Book Review: Gabi, a Girl in Pieces

When I was in high school, I kept a diary. It was where I spoke my truth, my inner most thoughts, but also where I wrote poems to boys who didn’t even know I existed and dreams for my life beyond the dungeon of my suburban basement and ten siblings. Gabi, a senior in high school, writes in her diary, too, and Isabel Quintero introduces us to this smart, sassy, compassionate, curious, poetic girl as she makes sense of her life and imagines who she will become within and beyond Santa Maria de Los Rosales High School.

I like to “rate” books in two ways: finding the flow and classroom library. Flow: Did I get totally immersed when reading? Did hours go by without my noticing? Classroom Library: Is this a book I would include in my middle school classroom library as a one copy, a book group selection, or a whole class novel?

Flow: I listened to this book while driving to and from school. My commute can be as long as an hour each way, but I would find myself parked in the garage listening for many minutes longer to hear more of “Gabi’s” voice.  She told stories of her father’s addiction, her friend’s pregnancy, and her gay friend rejected by his father. These stories were not central; Quintero did not create a spectacle for readers nor try to necessarily “teach” readers about these subjects. They worked to create the landscape of Gabi’s world that is not so different from typical high schools across America. I got lost in Gabi’s stories of crushes and kisses (and beyond).Growing up Catholic, her stories about her self-righteous tia, who had some discoveries of her own in this book, resonated with me. I cried listening to the poems she wrote to and about her father. For a few hours each day, Gabi was my girlfriend, and when the book was over, I missed her.  When you “like” a character, it is easy to find the flow. Thank you for Gabi, Ms. Quintero.

Classroom Library: I teach middle school. Many of my students are Latino, and I can certainly see how Gabi, a Girl in Pieces would work as a “mirror” of sorts to some of their lives and a “window” into a future with college, but I don’t think this book is just for Latina teens. I can imagine reading this book with a girls book club where we’d have rich conversations about family, friendship, choices, love, and sex. Gabi’s diary shows her logic in navigating these issues that would or might inform some reader’s future choices. I can also imagine reading this book whole class. Literature can be a place for teens to try on choices and see those choices through a logical (and sometimes illogical) resolution. Reading this book in middle school might be timely and relevant given their stage of development. However, the idea of reading about subjects like pregnancy and sex in class brings into question what schools “ought” to be teaching, right? I know (because there is data) that more than a few of my students become parents within their first two years of high school. I have met their children at our junior high’s open house, so should this book be seen as risky?  All this said,  I wonder if I could make a case for reading Gabi, a Girl in Pieces  whole class. I can, but it is risky.