I felt like I was reading my diary from when I was in high school when I began reading the book, Gabi, A Girl in Pieces. I am not Mexican-American, but just because my heritage isn’t the same as Gabi’s, doesn’t mean I relate any less.

Written in diary/journal form, with dated entries her senior year in high school, Gabi writes about her daily life. Maybe that doesn’t seem appealing to some, but with a pregnant best friend, another best friend who is gay (and just came out to his parents who have pretty much disowned him), living with a mother who is over the top about her daughter’s looks, smarts and promiscuity and having a meth head for a father is all right up my alley. And I bet many other young adults in high school can absolutely understand where she is coming from. The beauty of it all…Gabi has such a good head on her shoulders and really does hold it all together even when everything else around her is a little drama-fied.

I feel this is a dynamic book for other girls who are feeling like maybe their alone in their messy worlds. And as in Lucky Broken Girl, I enjoyed how the author intertwined both English and Spanish into the book, especially in the poems Gabi writes.

Another book that is similar to this read is I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sanchez.

This book won the 2015 William C. Morris Award.

Quintero, Isabel (2014). Gabi: A girl in pieces. TX: Cinco Puntos.