Sometimes I think if I spend enough time thinking about a book before blogging, it will somehow become deeper and ....um....better... Well, this one didn't. I'm disappointed and think I read another dud.
Pieces of Us by Margie Gelbwasser only took me a couple days to read, and I thought it was going to be a lot deeper than it actually was. It's about four main characters: Kyle and Alex (brothers), and Katie and Julie (sisters). The brothers live in Philadelphia, and the sisters live in New Jersey. What brings the four of them together is that they spend their summers with their Russian grandparents in the Catskill Mountains.
Katie is a popular and pretty cheerleader at school, while her sister is shy and never gets the same attention or admiration from their mother. Quite early into the book, Katie's reputation turns sour because of some sexual situations she encounters. (Having sex with multiple people at once so they'll stop sexually harassing you about the last time you had sex with the both of them.....seriously? Probably not the best idea.) Alex has sex with a lot of different girls, using them and losing them, while his brother Kyle is more sentimental and respectful of girls.
Alex is drawn to Katie because she's evidently so reserved, as opposed to all the sluts that he's used to. Katie goes to extremes to keep Alex from finding out about her sexual mistakes. Kyle and Julie have a more child-like relationship, playing card games and swimming together each summer, although this relationship does start to change.
Predictably speaking, Alex finds out about Katie's mistakes. You know this is going to happen; it's just a matter of when and how. I really don't dig all this predictability in YA books.
I found the end of the book extremely depressing and almost all of the characters the opposite of role models for teenagers. The only exception might be Kyle, who remains a good friend to Katie through all of this.
The conclusions the reader is supposed to deduce from this book:
- don't drink a lot and then open your legs
- you can't keep your reputation clean if you sleep around
- if your mom obsesses over looks and popularity, that doesn't mean you should, too
- don't have sex with more than one person at a time in order to get them to stop bugging you (it won't work)
- if you're going to do it anyway, make sure cell phone are off and not recording it
- teenagers need good role models or they probably won't turn out so well
The only positive commentary I will give on this book is that I liked how each chapter was told from one of the main character's perspectives. Kyle's character is the only one who narrates in the second person ("YOU)" which is actually really strange and a little confusing at first, but I guess it's symbolic as he's the least selfish one in the book.
Themes: sex, love, self-esteem, friendship, parental role models
Good for: symbolism, point of view
Would interest: girls and boys (but mostly for girls) grades 9-12
My grade: B
ps- I'm sick of reading cheesy books. Can someone please recommend something GOOD that's appropriate for the YA level and published in 2010 or later? PLEASE?! I'm begging!
