Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow (5/5)

We have all gone through a phase in life where we felt we could never make it out, and if we did, we would be completely different. Girl in Pieces voices every thought and emotion in our heads when we go through those moments. Not just ordinary thoughts, but gross, sad thoughts. Kathleen Glasgow perfectly embodies the life of a teenage girl with mental health problems. This book follows the life of Charlotte Davis and her tragic but beautiful life. We read every aspect of her life and how everything led . Charlotte, also known as Charlie, has not had the ideal life, having an abusive home life. With the memory of a dad who lost his battle with depression, she starts falling deeply into self-harm. Charlie meets her best friend Ellis, and Charlie's life picks up for a bit. Tragic events happen, and Charlie ends up living on the streets. After many problems, she ends up in a mental hospital. After her time there, she gets a new start in Arizona, where Charlie has to handle her life and learn to piece herself together. We get to understand her and relate to her. Although this book is not a true story, it does go over topics that happen in our lives and the world all the time. We see how Charlotte pieces her life together after being in a mental hospital and how she builds her life back up. As someone who has struggled with depression their whole life, this book made me feel seen. Knowing that the thoughts I have in my mind every day are written on a page brought comfort and an addiction to this book. This book could get a million praises from me, yet there’s one critique that stands out. This book is not meant to be read by people who are going through recovery; it is for people who want an emotional story or have passed the stages of recovery. This book is heavy, and it is definitely worth reading, but not at the cost of your mental health. Besides that, Glasgow's writing is beautiful. There are chapters that have made me put the book down and stare at a wall, thinking about how perfectly she writes about the experience of having mental health issues. It is not perfect. This book does not have perfect endings or perfect characters. Many actions and decisions are taken by a teenager who has not had the opportunity to learn how to make correct decisions, but in the end, Charlotte Davis makes her one angelic decision.