A coming-of-age tale follows 14-year-old Mirabelle, a talented artist from a broken home, who befriends the free-spirited and confident Catherine whose friendship brings Mira out of her shell and teaches her about boys. Mira soon learns that her newly found confidence can be shattered in an instant.
- ISBN: 9781554532421
- Author: Gingras, Charlotte
- Translator: Ouriou, Susan
- Published: 2009 , Kids Can Press
- Themes: Coming of age, Friendship
- Descriptors: Fiction, France, Young Adult (ages 14-18)
- No. of pages: 146
15 year old Mira struggles to cope with her absent father and mentally ill mother. When Mira meets a new friend named Cath, her world opens and finally there is a sense of hope. Then everything changes. The sudden death of her father and betrayal of her best friend send Mira back into that dark place she finally was coming out of. This novel gives a realistic insight to a teen who is suffering with anger and depression. It is a touching story about hope, love, and following your dreams. After rushing through the pages, you will finish with the sense that with time everything will be okay.
I am reluctant to comment upon Charlotte Gingras’ novel, Pieces of Me, because it feels like a violation of a deeply-felt literary experience. In my mind, a weak re-telling or recitation of events would trivialize this powerful story of a young girl’s desperate fight for survival.
Deep feelings of solitude, sadness, loneliness, abandonment and invisibility to the world pervade young Mirabelle’s desperate life with her mentally-ill mother. In the beginning of this novel, Mirabelle’s fragile existence rests upon her escape into the world of books and the safety of her imagination. Ensuing normal teenage experiences expand and threaten her stability during the course of this thought-provoking story.
A powerful excerpt from this novel offers hope for Mirabelle and the readers of this story, “Listen,” she says, “I want you to understand something very important that you must never forget. Your mother is a very fragile person. I’ve already explained that to you. You will never be able to count on her as much as you’d like. You will have to find other models, other adults who will help you grow. Me for now. Your teachers. Other people you come across on your path. Above all, Mira, yourself. You are strong and you will find whatever it is you need.”