Girl In Pieces

Girl In Pieces
Written by Kathleen Glasgow
Contemporary, Mental Health, Realistic Fiction
Published September 19th 2016
416 Pages
Thank you to Harper Collins Australia
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★★★★★
Charlotte Davis is in pieces. At eighteen she's already lost more than most people lose in a lifetime. But she's learned how to forget it. The thick glass of a mason jar cuts deep and the pain washes out the sorrow until there is nothing but calm. You don't have to think about your father and the bridge. Your best friend who is gone forever. Or your mother who has nothing left to give you. Every new scar hardens Charlie's heart just a little more, yet it still hurts so much. It hurts enough to not care anymore, which is sometimes what has to happen to find your way back from the edge.
Charlotte Davis mourns for the life she's never known. A life without loss, without abuse and for the love she so desperately deserves. Charlie has endured the loss of her father, an abusive mother and Ellis, a friend who attempted to take her own life. Within the confined walls of the institute, Charlie sits alone, silent and sharing her story through art. Charlie is parasuicidal, self harming to ease the emotional suffering of living on the streets and being sold into sexual slavery. 
I cut because I can't deal. It's as simple as that. The world becomes an ocean, the ocean washes over me, the sound of water is deafening, the water drowns my heart, my panic becomes as large as planets. I need release, I need to hurt myself more than the world can hurt me, and then I can comfort myself.
Charlie's physical wounds have healed and although emotionally vulnerable, funding is no longer available for treatment and the seventeen year old is released, supposedly into her mothers care. With a bus ticket and her birth certificate, Charlie is on her way to Arizona, her relationship with her mother damaged beyond repair. Michael is a former friend and has offered Charlie a home, rarely extended to damaged girls who feel they're undeserving of love. 

Charlie is determined to forge a new path in the world, toiling for minimum wage at a local coffee house with the charming and charismatic Riley, a former musician who provides Charlie with kindness and tenderness. It's Riley that threatens Charlie's recovery. He's an alcoholic and drug dependant, manipulating the young woman to enable his addition.

Overwhelmed and afflicted, Charlie begins regress until a small act of kindness provides Charlie with a lifeline. With hope. And most of all, a reason to live again, not merely survive.

 My Thoughts

Girl in Pieces is momentous, a narrative 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. Charlie's character represents so many young women within our communities. Girls who have been abused, who haven't been afforded the opportunity of a loving family, to experience kindness or sanctuary. After her father was cruelly taken from her, her mother became her tormentor and precursor.

Charlie's narrative is poignant yet incredibly captivating. The reader is introduced to Charlie's character as she is brought into the institute, bleeding and abandoned after trying to end her own life. Her grief and longing are palpable, my heart ached for Charlie and her sense of abandonment. Self harm is her coping mechanism, using broken fragile pieces of mason glass to lacerate her arms, mutilating her body as tenderly as she creates her art. Charlie may have recovered from her physical anguish but her emotional scars remain and she becomes a fatality of the mental health system, the institute no longer able to treat the seventeen year old due to the lack of financial aide and releases her into the care of a mother who has no intention to care for her daughter.

Charlie's journey is confronting. Her Tender Kit she holds dear but determined to not only survive but flourish against adversity which begins with the kindness of Michael. Although Michael and Charlie were once friends, Michael can only provide Charlie with the bare necessities to survive while he's away. With a warm bed and the security of Michael's bungalow, Charlie's employment search finds her washing dishes at a small coffee house where Riley is regrettably employed.

The charismatic and charming Riley, a former musician whose life is a calamity of alcohol fuelled drug dependency, provides Charlie with a tenderness of a physical relationship beyond the confines of an intimacy. While Charlie begins to rebuild her life, Riley's addiction threatens to consume him. Riley was an interesting character. Although I didn't particularly like his character, it felt as though so many in his life enabled his drug and alcohol abuse and he held an heir of entitlement. Their relationship was toxic, but an incredibly important pinnacle in Charlie's journey.

Kathleen Glasgow's debut is courageous and unapologetic. Mental illness and addiction are often lifelong issues that so many in our community confront. Charlie's journey of healing is anguished, confronting and proving that even fictionally, there is no antidote.

The Final Verdict

Kathleen Glasgow is a remarkable woman who has breathed life into her characters through her own experiences, exposing herself so that others may find empowerment. 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.

Charlie was beautiful yet so incredibly brave. The story of a girl who longs to feel loved, to feel safe and still dares to hope for what so many take for granted. Dark and captivating, Girl In Pieces is a narrative to be cherished.

33 comments

  1. This sounds like a beautifully written novel. I really do want to read this one. I've heard great things, and your review has me even more determined to find time for this one. It sounds like a future favorite of mine. I adore books that focus on tough, realistic issues and do it well.

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    1. It is absolutely breathtaking Lauren, so poignant yet ultimately hopeful. It's a book that I urge everyone regardless of reading preferences to read.

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  2. Lovely review, Kelly. I feel like you gave this book the accolades it deserves. You also managed to highlight the important issues that I'm sure the author wanted to convey through Charlie's story. I never could understand cutting - the very idea that harming oneself physically to escape the emotional pain is something I can't wrap my head around. But I suppose that's why there's a pressing need for more books like Girl in Pieces. So we may understand the very nature of the disease.

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    1. It's an issue that I think most people find hard to understand, as we can imagine wanting to self harm no matter how dire our circumstances are. It gave me such a greater understanding of Charlie's mental health and how she was a victim of the mental health system. It's often the members of our community who are in most need of help are the ones who don't have the resources or ability to access these services. It's such a confronting but incredible read Joy and I would love to see what you think of it.

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  3. Wow, sounds as if you're really enjoyed this one and it sounds like a complex subject which Glasgow hasn't backed away from.

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    1. It's incredibly brave and I can't applaud her enough for not romanticising mental illness and addiction. It's gritty and confronting, such a wonderful read.

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  4. This sounds... breathtaking. Remarkable. Important. You get my drift: I've got to check this book out. ASAP!

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    1. Yes, please do Jessica. It was all that and more. One of the most poignant, confronting and yet hopeful reads I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing.

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  5. Oh I seriously want to read this!! I saw Emily raving about it and immediately put it on my to-buy list, but then my library also bought it (!!) so I have it on reserve and afjdksald I can't wait. I didn't know the author drew on personal experience and that both makes me sad (it's sad when anyone has to go through mental illness) and both hopeful because I know this will be an accurate representation.

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    1. It was so incredibly realistic and it romanticise mental illness or Charlie's relationship as a love cures all type scenario. So wonderfully written, Charlie's narrative destroyed me.

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  6. This book sounds incredibly confronting but also beautifully done, especially with the author drawing things from her own experiences. The alchol and drug abuse would definitely be confonting especially with Charlie's character, but important to explore all the same. Lovely review Kelly!

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    1. Thanks Jeann. It was, but so wonderfully written and such an important story to tell. I hope teens who are struggling can find their way to Girl In Pieces and ultimately see Charlie as a realistic point of inspiration for their own journey back to wellness.

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  7. So glad you enjoyed this, Kel <3 I absolutely loved it and I was so captivated by Charlie. I couldn't stop thinking about her. Kathleen's note at the end was just beautiful, as well.

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    1. I couldn't agree more. I still can't stop thinking about Charlie and have reached out to Kathleen to talk more about her story as well. It's poignant, yet beautiful and ultimately hopeful.

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  8. I've heard that this was done really well which isn't' often the case with these kind of topics.

    Karen @For What It's Worth

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    1. It was brilliantly portrayed Karen and with an incredibly amount of realism. It's a book I'd recommend that everyone needs to read, it's dark and confronting but Charlie's story is such an important one to tell.

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  9. This is an amazing review Kelly! It sounds like Girl in Pieces was really well done. It really hurts to see that she can no longer afford treatment, along with being in a couple of toxic relationships. I'm not sure if I'll be able to read this one since it'll probably prove to be really hard to get through, but one day when I'm in the mood for it, I'll pick it up!

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    1. It's so engrossing though, I was championing Charlie's recovery and my heart was bursting at the kindness of strangers. It's confronting but so incredibly hopeful.

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  10. Oh man, this sounds amazing. I love that it hits on some hard topics like that.

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    1. It truly is Christy, one of those books that you absolutely cherish. I'd love to see what you think of it.

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  11. Great review -- what you said in the end -- about there being no antidote. Sometimes, they do come too easily don't they? And falling in love and romance or a good family isn't always the answer.

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    1. I think young adult especially tends to romanticise mental illness and provide an unrealistic cure that love is enough, when more than likely those struggling don't have enough of themselves to give to a potential partner. But Girl in Pieces didn't hold back, it's dark, gritty and confronting. Such a breath of fresh air in a sea of unrealistic contemporary fiction.

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  12. A girl recommended this book to me on Twitter and she said its extremely amazing! After reading your review I want it ASAP plus it's about mental illness so it will be more relatable! Sadly it's still not available in my country! 😭😭😭
    Haniya
    booknauthors.blogspot.com

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    1. It should be out now on Amazon or even The Book Depository Haniya. Or perhaps as your local library if they can get a copy for you. It's amazing, a definite must read!

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  13. I absolutely have to read this now. It can be quite difficult to find a book where mental illness and addiction are portrayed accurately, and this sounds like it fits that criteria. Wonderful review, Kelly - you always write in such a clear, poetic way! :)

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    1. Aww, thanks Geraldine. It's such an important story to tell. I think most readers will be able to relate to Charlie's character on some level and it was so beautifully written. I would love to see what you think of it.

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  14. Totally agree that this was incredibly well done, and quite necessary in the YA market for sure. I loved that the author was so honest about it all, I think it's refreshing, and so, so important. There are not enough books like this out there, and I am SO glad that it's starting to change. Fabulous review!

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    1. Thanks Shannon and I couldn't agree more. Something about Charlie's story really resonated with me and I still find myself thinking about her and her struggle to wellness.

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  15. humm I have never heard of this one, will have to add it to GR, this looks like such a strongly emotional read, the topic alone I feel can be pretty sensitive.

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    1. It truly is Lily, but it's also incredibly inspiring and hopeful. I think we can all relate to Charlie in so many ways.

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  16. This is the first time I come across this book, Kelly. Your review as always is beautifully written and very thoughtful. Cutting is something I find hard to understand, and so far I haven’t read a book dealing with this topic that I liked and was able to connect with characters. Charlie's story sounds like a very emotional one, and I’ll probably give it a try, just not now. Lately real life is hectic, and I’m often tired and tend to read more fluffy and light books.

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  17. I skipped reading your review, Kelly. I know this is a good book since I have heard that it's really a good one. I have a copy of this on my Kindle but I have not read this. Maybe I'll read it this on our break!

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  18. I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS! I recieved it for review from Harper Collins and although I haven't read it yet, I am just so excited to!

    xx Anisha (https://sprinkledpages.blogspot.com.au/)

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