A review by everthereader
Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson
4.0
Review Posted On: Ever the Reader
Spoiler Free Review:
As always, I am very late to reviewing books but as the cliche saying goes, better late than never? Piecing Me Together
The book isn't written in verse, but the short chapters and poetic verses almost felt like it was a story written in verse. Art in all forms is significant throughout the story which really spoke to me. Jade is an artist and loves to draw and create collages. The art was symbolic of her life and Jade growing into herself. White privilege, racial profiling and police brutality are all topics brought up in this story. You really get to see how scary it is for black teenagers to be living in fear of being oppressed or arrested for no reason.
So one thing I've noticed in some YA books is after an event, the main character kind of just gives up on their education. I was really glad to see Jade still trying to strive for success. Her mother pushing her to try and pursue a great education was very reminiscent to my own parents and I'm sure to many others. I also liked the relationship between Jade and her mentor. Her mentor didn't fix Jade and was not perfect at all. There was some miscommunication in the beginning, but the friendship was genuine and encouraging.
Overall, I really enjoyed this story, I especially loved the poem at the end which was on police brutality. The story really did pack a punch especially towards the end and i would highly recommend reading it.
Rating: 3.75/5
Spoiler Free Review:
As always, I am very late to reviewing books but as the cliche saying goes, better late than never? Piecing Me Together
The book isn't written in verse, but the short chapters and poetic verses almost felt like it was a story written in verse. Art in all forms is significant throughout the story which really spoke to me. Jade is an artist and loves to draw and create collages. The art was symbolic of her life and Jade growing into herself. White privilege, racial profiling and police brutality are all topics brought up in this story. You really get to see how scary it is for black teenagers to be living in fear of being oppressed or arrested for no reason.
So one thing I've noticed in some YA books is after an event, the main character kind of just gives up on their education. I was really glad to see Jade still trying to strive for success. Her mother pushing her to try and pursue a great education was very reminiscent to my own parents and I'm sure to many others. I also liked the relationship between Jade and her mentor. Her mentor didn't fix Jade and was not perfect at all. There was some miscommunication in the beginning, but the friendship was genuine and encouraging.
Overall, I really enjoyed this story, I especially loved the poem at the end which was on police brutality. The story really did pack a punch especially towards the end and i would highly recommend reading it.
Rating: 3.75/5