Scan barcode
jamminreads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a great book, but I wonder if I would’ve loved it more had I read it sooner. I’ve had this book on my shelf for years but finally got around to reading it after loving Renée Watson’s 2024 releases (Black Girl You Are Atlas, Skin & Bones, and Summer is Here).
Jade’s character development is the heart of this novel. In the beginning, she doesn’t have much of a voice. You feel like life is happening to her, and she’s just going along with the various opportunities afforded to her as a result of attending a predominantly white private school on scholarship. As the story progresses, Jade becomes a more active participant in her life, speaking up for herself and respectfully checking some of the adults in her life when they overlook her or don’t show up for her. During the story, Jade is a mentor in Woman to Woman, a program for “at-risk” girls. Even though Jade is a mentor, she ends up providing a little advice to her mentor and also positively influencing the program. I loved her confidence by the end of the story.
I also took away a lot of quotes from this book. There is no denying that Watson has a way with words. From reading both this and Skin & Bones, I’ve come to love the way she weaves Portland’s history into her stories. I will forever appreciate learning about York, the only Black member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. And I absolutely loved the final paragraph of this book.
Jade’s character development is the heart of this novel. In the beginning, she doesn’t have much of a voice. You feel like life is happening to her, and she’s just going along with the various opportunities afforded to her as a result of attending a predominantly white private school on scholarship. As the story progresses, Jade becomes a more active participant in her life, speaking up for herself and respectfully checking some of the adults in her life when they overlook her or don’t show up for her. During the story, Jade is a mentor in Woman to Woman, a program for “at-risk” girls. Even though Jade is a mentor, she ends up providing a little advice to her mentor and also positively influencing the program. I loved her confidence by the end of the story.
I also took away a lot of quotes from this book. There is no denying that Watson has a way with words. From reading both this and Skin & Bones, I’ve come to love the way she weaves Portland’s history into her stories. I will forever appreciate learning about York, the only Black member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. And I absolutely loved the final paragraph of this book.
lovebears's review against another edition
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
deschatjes's review against another edition
4.0
Sensitively deals with the issues surrounding the giving and receiving of help for POC in a situation of poverty through the perspectives of a young artistically talented girl & her older mentor.
ihateprozac's review against another edition
5.0
I won’t lie, this book took a while to get into. Jade doesn’t have a whole lot of personality, doesn’t initially have a voice, and the story takes a while to find its feet. But if you can stick with it for more than 100 pages you’ll understand exactly why people rave so hard about Piecing Me Together!
It's a great, hopeful story about finding your voice and using it to communicate, critique, and grow, rather than taking the easy road by staying silent and running away. This story shows how you can use words to shape your existence if you choose to.
This book deals with many complex themes, with a primary one being the crossroads where classism and racism intersect. Jade’s skin colour and postcode are seen as indicators that she needs to be “fixed”, but she isn’t broken - and these attitudes are uniquely damaging when they're coming from other black people. We get to see Jade use her voice to communicate how problematic this is and how people can do better.
This book also highlights the complacency and ignorance of white people when it comes to believing POC about racism. Renee Watson explicitly calls out white people for being oblivious or sweeping microaggressions and casual racism under the rug as “oh maybe they were just doing their job” or “I didn’t see it that way”. DO BETTER.
There’s also a little dialogue about police brutality, how female bodies are both policed and objectified by men, and fat bodies. Watson only touches on these on a superficial level though, and I wish there’d been more dialogue beyond the one scene calling these out.
I absolutely adored the art theme in this book and how it provided a foundation and a vehicle for Jade’s growth. Initially Jade's art is just something she does, but throughout the course of the story it becomes more about who she is and she uses it to shape her future. I loved Renee Watson's writing style and how the art elements came alive - I can only describe her writing as visual.
Also, can I just scream from the rooftops about how this book FEATURES ZERO ROMANCE. ZERO! THANK YOU! This book is about Jade and her journey. Jade is allowed room to explore her identity, her family, her lived experience, and how she relates to people - and it’s all the stronger for not having a romance. She even calls out a character for assuming she’s dressing up for male attention, and I could’ve screamed! I’ve read too many shitty lukewarm romances in YA, please give me more kickass protags embarking on a journey of exploration that doesn’t involve dating.
4.5 stars. An absolute gem!
Representation: black protagonist, black side characters and family members
It's a great, hopeful story about finding your voice and using it to communicate, critique, and grow, rather than taking the easy road by staying silent and running away. This story shows how you can use words to shape your existence if you choose to.
This book deals with many complex themes, with a primary one being the crossroads where classism and racism intersect. Jade’s skin colour and postcode are seen as indicators that she needs to be “fixed”, but she isn’t broken - and these attitudes are uniquely damaging when they're coming from other black people. We get to see Jade use her voice to communicate how problematic this is and how people can do better.
This book also highlights the complacency and ignorance of white people when it comes to believing POC about racism. Renee Watson explicitly calls out white people for being oblivious or sweeping microaggressions and casual racism under the rug as “oh maybe they were just doing their job” or “I didn’t see it that way”. DO BETTER.
There’s also a little dialogue about police brutality, how female bodies are both policed and objectified by men, and fat bodies. Watson only touches on these on a superficial level though, and I wish there’d been more dialogue beyond the one scene calling these out.
I absolutely adored the art theme in this book and how it provided a foundation and a vehicle for Jade’s growth. Initially Jade's art is just something she does, but throughout the course of the story it becomes more about who she is and she uses it to shape her future. I loved Renee Watson's writing style and how the art elements came alive - I can only describe her writing as visual.
Also, can I just scream from the rooftops about how this book FEATURES ZERO ROMANCE. ZERO! THANK YOU! This book is about Jade and her journey. Jade is allowed room to explore her identity, her family, her lived experience, and how she relates to people - and it’s all the stronger for not having a romance. She even calls out a character for assuming she’s dressing up for male attention, and I could’ve screamed! I’ve read too many shitty lukewarm romances in YA, please give me more kickass protags embarking on a journey of exploration that doesn’t involve dating.
4.5 stars. An absolute gem!
Representation: black protagonist, black side characters and family members
marcosbedbooks's review against another edition
5.0
I was sent a copy of this book by the publishers as a part of the teenreads.com Teen Board.
From the author of THIS SIDE OF HOME, Renée Watson’s novel PIECING ME TOGETHER tackles issues of racism and class in schools. Jade lives in the poor area of Portland, Oregon, but goes to a mostly-white rich private school in hopes of getting a better future than the people around her. She has convinced herself that in order to get out of her poor neighborhood she must use everything to her advantage. However, things change when Jade is convinced into joining Women to Women, a membership program to help black girls succeed by having black female mentors, things start to change. Jade doesn’t believe that she’ll ever be able to relate with her mentor, but as their relationship grows, Jade slowly starts to open up and discovers how to express herself through her art.
PIECING ME TOGETHER was a novel I absolutely adored; though it is slow-paced and tended to drag a little from place to place, it was made up for in its fantastic storytelling and writing. Jade is an angry and flawed character, but readers won’t help but fall in love with her. She’s an intelligent main character and is one of my favorite people to read from. I loved her for her boldness. Jade is also a character who is passionate about art, and we see that constantly throughout the novel which I adored.
What really stood out to me was the way this book deals with class between black characters. While a majority of this book is about Jade going to a mostly white school, there is a discussion on class from Jade and her mentor. Jade personally doesn’t believe that she will ever be able to relate to her Woman to Woman mentor, Maxine, because her mentor is part of a rich family, while Jade lives on the poor side with her mother. It shows that divide between poor and rich black woman, and shows the way that it can affect relationships when class is a matter at hand.
This theme continues and is strengthened in the book when Jade has a conflict with one of her white friends, Sam. Similar to Jade, Sam lives in the poorer area of Portland as well, and they have a fight over racism and class. This theme of class between races is my favorite aspect of this novel since it’s a topic that I’ve never seen discussed before in a novel.
One last thing I would like to point out is that this book features no romance, which is a lot more difficult to find that it should be when it comes to books that deal with race. I personally enjoy books that have no romance in general, because romances can get in the way of the plot at times. It made me enjoy the book a bit more because of this.
PIECING ME TOGETHER is a slow-paced yet necessary read for a book that tackles smaller issues inside of class and racism. I would recommend this to someone who is looking for something similar to THE HATE U GIVE, only with the warning that PIECING ME TOGETHER is a slower read that still packs a punch. Even with its flaws, PIECING ME TOGETHER is a fabulous coming of age story I would recommend.
From the author of THIS SIDE OF HOME, Renée Watson’s novel PIECING ME TOGETHER tackles issues of racism and class in schools. Jade lives in the poor area of Portland, Oregon, but goes to a mostly-white rich private school in hopes of getting a better future than the people around her. She has convinced herself that in order to get out of her poor neighborhood she must use everything to her advantage. However, things change when Jade is convinced into joining Women to Women, a membership program to help black girls succeed by having black female mentors, things start to change. Jade doesn’t believe that she’ll ever be able to relate with her mentor, but as their relationship grows, Jade slowly starts to open up and discovers how to express herself through her art.
PIECING ME TOGETHER was a novel I absolutely adored; though it is slow-paced and tended to drag a little from place to place, it was made up for in its fantastic storytelling and writing. Jade is an angry and flawed character, but readers won’t help but fall in love with her. She’s an intelligent main character and is one of my favorite people to read from. I loved her for her boldness. Jade is also a character who is passionate about art, and we see that constantly throughout the novel which I adored.
What really stood out to me was the way this book deals with class between black characters. While a majority of this book is about Jade going to a mostly white school, there is a discussion on class from Jade and her mentor. Jade personally doesn’t believe that she will ever be able to relate to her Woman to Woman mentor, Maxine, because her mentor is part of a rich family, while Jade lives on the poor side with her mother. It shows that divide between poor and rich black woman, and shows the way that it can affect relationships when class is a matter at hand.
This theme continues and is strengthened in the book when Jade has a conflict with one of her white friends, Sam. Similar to Jade, Sam lives in the poorer area of Portland as well, and they have a fight over racism and class. This theme of class between races is my favorite aspect of this novel since it’s a topic that I’ve never seen discussed before in a novel.
One last thing I would like to point out is that this book features no romance, which is a lot more difficult to find that it should be when it comes to books that deal with race. I personally enjoy books that have no romance in general, because romances can get in the way of the plot at times. It made me enjoy the book a bit more because of this.
PIECING ME TOGETHER is a slow-paced yet necessary read for a book that tackles smaller issues inside of class and racism. I would recommend this to someone who is looking for something similar to THE HATE U GIVE, only with the warning that PIECING ME TOGETHER is a slower read that still packs a punch. Even with its flaws, PIECING ME TOGETHER is a fabulous coming of age story I would recommend.
kenzie176824's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
ceceewing_'s review against another edition
5.0
I just cried through the last 40 pages of this. Absolutely incredible.
albanueva's review against another edition
4.0
Ce livre parle, d'une façon plutôt simple, pas seulement de questions de race, mais aussi de classe, de genre, de confiance en soi même. L'histoire de Jade est poignante, émouvante et nous fait réfléchir.
on_my_bookshelf's review against another edition
5.0
Jade Butler was taught to take all the opportunities she is awarded. That she has, but why does she feel so out of place at a private school that she received a bursary to attend. Why is it when she joins the woman to woman program (Mrs Parker) suggested she feels like they want to "fix" girls from the bad neighborhoods.
Both Jade and her mentor have to learn things about each other even when they are bumping heads. This book follows Jade on a journey of race, history, politics and finding her own voice within and outside of the black community.
This is really one of those profound books where you sit back and think WOW! It's written with such warmth and depth.
Both Jade and her mentor have to learn things about each other even when they are bumping heads. This book follows Jade on a journey of race, history, politics and finding her own voice within and outside of the black community.
This is really one of those profound books where you sit back and think WOW! It's written with such warmth and depth.