Gabi, A Girl in Pieces

Quintero, I. (2014). Gabi, A Girl in Pieces.  El Paso, TX: Cinco Puntos Press.

Gabi is a Hispanic teen about to start her senior year of high school.  In this book, she writes about her year as a senior in diary form.  Her best friend Cindy is pregnant, her friend Sebastian is gay and has finally told his parents, and  her father has a serious drug habit.  Gabi is also over-weight and very self-conscious about it.  But she is also intelligent, a very talented writer, and writes poetry.   Throughout the book, she shares her views on her father's meth addition.  She writes letters to him about the pain she feels about his habit.  Gabi also writes about her love life, her first kiss, and her first boyfriend, Eric.  She shares about her complicated life of being a Hispanic girl and the expectations her mother has for her.  Gabi wants to go to college, but her mother wants her to stay home and not leave the family.  To complicate matters, Gabi's mother is also pregnant.  She discovers that poetry is therapeutic as she goes through the problems of her life.  After she breaks up with Eric, she begins writing poetry with her classmate, Martin, who also enjoys writing poetry.   Their teacher, Ms.Abernard encourages them to go to a poetry reading at a coffee house and read their poetry.  After they do, Gabi kisses him and they begin dating.  Then Gabi's dad dies of an overdose and she is broken and depressed.  Her teacher Ms. Abernard encourages her to write about her feelings.  As her senior year progresses, she is accepted to Berkeley and has sex  for the first time with her boyfriend Martin.  Though her mother is not happy at first that Gabi is going away for college, she accepts it and gives her permission to go.

This book discusses many issues that teens face such as body issues, sex, and teen pregnancy.  So many teenage girls can relate to Gabi and her body issues.  Gabi discusses her weight issues throughout the story and is self-conscious about clothes and bathing suits.  So many teenage girls feel exactly the same way.  This book also deals with having sex for the first time and teen pregnancy. Gabi also has the added pressure of trying to please her mother and trying to be a good Hispanic girl, yet wanting to go to college and become something more than a wife and mother.  Many girls from all different cultures and backgrounds can relate with trying to please their families, yet wanting a better life for  themselves.  This book is written for all girls, not just Hispanic girls, that are trying to cope with all the pressures of growing up and getting ready for college.  Young adults will relate to so many of Gabi's trials and heartaches throughout this book.