Publishers Weekly
06/06/2016
Nearly broken by a suicide attempt and a spate of personal losses, 17-year-old Charlotte “Charlie” Davis finds solace in the broken shards of a mason jar and, later, through art, in debut author Glasgow’s visceral novel of self-harm. On the streets of the Twin Cities after her father died and her mother simply stopped caring, Charlie “cut all her words out heart was too full of them.” Bandaged and silent, she ends up in a psych unit for self-harmers. Although Charlie sees herself in the other girls, it’s her friend Ellis she craves the most. But the Ellis she knew is gone, stuck in the limbo of cutting deep enough to cause significant blood loss but not enough to die. When Charlie is discharged abruptly, she leaves for Tucson, following Mikey, a boy she liked but who always loved Ellis more. Glasgow skillfully juggles multiple difficult topics (homelessness, self-harm, etc.) without dipping into melodrama. Charlie’s intimate first-person narration places readers deep within her experience while maintaining awareness of the outside world and the people in it. Ages 14–up. Agent: Julie Stevenson, Waxman Leavell Literary. (Aug.)
From the Publisher
A New York Times Bestseller
An Amelia Bloomer Project Award Selection
A New York Public Library Best Book for Teens
“Girl, Interrupted meets Speak.”—Refinery29
“A dark yet powerful read.”—Paste Magazine
“One of the most affecting novels we have read.”—Goop
“Breathtaking and beautifully written.”—Bustle
“Intimate and gritty.”—The Irish Times
"A haunting, beautiful, and necessary book that will stay with you long after you've read the last page." —Nicola Yoon, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Everything, Everything
"Equal parts keen-eyed empathy, stark candor, and terrible beauty. This book is why we read stories: to experience what it's like to survive the unsurvivable; to find light in the darkest night."-Jeff Zentner, author of The Serpent King
"Raw, visceral, and starkly beautiful, with writing that is at times transcendent in its brilliance. . . . An unforgettable story of trauma and resilience."—Kerry Kletter, author of The First Time She Drowned
"A breathtakingly written book about pain and hard-won healing . . . I want every girl to read Girl In Pieces."-Kara Thomas, author of The Darkest Corners and The Cheerleaders
“A Girl, Interrupted for a new generation….The story of the mad girl is ultimately a story about being a girl in a mad world, how it breaks us into pieces and how we glue ourselves back together."—Melissa Febos, author of Whip Smart and Abandon Me
“Dark, frank, and tender, Girl in Pieces keeps the reader electrified for its entire journey. You’re so uncertain if Charlie will heal, so fully immersed in hoping she does.”—Michelle Wildgen, author of Bread and Butter and You’re Not You
"Girl in Pieces has the breath of life; every character in it is fully alive. Charlie Davis' complexities are drawn with great understanding and subtlety."-Charles Baxter, author of National Book Award finalist The Feast of Love
"Charlie Davis has been damaged and abused after several years of living on the streets, but she is fiercely resilient. Though it will appeal to readers of Ellen Foster, Speak, and Girl, Interrupted, Girl in Pieces is an entirely original work, compulsively readable and deeply human."-Julie Schumacher, author the New York Times bestseller Dear Committee Members
★ "In Glasgow’s riveting debut novel, readers are pulled close to Charlie’s raw, authentic emotions as she strains to make a jagged path through her new life. Love and trust prove difficult, and Charlie’s judgment is not well honed, but her will to survive is glorious."—Booklist, Starred review
★ "[Readers] will find themselves driven to see Charlie’s story through. They will better understand a world that often makes no sense to outsiders. Glasgow’s debut novel is a dark read, but the engaging writing will win an audience for [Glasgow]."-VOYA, Starred review
"Heartbreaking and thick with emotion,...[Girl in Pieces is] for avid fans of Jennifer Niven’s All the Bright Places or Susanna Kaysen’s Girl Interrupted."-SLJ
School Library Journal
06/01/2016
Gr 10 Up—The story begins with 17-year-old Charlie in a mental health facility that specializes in the treatment of girls who have self-injury disorders. When Charlie is released prematurely because of a lack of insurance coverage, she must find her own way in a world she is unprepared to deal with. Readers follow her as she struggles to meet the challenges of survival and as she follows the path of least resistance. As her story unfolds, teens will discover that a lot of horrible things have happened to Charlie, including losing her best friend, father, and mother—all in different ways. She is a cutter, but she's also a lot of other things, too: artist, survivor, scammer, and waif. She's in such a deep, dark place, and it seems impossible she'll ever get out of it. This realistic fiction title is heartbreaking and thick with emotion, and the characters are fully formed and realistic. The book is written in short chapters and can feel a little choppy at times, but the narrative still captivates. It will keep young adults engaged and rooting for the main character throughout. VERDICT Purchase for avid fans of Jennifer Niven's All the Bright Places or Susanna Kaysen's Girl Interrupted.—Danielle Fabrizio, Swanton Public Library, VT
SEPTEMBER 2016 - AudioFile
Narrator Julia Whelan’s initial portrayal of Charlie reveals her unwillingness to speak—as well as her pain, fear, and fury. Charlie has responded to years of abuse, grief, and homelessness by cutting herself and attempting to take her own life. Gradually, Whelan recounts the changes Charlie experiences in a treatment center as she reaches out and hopes for healing. On release, Whelan contrasts the safety Charlie has come to know with her mother’s coldness and desertion, but Charlie’s grit is impressive as she makes faltering steps to support herself financially, artistically, and emotionally. Whelan’s portrayals of minor characters aid the realism of the optimistic ending. The author’s afterword tells of her personal trials and offers resources. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2016-05-04
After surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself.Seventeen-year-old Charlie Davis, a white girl living on the margins, thinks she has little reason to live: her father drowned himself; her bereft and abusive mother kicked her out; her best friend, Ellis, is nearly brain dead after cutting too deeply; and she's gone through unspeakable experiences living on the street. After spending time in treatment with other young women like her—who cut, burn, poke, and otherwise hurt themselves—Charlie is released and takes a bus from the Twin Cities to Tucson to be closer to Mikey, a boy she "like-likes" but who had pined for Ellis instead. But things don't go as planned in the Arizona desert, because sweet Mikey just wants to be friends. Feeling rejected, Charlie, an artist, is drawn into a destructive new relationship with her sexy older co-worker, a "semifamous" local musician who's obviously a junkie alcoholic. Through intense, diarylike chapters chronicling Charlie's journey, the author captures the brutal and heartbreaking way "girls who write their pain on their bodies" scar and mar themselves, either succumbing or surviving. Like most issue books, this is not an easy read, but it's poignant and transcendent as Charlie breaks more and more before piecing herself back together.This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression. (author's note) (Fiction. 14 & up)
