispanic mother, su hermano Beto, and her crazy
tia Bertha. All along the way, her best friends, Cindy and Sebastian, help her
navigate the halls of high school during her senior year, boys, college
applications, food, and friendship. I loved Gabi's voice- she really is the perfect protagonist. I laughed out-loud throughout this book, and as a female, I think she is so relatable on so many levels. For me, that is the strength of the book. Isabel Quintero does an amazing job of painting a picture for you and providing detailed imagery- I feel like I was watching a movie in my head. The downfall, for me, was that it was a bit pushy, as well as being a little unrealistic- who goes through all of those hardships in one year? I think Quintero would've done well to pick one theme and develop it throughout. Still, I enjoyed this book for the humor and character it provided.
I found
a lot of similarities to this and The
Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian: different cultures, but
similar struggles. Gabi has a really funny and unique voice, and I think teen
girls will really enjoy that. They will find her relatable and I think the “diary”
format will keep them reading. While I think it’s important to bring up
contemporary problems in society, I also think it’s important to allow our
youth to form their own opinions about these issues. Overall, I think this book
was pretty pushy about a lot of modern day disputes- the author was certainly
not subtle. I would keep that in mind before putting it on a “required reading”
list for high schoolers.
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