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A review by jadeeby
Pieces of Us by Margie Gelbwasser
4.0
Originally posted on my blog Chasing Empty Pavements
I love this cover. Love it. It's so simple and intriguing. The solitary swing, the lush greenness surrounding it and the stoic font treatment. Then I read the blurb and I was very much in love with the thought of this book. When I finished it though, I realized how misleading the cover is. It looks happy... and this book is most certainly not happy. It's gritty, dark and haunting.
I honestly didn't know what to expect from this novel and when that happens, I'm usually pleasantly surprised like I was when I read this novel. First of all-- I have to commend Gelbwasser as a writer because the way I felt after reading some of the passages made me so angry, so disgusted means she did her job right. The novel is told in four alternating POV's, which I love...but what makes it even more unique is that in one of those POV's the author uses 2nd person POV. It's not done very often, but she does it very effectively here and I love it. It's especially perfect for the character because it just fits him and the way he thinks about things. One big thing I loved about this novel is Gelbwasser's tone throughout the novel and the way she doesn't shy away from the nitty, gritty details of things. There are some really graphic scenes in here and some really disturbing thoughts but I think she handles it so well in this novel. My absolute favorite thing about this novel though? The way she writes her characters. There are a few characters that you come to absolutely HATE and that's because Gelbwasser does such a good job writing them that way. There were times I seriously wanted to reach through my Kindle and punch the characters in the face. She's that good.
I wouldn't say there's really anything I really disliked per say. There were some slower passages that I think could have been taken out but other than that, I really enjoyed this novel.
Overall, this is a great book to flex your literary wings on. It's not a feel good type of book though, so know that I warned you. But if you want to read a book about self-discovery and growing up the hard way--this is a book for you! Give it a try!
**I received this book free from the publisher through www.netgalley.com. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
I love this cover. Love it. It's so simple and intriguing. The solitary swing, the lush greenness surrounding it and the stoic font treatment. Then I read the blurb and I was very much in love with the thought of this book. When I finished it though, I realized how misleading the cover is. It looks happy... and this book is most certainly not happy. It's gritty, dark and haunting.
I honestly didn't know what to expect from this novel and when that happens, I'm usually pleasantly surprised like I was when I read this novel. First of all-- I have to commend Gelbwasser as a writer because the way I felt after reading some of the passages made me so angry, so disgusted means she did her job right. The novel is told in four alternating POV's, which I love...but what makes it even more unique is that in one of those POV's the author uses 2nd person POV. It's not done very often, but she does it very effectively here and I love it. It's especially perfect for the character because it just fits him and the way he thinks about things. One big thing I loved about this novel is Gelbwasser's tone throughout the novel and the way she doesn't shy away from the nitty, gritty details of things. There are some really graphic scenes in here and some really disturbing thoughts but I think she handles it so well in this novel. My absolute favorite thing about this novel though? The way she writes her characters. There are a few characters that you come to absolutely HATE and that's because Gelbwasser does such a good job writing them that way. There were times I seriously wanted to reach through my Kindle and punch the characters in the face. She's that good.
I wouldn't say there's really anything I really disliked per say. There were some slower passages that I think could have been taken out but other than that, I really enjoyed this novel.
Overall, this is a great book to flex your literary wings on. It's not a feel good type of book though, so know that I warned you. But if you want to read a book about self-discovery and growing up the hard way--this is a book for you! Give it a try!
**I received this book free from the publisher through www.netgalley.com. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.