Gabi, a Girl in Pieces

Summary: This story is about Gabi, a girl finding her identity during her last year of high school. She tells her story through journal entries and her poetry. She is funny and truthful about her messy life. She tells a compelling, heartbreaking, heartwarming and honest story. She writes poetry to help her process her messy and painful situations like her friend Cindy's pregnancy, her mom's surprise pregnancy, plus her friend, Sebastian coming out and now staying with her because his parents kicked him out. Gabi struggles with wanting to go away to college and with the cultural belief that Mexican children stay home and help their families.  She figures out that she loves to write poetry because it helps her process really painful situations in her life. The poem about her father, who has passed away, is bittersweet, moving, emotional, messy and brutally honest. 

Quintero, I. (2014). Gabi: A girl in pieces. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.

Commentary:  This book is written as journal entries or in a diary format. It has almost everything that a teenager could being going through during this tumultuous time in their lives: teenage pregnancy, boyfriends/girlfriends and the trouble that comes with those relationships, dating, friends coming out, abortion, parent problems, addiction, her brother's arrest, rape, weight issues, religious guilt, etc. 

Connections:  I would consider this book to be a Realistic Fiction novel.  It is written in a diary format and contains lots of Spanish, without any glossary and not many translations. Gabi goes through so many changes during this one year of life. It mirrors the contemporary issues that are experienced in the Mexican culture, Catholic guilt, etc.


Link to Isabel Quintero author's page.

Book Trailer

Isabel Quintero accepts the ALA Morris Award for debut writers in young adult fiction.

Author Interview  

Teacher's Guide

Audio on why Isabel Quintero wrote Gabi, a Girl in Pieces