Morris Award 2015 Winner
Sixteen year old Gabi is finally a senior and it can not come soon enough. Gabi rarely fits in. She is not Mexican enough for her family, not white enough for the kids at school. She has always been a little on the chubby side. Combine all of that with one of her best friends getting pregnant, another best friend coming out of the closet, and her meth addicted father you would think that Gabi would be either really angry or an emotional mess. What you really get is a witty, talented, driven young lady who has romance and college on the brain. Not even Gabi's Tia Bertha's super religious views will slow her down. By the end of her senior year Gabi not only finds a way to succeed she finds her voice and the talent of poetry to use it.
Told from the perspective of Gabi's diary this novel is a wonderful was to cross genres and cultures. Dealing with several issues facing young people today (teen pregnancy, homosexuality, body issues, drug use) Gabi, a girl in pieces can provide the background for class or book club discussions. The publisher of this novel has also prepared questions that align with common core standards that can be found online. The questions are broken down by whole novel or by months following Gabi's diary entries. The teacher's common core guide can be found at http://www.teachingbooks.net/media/pdf/CincoPuntos/Gabi_TG.pdf
Gabi, a girl in pieces can also be used to introduce small pieces of poetry before beginning an actual poetry unit in a fun and illustrated way that may inspire and excite students to follow in her footsteps.
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