YA Book Review: Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow

Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow
Seventeen year old Charlotte Davis, better known as Charlie, has suffered quite a bit in her short lifetime. She’s been abandoned, abused, and homeless. At one particularly low point she found herself doing things she hates to remember just for a place to sleep that wasn't on the streets.
To fill try and fill the holes that she feels in her soul, she cuts herself -- deep and wide. She thinks it is the only thing that will help ease the pain inside. One cutting incident leaves her nearly dead, and she winds up in a treatment facility for a short time. But then her estranged mother's insurance runs out, and Charlie has to leave despite the fact she felt like she was making improvements.
Charlie’s best friend Ellis cut herself so severely that Ellis is left nearly brain dead. Lacking any better plan, Charlie heads to Arizona to be near Mikey, a boy she really likes but who only wants to be friends with Charlie. Desperate, Charlie finds a job washing dishes at a diner, where she meets a locally famous rock musician who is also a junkie and alcoholic. Girl in Pieces is a serious novel that tackles a lot of issues. It’s not an easy or a pleasant read, and you feel for Charlie as she tries to pull herself out of the abyss that seems to constantly consume her. Recovery from any one of the issues Charlie faces is difficult; coming away from all of them without permanent scars would take a miracle. But there is hope. Charlie is an artist, and despite the odds, she continues to cling to the belief that her life will get better despite a very rough beginning.
The anguish that Charlotte feels, as well as some poor choices and positive strides that she makes in her recovery, will strike a chord with teen readers. A couple of young women in my library have already commented that this is their all-time favorite book.
Similar books about abused children that have been enormously popular with students include A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer, Three Little Words by Ashley Rhodes-Courter, and Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin.