From Goodreads: Two families. Four teens. A summer full of secrets.

Every summer, hidden away in a lakeside community in upstate New York, four teens leave behind their old identities…and escape from their everyday lives.

Yet back in Philadelphia during the school year, Alex cannot suppress his anger at his father (who killed himself), his mother (whom he blames for it), and the girls who give it up too easily. His younger brother, Kyle, is angry too—at his abusive brother, and at their mother who doesn’t seem to care. Meanwhile, in suburban New Jersey, Katie plays the role of Miss Perfect while trying to forget the nightmare that changed her life. But Julie, her younger sister, sees Katie only as everything she’s not. And their mother will never let Julie forget it.

Up at the lake, they can be anything, anyone. Free. But then Katie’s secret gets out, forcing each of them to face reality—before it tears them to pieces.

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This is a very gritty, real story dealing with the darker sides of life, love, and loss.  Told through the eyes of all four characters, Katie, Julie, Alex, and Kyle, Gelbwasser gives the reader a glimpse into the inner turmoil and miscommunications that run rampant among these four struggling teens as they try to find true love an acceptance.  It’s a heartbreaking tale full of abuse and distrust, making it a story for mature YA and beyond.  Readers should be aware that there is some cursing and many sexual encounters, both consensual and forced, within the text.  Yet, Gelbwasser does not exploit them—instead she treads lightly around these encounters, alluding to these actions more so then explaining them in vivid detail.  And, these allusions are more than enough for the reader to understand the dire circumstances of what is happening without it being written onto the page in explicit description.  Instead, Gelbwasser chooses an extremely tasteful way to present these dark circumstances and, though they are chilling and will promote feelings of extreme anger and hatred within the reader, the themes and overall truths make Pieces of Us a must read.

The only truly likeable character, in my opinion, is Kyle—and though he has his fair share of problems, dealing with an incompetent mother and his abusive brother, he seems to overcome his issues and care for others, though it is an immense struggle for him.  His understanding of Katie and his forgiving nature cause the reader to sympathize with him on a level that isn’t possible with the other characters as they relate their feelings and actions.  It is also interesting to note that, amongst all the narrators, Kyle is the only one who invokes the second person point of view, almost as if he has removed himself from the situation, flying high above it while placing the reader directly into his shoes through the constant use of “you” and not “I.”  This is a very interesting technique that Gelbwasser employs in her novel, and it works extremely well, creating a deeper connection between Kyle and the reader. 

Alex, however, is much harder to character to connect with due to his extremely nasty nature, and Gelbwasser has written him in such a way that he’s able to evoke strong emotions of hatred in the reader as he relays his story.  Though Alex’s issues stem a bit deeper than his brother’s, and his abuse at the hands of his mother’s johns has left him angry and despondent, his abuse of others, though blinded by his own anger, is inexcusable.  Yet, even though I despised him throughout much of the novel, Gelbwasser has done an amazing job creating him, as my feelings towards him are indeed extremely vivid and real. 

Katie is a little bit easier to understand and connect with as the story revolves mainly around her and her situation that inspires the downfall of all the characters, but at the same time, her choices made me livid.  Although the case can be made that she just didn’t know any better, and that her parents and their lack of parenting skills are at fault, in the end it is Katie who chose to make a bad situation worse through her naivety.  The overarching theme that Katie’s predicament presents is a wonderful one about standing up for oneself, about seeking help, yet that fact that Katie doesn’t is what helps to create feelings of anger towards her within the reader.  And yet, thousands of girls make the same decisions that Katie did everyday… and that realization makes it difficult to dislike her, or really be angry with her.  Instead, it’s almost pity one feels for her as her situation deteriorates.

While I’ll admit that I felt terrible for Julie throughout much of the novel, especially due to her mother’s treatment of her, she eventually turns into an ugly character by the end.  But again, Gelbwasser presents her in a very real light, and I understand her completely, making me wonder about my own reactions and what I would do in a similar situation if the tables were turned.  And this is why, even though the characters made me angry, livid even, I think Gelbwasser has created such a masterpiece.  These characters, and all they do, are very real, and it will make readers stop and think, to really analyze their lives and those of the people surrounding them.  Overall, Pieces of Us is a good story, though a bit depressing, and I spent much time yelling at the characters for their decisions.  No matter how bad a situation is, no one should ever let another person blackmail them or take advantage of them; and had the characters in this novel been blessed with a stable home and less anger to cloud their judgments, it would have turned out differently.  But, based on their upbringing and their lives, they really never had a chance… 

No, this novel isn’t one for happy endings, it doesn’t have a flowery story of love and happiness, but it does deal with reality, with healing.  Pieces of Us has an open ending, and though nothing is resolved, it alludes to healing for two of the characters, while leaving the other two characters’ future up to the readers’ imagination.  It’s not a clean ending, resolving the issues for the characters, and it may make some readers angry, but this gritty novel dealing with the darker sides of life, love, and loss is, indeed, amazing. 

Flux Books has been extremely gracious in allowing me to read an ARC of this novel, via Netgalley, prior to its release on March 8th, 2012.