34 Pieces of You

Gr 9 Up—This is a moving, alternative-voice novel, but it takes a little time to get into the story. The three main narrators all deal with death in their own ways. Ellie and Sarah overdose on pills and alcohol one night, and Ellie dies but Sarah survives. Sarah is left with the guilt of being left behind and not stopping her friend. Jake, Ellie's brother, is filled with regret for not coming home sooner when Ellie begged him to. Jessie, Sarah's younger sister, has a more ambiguous role to play; she is holding her secrets and mourning Ellie's death with no one to turn to for help. Each person must deal not only with what happened before and after the night Ellie died, but also find a way to share the burden of guilt and remorse. While the story is put together well, switching among characters can be confusing, especially at first. The narrative jumps from present to past with each character, so readers slowly start to figure out what happened when. There are many tough issues in this novel: alcohol and drug abuse, sex, eating disorders, cutting, bullying, and suicide. The author handles them candidly, but not graphically.—Natalie Struecker, Rock Island Public Library, IL