Pieces of Me - Hardcover

Charlotte Gingras is a prolific young-adult and early chapter book author. She is the recipient of two Governor General’s Literary Awards. She lives and writes in Montreal.

Grade 7–10—"I'm almost fifteen and I have no friends." So begins the spare narrative of desperately lonely Mirabel, who lives in a half-basement apartment with her mentally ill mother, seeing her father only during sporadic, awkward visits. Suffocating under her mother's paranoid control, black-clad Mira hides in books and in her school's library, and at home, in her aspirations to someday become a wildlife writer and artist. In art class, she is recognized by her teacher, called "the birdman," as having rare talent, if only she would complete assignments. Everything changes when a gorgeous new girl transfers to Mira's school. Cath is different and confident, and she introduces Mira to a world of friendship, color, and experimentation with boys. Then, when Cath betrays her by seemingly "stealing" a boy, the friendship shatters and, with it, Mira's newfound happiness. Gingras's translated narrative is decidedly French in feel; dramatic, almost forcefully poetic; and crowded with symbolism: dying/stark vs. colorful trees; broken/caged vs. healed/free birds; Mira's long, braided hair cut short at the end to symbolize freedom from her mother's tyranny. Mira explores her burgeoning sexuality in part through a growing obsession with the birdman, who fights returning her feelings in a theatrical scene. Ultimately the teen sees a new school therapist, a blind woman who "sees" Mira and her problems and helps her to move forward. Although it may appeal to fans of Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak (Farrar, 1999), the story is overdone, forced, and much too easily resolved.—Riva Pollard, Prospect Sierra Middle School, El Cerrito, CA
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