Review: GABI, A GIRL IN PIECES by Isabel Quintero

What’s not to love about GABI, A GIRL IN PIECES? Not much that I can think of. This new book by Isabel Quintero is sassy, funny, heart-felt, heartbreaking, hearwarming, and unputdownable. I love Gabi Hernandez, the protagonist, not for her self-deprecating humor, but for her willingness to grow past it. I loved her honesty, as she struggles with some pretty tough stuff, from being the “fat girl” to her best friend’s unwanted pregnancy to her dad being a meth addict. It’s not that she takes it in stride, but that she takes it, and survives it, and does it in style.

Cinco Puntos Press, October 2014.

Gabi Hernandez is starting her senior year with a lot on her plate. Aside from the aforementioned drama, one of her besties has just come out to his family is gay, and he’s been kicked out of his house. She’s trying to figure out how to find a guy to kiss, and as soon as she gets someone to like her, he turns out to be kind of a weirdo. And while she’s kicking butt in her poetry class, that class is forcing her to confront her issues with her family. Her mom is never shy about telling Gabi to drop a few pounds, which means shopping for a prom dress sounds like the absolute worst. Plus, if she flunks Algebra II again, her chances of getting into her dream school — Berkley — are down the drain.

With a voice that is reminiscent of A.S. King and Hannah Moskowitz, written in journal format and sprinkled with Gabi’s poetry, this is definitely the kind of book that fans of fearless, “edgy” YA will devour.