A review by nesasaenz81
Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero
5.0
I loved, loved, loved this book. Is it perfect? No. But neither is Gabi, the book's narrator. And it is these imperfections that endear Gabi, and the book. to readers.
Perhaps I'm such a fan of the book because Gabi is made up of reflections of my community. And undoubtedly, this clouds my judgment. But I won’t budge on my stance.
In Gabi, her best-friend and her nemesis, her mom and her tía, I see me, the girls I grew up with, my mother and her comadres and the girls I teach. I read a review that said that the book was a little bit over the top: pregnant best friend, pregnant mom, meth head dad (and they didn’t even mention the graffiti-tagging little brother, gay best friend and the metiche tía!)
It may seem over the top, but for thousands of girls across the US, this is a reality, a norm, not a hyperbole. Take me for example. I grew up with a mom who suffered from a severe case of Lupus. I had a bi-polar, alcoholic, stoner of a dad. I grew up in a tiny, housing duplex apartment with paper-thin walls, and a neighbor who liked to bounce his wife off of them. My best friend growing up got knocked up at 15 and at 17, one of my brother’s friend’s became a big brother again when his mom became pregnant by his step-dad, who incidentally got arrested for running guns across the US-Mex border for a cartel. (Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up, and I’m only giving you the CliffsNotes version of it.)
The book however, is not just about the melodrama- which it has in spades! (The telenovela and the drama-queen addict in me loved that too!) This is a coming of age story told in the voice of a teenage girl that readers- especially reluctant readers- will relate too. Quintero spices her story with poems, letters and even a ‘zine. By doing this she is modeling different ways of writing and it demystifies the writing process for these reluctant readers. "That looks easy, I can do that," they might think to themselves, and then try their hands at creating a haiku or list poem.
I could have perhaps done with a little less of the profanity, but that’s just the teacher in me. Also, it is not as if Gaby uses it indiscriminately. I also understand that today’s vernacular is peppered with vulgarity and someone’s Gabi’s age would most definitely be using that sort of language in their journal.
Overall, I loved this book and will be recommending it to almost everyone I meet. (-:
Perhaps I'm such a fan of the book because Gabi is made up of reflections of my community. And undoubtedly, this clouds my judgment. But I won’t budge on my stance.
In Gabi, her best-friend and her nemesis, her mom and her tía, I see me, the girls I grew up with, my mother and her comadres and the girls I teach. I read a review that said that the book was a little bit over the top: pregnant best friend, pregnant mom, meth head dad (and they didn’t even mention the graffiti-tagging little brother, gay best friend and the metiche tía!)
It may seem over the top, but for thousands of girls across the US, this is a reality, a norm, not a hyperbole. Take me for example. I grew up with a mom who suffered from a severe case of Lupus. I had a bi-polar, alcoholic, stoner of a dad. I grew up in a tiny, housing duplex apartment with paper-thin walls, and a neighbor who liked to bounce his wife off of them. My best friend growing up got knocked up at 15 and at 17, one of my brother’s friend’s became a big brother again when his mom became pregnant by his step-dad, who incidentally got arrested for running guns across the US-Mex border for a cartel. (Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up, and I’m only giving you the CliffsNotes version of it.)
The book however, is not just about the melodrama- which it has in spades! (The telenovela and the drama-queen addict in me loved that too!) This is a coming of age story told in the voice of a teenage girl that readers- especially reluctant readers- will relate too. Quintero spices her story with poems, letters and even a ‘zine. By doing this she is modeling different ways of writing and it demystifies the writing process for these reluctant readers. "That looks easy, I can do that," they might think to themselves, and then try their hands at creating a haiku or list poem.
I could have perhaps done with a little less of the profanity, but that’s just the teacher in me. Also, it is not as if Gaby uses it indiscriminately. I also understand that today’s vernacular is peppered with vulgarity and someone’s Gabi’s age would most definitely be using that sort of language in their journal.
Overall, I loved this book and will be recommending it to almost everyone I meet. (-: