The Million Pieces of Neena Gill

The Million Pieces of Neena Gill
Written by Emma Smith - Barton
Contemporary, Mental Health, Diverse
320 Pages
Thank you to Penguin Teen Australia
Add to Goodreads
★★★★★
How can I hold myself together, when everything around me is falling apart?

Neena's always been a good girl, great grades, parent approved friends and absolutely no boyfriends. But ever since her brother Akash left her, she's been slowly falling apart and uncovering a new version of herself who is altogether more dangerous.

As her wild behaviour spirals more and more out of control, Neena's grip on her sanity begins to weaken too. And when her parents announce not one but two life changing bombshells, including that they want her to have an arranged marriage, she finally reaches breaking point. But as Neena is about to discover, when your life falls apart, only love can piece you back together.
Be happy. That was the last words Akash Gill told his sister Neena before disappearing that night, asking her to sneak out to a party with him. It's been seven months since he left, seven months since Neena's mother has left the house, seven months since their lives were irrevocably changed. Neena has always been a model student and loyal friend, navigating the world with Akash at her side. Since he disappeared, Neena's life is no longer her own. She sneaks out to meet his former girlfriend Fiona, hoping to find information on why he left, drinking to numb the pain and follow Akash's path, living life according to where the winds blow. Not how their parents dictate.

Neena Gill is an interesting character, her grief is palpable as we discover the impact Akash's disappearance had on the quiet and reserved young woman. Neena increasingly isolated herself from her best friend Raheela and although as a result of her unimaginable longing, Neena meets Josh at a party through Fiona, her brother's former girlfriend and the two instantly hit it off. Neena is quite the unreliable narrator, shaking off her so called good girl status in the pursuit of information. At first. She becomes a fixture in Akash's social scene, soon realising there was more to her brother than the artist, the covert party boy, a son, a boyfriend and the spark that set the world ablaze.

The Million Pieces of Neena Gill explores the turbulent and often confronting themes of grief, alcoholism, mental illness and substance abuse, issues that were beautifully written with incredible care and consideration. It also portrays the expectations placed upon the offspring of immigrant parents and I really enjoyed the interactions between Neena and her Pakistani born parents once they found common ground.

Although the reader is introduced to Akash through brief snippets and Neena's memories of their childhood, his character is larger than life. The storyline slowly navigates around his character as the central focus and how the disappearance of a loved one leaves a gaping hole in the lives of friends and loved ones. It also explores the many facets of grief, denial, isolation, destructive behaviour, self sabotage, depression and anxiety. Neena's mother developed agoraphobia and was unable to leave the house, the couple's friends coming over each night to banquets Neena's mother would spend the day preparing, Neena's father spending long hours at work to avoid the confrontation of home while seeking solace in his local church to pray for his wayward daughter.

The romance plays a very small role throughout the narrative, which I appreciated tremendously. Neena's life is complex enough and although her relationship with Josh brought her joy, it was a bandaid for a much larger issue. Josh's character was lovely, gentle with Neena and genuinely cares for her. Her brother's former girlfriend Fiona appears to be unlikeable and not only enabled Neena's behaviour but manipulated Neena and used her to her advantage. Neena often perceived her world and the interactions with others entirely different to how they were portrayed, Fi is still questionably sketchy as she's strongly disliked by Neena's parents and her former best friend Raheela but also struggled with life without Akash.

One of my favourite aspects of The Million Pieces of Neena Gill was the writing. It was beautiful and well considered. A story of hope, healing and learning to live in the moment. A deeply moving, poignant and quietly stunning prose from an brilliant debut author in Emma Smith - Barton.

14 comments

  1. I like the sound of this one. I love a good gut punch, and you know grief and loss is my thing. Even though someone may just be gone, and not dead, it can manifest as a loss. Neena's family sounds like a typical family dealing with the loss of a child, and I know I would like this, because you talk about healing. It's always important for me to know the characters will be ok.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm exactly the same! I need for characters to have begun to heal, otherwise I ended up feeling quite dejected. This is so wonderfully written, I think you'll really enjoy it.

      Delete
  2. This one sounds like a really awesome read.
    Do we find out why Akash left? I'm assuming so. It sounds like this is a bit of a mystery where Neena gets more than she bargained for regarding her brother's disappearance.
    I'm thankful you said the romance was not a huge plot point, because it definitely sounds like that could've become a central focus easily.
    Your reviews are so eloquent and beautifully written, Kelly.
    I'm adding this book to my wish list.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Star, that's so lovely of you!

      The romance isn't centric but Neena begins to fixate on Josh at the height of her mental health episode. Josh is a wonderful character in his own right though. I was unsure of his character but he was so incredibly supportive of Neena. I can't wait to see what you think of it!

      Delete
  3. This sounds FABULOUS! I am always looking for a really solid mental health-focused book and this sounds like just the thing! I love that it is both moving AND hopeful, that is kind of my favorite! Thank you for this fabulous review, I just added it to my TBR!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You'll really enjoy this one Shannon. The mental health aspect is so carefully written and felt incredibly realistic.

      Delete
  4. This sounds tragic and wonderful and an astute take on grief and what it does to a family. And gosh yes, here's to the small role romance plays in this!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's such a wonderful read Verushka, I'd love to see what you think of it!

      Delete
  5. So when I read the summary I was thinking nah not for me but after reading your review I may have changed my mind. It sound interesting and seeing the character of Neena change sounds interesting. You can tell she is spiralling but seems like she's also learning more about both who her brother was and who she is herself. It's good to hear the romance is very much in the background as well because there seems like there's a lot in this book I wouldn't want the romance to detract from that. I'm definitely interested.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So glad I've been able to sway your consideration, there's no greater compliment for a reviewer! The synopsis really doesn't do the book justice, it's such an intricate and wonderful read. I loved how aware the author is of ensuring the narrative didn't become love cures all or that mental wellness isn't a quick fix but a lifelong struggle for so many members of our community. It's probably one of the most authentic young adult novel surrounding mental health I've read in a while.

      Delete
  6. Wow, this sounds like a beautiful read. I love an emotional read like this but I'm glad to hear that there's hope and healing in the story as well as that exploration of the grieving process.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It reminds me of a quote or saying that I can't remember where I picked up, but about needing to fall apart first before being able to put yourself back together and this book reminds me of that quote.

      Delete
  7. Glad to see that it handles some really complex themes very well. They do need to be explored and talked about. Beautiful review.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Another beautiful review! I'm happy to hear the author didn't use romance to wash away her problems.

    Karen @ For What It's worth

    ReplyDelete

© Diva Booknerd. Design by Fearne.