Recent Reads - Pieces of Us by Margie Gelbwasser

Pieces of Us, Margie Gelbwasser

 5 of 5 Stars

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Pages: 336

Publication:  3/8/2012, Flux

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Why I Chose It:  I received an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) from the publisher in exchange for a thoughtful and honest review.

Synopsis from Goodreads:  Two families. Four teens. A summer full of secrets.

Every summer, hidden away in a lakeside community in upstate New York, four teens leave behind their old identities…and escape from their everyday lives.

Yet back in Philadelphia during the school year, Alex cannot suppress his anger at his father (who killed himself), his mother (whom he blames for it), and the girls who give it up too easily. His younger brother, Kyle, is angry too—at his abusive brother, and at their mother who doesn’t seem to care. Meanwhile, in suburban New Jersey, Katie plays the role of Miss Perfect while trying to forget the nightmare that changed her life. But Julie, her younger sister, sees Katie only as everything she’s not. And their mother will never let Julie forget it.

Up at the lake, they can be anything, anyone. Free. But then Katie’s secret gets out, forcing each of them to face reality—before it tears them to pieces.

My Review:  So, um, wow, this one still has me reeling. I haven't read Margie Gelbwasser's debut novel, Inconvenient--I'll have to do that as soon as I can get my hands on a copy--but let me just tell you that she is a phenomenal writer. Amazing. A gift to the Young Adult literary world.

First, I have to tell you that I love books that take place in my geographic area and this one has scenes in Philadelphia and Cherry Hill, NJ. Second, I will admit that I wasn't supposed to read this book so early, but I have this habit of reading the first few sentences of every book I receive. Kind of to get a feel for if I'm going to like it or not. With this book, all it took was a few words and I was hooked. I was incapable of putting it down.

It's hard to say that I loved any of the characters because they're all so broken and warped that they're not really loveable--make no mistake, these are some majorly flawed and damaged people we're dealing with--but they're definitely sympathetic. I felt for each of them in a different way. Katie I adored because she was so perfect and happy and it is all ripped apart by a single moment of indiscretion. She was naive but still hopeful. Alex is damaged and abusive. Julia is bitter and selfish. And Kyle may have it worst of all but is the most redemptive character of the four. He's inherently good in a way that the others are not.

To say it was an intense read would be a gross understatement. It was arduous, incredible, emotional. Reading it, I felt as if I was being thrown against a wall and shattered into a million little pieces. The tension will push the reader to a breaking point. I spent the whole time with my stomach in knots, feeling the pain of the four main characters in this book, worrying and praying that everything would work out. That they would survive. By the end, I was so emotionally invested that I felt hollow when I was no longer a part of their story.

Honestly, I loved every second of it, yet it is so completely distressing that I won't recommend it for those who can't handle being torn apart by a book. Or for those who are opposed to swearing or sex in YA because there is plenty of it.

I have no idea why I'm drawn to dark stories with bleak themes, but I am and Pieces of Us gave me exactly what I wanted. So if you're like me, I suggest you get your hands on a copy as soon as it's released.

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