Book: Pieces of Me
Author: Amber Kizer
Pages: 304
Age Range: 12 and up
I very much enjoyed Amber Kizer's post-apocalyptic survival story A Matter of Days. In Pieces of Me she takes on a very different topic. Pieces of Me is about a high school girl named Jessica who finds her life connected with those of four other teenagers, after a terrible accident.
Stop here if you prefer to know nothing about a book, because I can't discuss this book without telling you what it's about. The truth is strongly hinted at by the title and jacket copy, and becomes clear quite early in the book anyway.
So what happens is that Jessica, who always felt more or less invisible in high school, ends up brain dead in a car crash. Her various organs are donated and transplanted into the bodies of four other teens, three of them local and one from another state. Jessica's consciousness remains tied to these four teens, and in alternating chapters we hear her thoughts on their continued experiences (though she is not able to communicate with them). Eventually, the threads of Jessica that connect these teens bring them together.
I found this to be an interesting premise. The alternating chapters lend a certain suspense to the story, and seeing the characters (eventually) as they see one another helps to give a clear view. There's a fairly overt pro-organ donation message to this book, which is addressed directly in an author's note at the end. There's also a fair bit of detail about what it's like to have a chronic, life-threatening illness such as cystic fibrosis. This is a book that I do think will expand readers' perspectives, giving them a look into the lives of people whose problems may be bigger than their own.
However, as a reader, I personally had trouble with the viewpoint. Each chapter is kind of a mix of Jessica's viewpoint and that of whichever other kid she is inhabiting (or however you would put it). These sections are in limited third person perspective, from each teen's viewpoint, but then Jessica's thoughts are there, too, sometimes. This is probably deliberate, showing how Jessica's consciousness is becoming intertwined with her organ recipients. But I had trouble wrapping my head around it, and tell what thoughts were from Jessica and what were from Samuel, Vivian, Leif, and Misty. Like this:
"The more time we spent here, the more I felt the humble and special appeal it held for Misty. There was peace here. Answers.... Dropping her backpack on the ground, she slid into a massive leather armchair that was surprisingly comfortable." (Page 61, at the library).
Does Jessica know that Misty is comfortable, and she's telling us? Or is it Misty telling us? Probably this is nit-picking, but thinking things like this kept taking me out of the book. There are also some IM exchanges between the (living) kids, full of abbreviations, that I found hard going, though the target teen audience will probably enjoy them.
I did find the end of the book moving, and Pieces of Me definitely made me think. I probably would have found the premise irresistible when I was a teenager, and I do think that teens today will enjoy it, too. The protagonists are all sympathetic, and quite varied, giving a wide range of readers someone to root for. There's a modern feel to the text, too, with message boards, blogs, and of course hospitals. All in all, I think that Piece of Me is well worth a look by librarians who serve teens, even though it didn't quite work for me personally.
Publisher: Delacorte Press (@RandomHouseKids)
Publication Date: February 11, 2014
Source of Book: Review copy from the publisher
FTC Required Disclosure:
This site is an Amazon affiliate, and purchases made through Amazon links (including linked book covers) may result in my receiving a small commission (at no additional cost to you).
© 2014 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook.
Here's a great entry from our Seattle HOST, Stephanie Guerra! Her debut young adult novel, TORN, will be published by Marshall Cavendish in spring of 2012.
Hi girlz!
I recently went to see Alexa Martin (Girl Wonder) and Amber Kizer (7 Kinds of Ordinary Catastrophes, Gert Garibaldi’s Rants and Raves: One Butt Cheek at a Time, Meridian, Wildcat Fireflies) promote their new books at Third Place in Seattle. It was a fun, intimate evening, with lots of great information from the authors about their inspirations, vices, and writing processes. Here are some fun facts:
Alexa’s vice is Louisiana style coffee, which is mostly cream and sugar. Amber says hers is “food, and I’m not a vegetarian. Baked goods.” I loved hearing that! I’m always comforted by women who like caffeine and pastries as much as I do.
Alexa shared a fascinating story about her formative writing experiences. She was diagnosed early with a learning disability, and went through school feeling “less intelligent” than the other kids. Special education helped her achieve success in literacy, and in fact, she began to overcompensate for her disability, producing “very clean copy.” I can attest to that. Her writing is crisp and clear, with her verbs doing most of the work. When she uses an adjective, it’s the perfect one. What an amazing example for anyone struggling with a learning disability.
Amber told us about her inspiration for one of the settings in Wildcat Fireflies.Helios is a restaurant she visited many times with her family, and over the years, she formed a bond with the owner. When this woman was fighting cancer, Amber told her that Wildcat Fireflies would be “her” book. The owner then revealed that she’d made a bucket list, and one of her dreams was to leave something lasting. With Amber’s book dedication, she felt she could check off this dream.
It was also inspiring to hear about writing process from these two very different authors. Amber aims to produce ten new pages of work each day, while Alexa works more slowly, piecing
By:
Trisha, Gayle, and Jolene,
on 9/20/2011
Blog:
The YA YA YAs
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
richelle mead,
rosemary clement-moore,
amber kizer,
wildcat fireflies,
bloodlines,
texas gothic,
Reviews,
Fiction,
Add a tag
Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore
Amy and Phin Goodnight are spending the summer housesitting for their aunt Hyacinth. Both Amy and Phin are witches, as are all Goodnight women, though Amy would much rather have a normal life. But there are times when witchcraft and psychic powers come in handy—like, say, when there’s a ghost supposedly haunting the area.
Texas Gothic reminded me of Highway to Hell, Rosemary Clement-Moore’s third Maggie Quinn book. So if you enjoyed that one, there’s a lot that will appeal here, namely romance, humor, mystery, and the supernatural. Yeah, these were present in Prom Dates from Hell and Hell Week, but what really unites Texas Gothic and Highway to Hell (from what I remember, at least) is how their supernatural elements are rooted in broader historical events or legends. By this I mean the supernatural events are not just a generic “a person was killed here and their vengeful spirit has been haunting it ever since”-type thing that could take place anywhere (even if a particular setting is well-drawn), but are instead tied to a particular place and its own specific history.
Overall, I liked Texas Gothic but didn’t love it. Mostly because I was lot more interested in the Phin-Mark romance than Amy-Ben, which I never completely bought into.
Wildcat Fireflies by Amber Kizer
Speaking of plots centered on local history…
Anyway, so after the events of Meridian, Meridian and Tens are on the road, looking for another Fenestra. They end up in Carmel, Indiana, still unsure of how much they can trust other people. Meanwhile, alternating with Meridian’s narration is that of Juliet, who lives in a group home under horrific conditions, not knowing that she is a Fenestra.
It’s been a couple of years since I read Meridian, and while I didn’t remember much about the story, Kizer provides enough background that I didn’t feel lost. As for the story itself, I’m a bit torn. It’s a long novel, but while I was reading it, it didn’t seem to drag, even though it’s a while before Meridian and Juliet finally connect. After reading it, and without knowing what will happen in the rest of the series, my reaction now is, that was a lot of pages without as much plot as you’d think would be in a 500+ page novel. Oh well, I do plan on at least reading the next book and I wasn’t bothered by the length while reading, so I’ll be generous here.
Oh, and yay, no love triangle! But what happened to [name redacted just to be on the safe side of spoilers] at the end of the story?
Most of all, what really struck me about Wildcat Fireflies is how it contrasts with Angel Burn. I mean, Angel Burn and Wildcat Fireflies share some similarities in their respective angel/protector road romance storylines. However, whereas there’s a notable lack of action (you know, *that* kind of action) during Angel Burn’s idyllic interlude, Kizer tackles this head-on, wit
.jpg?picon=590)
Thanks for the post! I love all Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy books and devoured Bloodlines as soon as it came out. If I remember correctly, Sydney’s issues with her recent step up to a size 4 actually are meant to further clue the reader in to the psychological games Sydney’s father has played with her. Her weight and appearance is something else he feels free to criticize.
Hmm, I didn’t read it that way, but will take another look with this interpretation in mind. Thanks for bringing it up!