Girl in Pieces is a book written by Kathleen Glasgow in 2016. The book follows a 17 year old girl, Charlotte, or Charlie, through her life as she overcomes the hardships she has faced in the past and builds her life back. Before picking up the book, readers should note that it contains content including, but not limited to, abuse, self-harm, psychiatric hospitals, and suicide.
Reading this book was a whirlwind of emotions. Many tears were shed and many proud moments were experienced. Charlie starts out in the psychiatric hospital but gives a bit of backstory throughout the book. After she gets out, she moves to Arizona to be with an old friend. A majority of the novel takes place in Arizona as well as most of the conflict.
The novel goes into how different people cope and “talk” in different ways, such as painting, drawing, playing music, singing, writing, and many more. This is a beautiful message to spread and was a little unexpected to come across while reading since it felt like a main plot point but was introduced later in the novel. It teaches the reader how they can use hobbies to use their voice if they find it hard to express themself verbally.
On the back of the book and in the novel the words “you can spot the girls who have it easy and the girls who don’t.” This message, while a bit sad, is very true and Kathleen does a great job at showing how different people cope with being self aware of how they may or may not have it easy.
This book, though it may be a tough read for those not mentally prepared, sends a beautiful message and is highly recommended to those learning to cope, or those who have just overcome a hardship in life. Girl in Pieces allows readers to know that they are never alone and there is always a way to overcome the difficulties in life.
