Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow was an excellent book about a topic that is rarely talked about in such depth. The main character, Charlotte, has dealt with a lot of trauma in her seventeen years, and has turned to self-harm as a coping mechanism. Throughout the book, Charlotte faces the stigma of having scars, judgment from those around her, and the struggle of relapse and recovery.
This was a very difficult read, not because it isn't beautifully written, but because it's hard to witness a young person go through so much pain and trauma.

I would highly recommend this book to colleagues, students, and their parents, as I feel like it could educate people on the thought processes and struggles of those with self-injury disorders.

A big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This books covers very difficult topics such as self-harm, mental illness, addiction and abuse, but its done in an extremely raw, honest and brutal way. It does not sugar coat things and I really liked that. I had very mixed feelings about Charlie and how I felt about her as a main character. At times I felt a huge amount of sympathy for her, but then others I became angry at her for the things she put herself through. I hated her relationship with Riley, which was the point, but he was just not a nice man and I just wanted to scream at Charlie to get away from him. I also was very intrigued by the side characters and wish there was a companion novel following them as well! I really liked how the story didn't end in your typical 'happily ever after manner' but it was hopeful in a way. I was also a big fan of the writing style, the short chapters almost felt like diary entries and I was instantly intrigued by them. I definitely recommend checking out the book, but make sure you are aware of the triggers before diving in!

This book was an emotional roller coaster and sometimes very difficult to continue reading. But it was also beautiful and captivating and very eye opening. I loved the way in was written from the point of view of Charlie and I loved hearing her story, although tragic.

Second Kathleen Glascow in the last few weeks and I'm waiting to read the only one of her novels I haven't read so that I can stretch out her reads for as long as I can.

Girl in Pieces was a particularly relevant to me as I have a family member who has battled with self-harm and I know I've had too many students battling with it too. While my family member doesn't/didn't have the same relationship with self-harm that Charlie does, it still gave me so much insight into some of the thoughts and feelings that many may feel and that knowledge is immeasurably helpful.



Charlie's journey was one that focused on not just her battle to heal (literally and figuratively) and embedded in that journey were stories of friendship, finding self-worth and self-confidence, grappling with the past and finding hope in the future. It also showed us that family isn't always the one that we were born into, but also the one that we choose and make for ourselves. Charlie's story was painful and challenging, and yet it held so much hope and promise that I ended the novel feeling positive about Charlie's future.



As with both Glascow novels that I've read, I can't stop thinking about the characters. They now live in my heart and take up space in my head, and I just hope against hope that whatever they're doing, they're happy. That's the type of novel experience this was--one that just sticks with you.



As a teacher of teens, I know that this novel may be triggering for some of my students on their own journeys of healing, but I hope to put it on my shelf soon, because I absolutely know that it is a novel that will also be so helpful for some in my classes.



SIDE NOTE: I enjoyed the unusually structured breaks between scenes and chapters and I love that the publisher/agent/editors encouraged a debut writer to take risks and not do the expected. Kudos to that team!

Girl in Pieces is one of my favorite YA books. It gives a true, and necessary look, into the the mind of a teenage suffering from trauma. Teenagers can see themselves in it and adults should read it to see those same teenagers. Highly recommended.

Unfortunately I just did not have the constitution for this book, the topics are handled very complexity and sensitively but even then there are some books that are just not for everyone depending on their experiences and current state of mind so readers should bare that in mind.

In my youth, I knew girls like Charlotte, and my own life could have been like hers, with minor differences in circumstances. At first, I was frustrated, because she didn't speak, and when reading it you are like, who is this girl? What is this big mystery about what happened to her, and why won't she talk? But the you start learning about the things that happened to her little by little, and the struggles that she went through to survive. You learn about other broken girls that she meets while institutionalized. I love that when she gets out, that there was someone that understood and was willing to help. I cheered for and related to Charlotte as she tried to pick the pieces back up - I watched her struggles, and her strength and her desire to start over to be fresh. This book is a well written glimpse into addition and mental health, loss and friendship, and finding yourself. I enjoyed the book through the end, including the ups and downs. I am looking forward to more from this author.

This book is beautifully written with tenderness, emotion, and conviction. Kathleen Glasgow is a remarkable author, drawing on her own experiences to lend voice to Charlie, a girl who feels irrevocably tarnished and uses self-harm to soothe her emotional ache
Girl In Pieces was beautifully lyrical, yet dark and confronting, rarely seen in young adult novels. I commend Kathleen for her courage, composure and her ability to create a character who readers will see themselves within.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. Unfortunately, it wasn't for me, but I'm sure others will love it.

This book had its moments where it was hard to get through. It felt like it had dragged on, but I stuck with it and it ended up being a great story! I do recommend it to customers if they are interested in it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the opportunity to read and review Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow! A young woman named Charlie is found outside a hospital, hurt and alone. She's treated in the hospital for seven days and then is taken to a psychiatric ward. She has cut herself to cope with the struggles in her life. She's released from the ward and tries to get through it all one day at a time, and sometimes one moment at a time, while she finds a place to live and a job. Her social circle grows and she finds herself dealing with other's problems and she wants to move forward not backwards. Girl in Pieces is a true pay-it-forward story and the author relays her own story and shares resources with readers at the end of the book. A deep, complex story as raw and realistic as life gets. 5 stars for this young adult realistic fiction story that's inspiring and eye-opening.

Girl in Pieces was a sad, heartbreaking book. The main character is basically without a home and completely co-dependent on the guy she meets in the book. I hated that part, but I also understood it.

This book is definitely not for the faint of heart and contains a lot of heavy issues such as self-harm, mental illness, and abuse. It is definitely a book that covers many tough issues and does it VERY well. I was extremely impressed with this author.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of A Girl in Pieces.

Unfortunately, this was one I just couldn't finish. I have so much respect for stories about self abuse and harm because I feel like they are written for those who have dealt with those issues. This one was just too much for me. Cutting is a hard enough topic, must we also throw EVERY other dark subject in there too. Drugs, rape, homelessness. And even in the group home there is rape between a doctor and client. Too much. Just not for me.

It’s hard to describe what a book this deep, dark and intense makes you feel. Truth be told, I’m nothing but a bundle of emotions right now that I’m just trying to shove down so I can write this review semi-coherently.
I’ve had an e-copy of Girl in Pieces for a while now, but for some reason, I could never quite focus on everything going on in this book through the screen of my iPad. And so, when I got my hands on a paperback, I dove right in.
This book is one of the most intense portrayals of a harsh life that I’ve ever seen, but always with a glimmer of hope in the background and I fell in love with it.
”Each aberration of my skin is a song. Press your mouth against me. You will hear so much singing.”
Girl in Pieces opens with a girl lying on the snow in front of a hospital, the red seeping out of her body and into the white underneath her. It will grip you right then, make you feel Charlie’s pain and understand it and leave you reeling.
Some opinions/ thoughts:
1. Girl In Pieces is a deep, heavy and accurate description of what mental health problems feel like. While it is primarily about self-harm, it also deals with physical and sexual abuse, substance abuse and emotional abuse. It’s an intense book that I needed to keep putting on hold for hours before getting back to it.

2. This book is authentic. It handles the ups and downs or the ‘good days’ and the ‘bad days’ of mental health and addiction with stark clarity. It also shows the below average standard of health care given to those who need it when they don’t have the financial ability to pay for it.

3. Charlie Davis is a heart breaking character. She has had a less than ideal life, and my heart ached for all the four hundred pages I was in her head. I’ve never understood a character more, all I wanted was for her to find some kind of love and to be happy. She was unique, living a painstakingly real life in a harsh world and I only want the best for her.

4. I didn’t get Riley and Charlie. It felt like a bad idea from the start, not to mention the ten year age difference and the fact that Charlie was a minor. I didn’t get it, but I understood where she was coming from. I hated it when, as she put it, made herself smaller for him to notice her. Even the book portrayed it as something that wouldn’t end well, but I did sort of understand why Charlie did it.

5. The middle got kind of slow. There’s a sort of lag in the middle when Charlie and Riley are together, when Mike is gone and Blue isn’t there and they’re forming this unhealthy routine between them when I found myself counting pages, waiting for something to happen.

6. Mike was such a… filler character. I didn’t know what to think of him. I just didn’t. Also, BUNNY? A real name?
I don’t quite know what I’ve even said in this.
This book is a gorgeous and heart shattering rendering of what it is to find yourself and find your place when your biggest enemy is you.
I’ve never read a better, more intense, more real or more heart-breaking book on mental health and hard lives and I could not recommend it enough.
It was absolutely positively fucking angelic.

Girl in Piece by Kathleen Glasgow was a book that had me in pieces. I was honestly worried that the author wouldn't properly show what it's like to self harm and what goes through one's mind, but I quickly realized that wouldn't be an issue. Girl in Pieces is a beautiful, heart breaking novel about a girl named Charlie who has gone through so much in her life, and I am truly glad to have read it.

This book was my favorite read of 2016. The subject matter is heavy, and dark, but so important and done so well. Going into this book, I didn't really know just how dark it was going to get. Charlie's character has been through so much, and so have the people that she knows. This book made my heart heavy with sorrow for those who go through life feeling like they are alone and that things will never get better.

The writing in Girl In Pieces is absolutely beautiful. It is written in a diary-like style. In the beginning of the novel, the entries are short; Charlie doesn't trust whoever it is that she's writing to (herself, her therapist, just a diary?) with the truth of what happened to her. She is a selective mute, traumatized by her experiences. Over time, Charlie opens up, both to people in her life and to the reader. The writing manages to get so much emotion across without much effort.

I think the most important thing about this book is that it reminded me you never really know what people are going through, underneath whatever face they put on for the public to view. It reminded me to be kind to others, because you never know what might tip someone over the edge. Everyone should read this book.

GIRL IN PIECES was one of the most intense books I read in 2016. In fact, it sounded almost two grim for me, and the first part of the book did little calm my memories of reading I NEVER PROMISED YOU A ROSE GARDEN back in the '70s. Charlie's weeks in a mental hospital that specializes in self-harm doesn't gloss over the gritty reality of restriction, fear, hopelessness, and pain.

For me the story took off once Charlie was released and finds herself on her own after her neglectful mother cuts her loose. Charlie sees her friend Mikey, now living in Arizona, as her salvation. When she arrives at his house, only to find he is in love with someone else, she is devastated. Knowing she is going to have to make her own way, she finds a job in a coffee shop. The manager, Riley, is older and charismatic. His mercurial moods and substance abuse keep Charlie off balance, but saying no to someone seems to need you so much can be hard when you need love yourself. Yet Charlie is stronger than she knows, and her artwork that's long consoled her ends up opening unexpected doors to new possibilities.

The book appealed to me because I love stories about starting over after life throws you a curve. Glasgow doesn't sugarcoat anything. Charlie's life as a runaway, before she was hospitalized was horrific.Glasgow's personal experience with self harm gives her insight into the condition. The book includes a list of resources for those who self-harm or who suffer from depression. GIRL IN PIECES has strong language and sexual situations in the book, making it most appropriate for teens 14 and up who appreciate books about psychological issues and relationships.

Amazing book! Easy to get into and understand characters.

Once this book is cataloged I will never see it again. I have a number of students who love hard life stories like these.

One of the year's strongest YA novels. A delicately drawn, emotionally resonant exploration of self-harm and the recovery process. Especially well handled is the uncertainty and, at times, exhilaration experienced by the narrator as she navigates the adult world on her own for the first time.