- Summary: Gabi’s life has always been fractured. Her father is a meth addict, her mother puts up with him, her brother tags walls with graffiti, she is overweight, and one best friend is gay and the other is a pregnant teen. She has loved her whole life dealing with the pressures of being a Hispanic female who wants to break free from the cultural constraints and go to college, but daily deals with the guilt of abandoning her mother. Soon, after years of drugs, her father dies in their garage and her mother becomes pregnant with her 3rd child. Gabi deals with her feelings through poetry (and a lot of food), falls in love and lust a few times, and finally realizes that her life isn't perfect, but it's her life and it is exactly what it should be. She gets into her dream school and recognizes that she will always be part of her hometown and her past, but those times don't define her future.
- Textbook: This is the first book I've read for this class that addresses Hispanic culture, both its positives and negatives. Gabi is overweight, light-skinned, and according to her mother, incredibly disobedient. In reality, she is being held down by her mother’s cultural beliefs that Hispanic women should focus on their looks to get a good husband, should plan on staying home to care for their family and avoid leaving them for an education, and that “boys will always be boys,” thus are held to a lower standard of behavior. Realistic fiction addresses real issue. In this novel, teenage issues of homosexuality, teen pregnancy, religion, laws, education, rebellion, and family are all addressed. Gabi is an every man, a girl who deals with so many things that teenagers deal with that anyone can relate to her. I personally related to her concern over body image and being overweight, thinking I would never find someone who loved me for me. But Gabi overcomes them all, being a hero to teens who read this piece.
Quintero, I. (2014). Gabi, a girl in pieces. El Paso, TX: Cinco Puntos Press.
No comments:
Post a Comment