Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Author Award WinnerNew York Times bestseller“Timely and timeless.” –Jacqueline Woodson“Important and deeply moving.” –John GreenAcclaimed author Renee Watson offers a powerful story about a girl striving for success in a world that too often seems like it’s trying to break her.Jade believes she must get out of her poor neighborhood if she’s ever going to … believes she must get out of her poor neighborhood if she’s ever going to succeed. Her mother tells her to take advantage of every opportunity that comes her way. And Jade has: every day she rides the bus away from her friends and to the private school where she feels like an outsider, but where she has plenty of opportunities. But some opportunities she doesn’t really welcome, like an invitation to join Women to Women, a mentorship program for “at-risk” girls. Just because her mentor is black and graduated from the same high school doesn’t mean she understands where Jade is coming from. She’s tired of being singled out as someone who needs help, someone people want to fix. Jade wants to speak, to create, to express her joys and sorrows, her pain and her hope. Maybe there are some things she could show other women about understanding the world and finding ways to be real, to make a difference.
NPR’s Best Books of 2017
A 2017 New York Public Library Best Teen Book of the Year
Chicago Public Library’s Best Books of 2017
A School Library Journal Best Book of 2017
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2018 Josette Frank Award Winner
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Important and deeply moving.
I really enjoyed this young adult story. I loved the characters, the strong sense of family and of friendships, the wise , young heroine who focused on school and her own personal growth. This was one of the rare young adult books I’ve read that didn’t focus on romantic longings or a romance. I was drawn into the setting, the story, and cheering on the characters.
This was the first book I’d read by the author, but I’m definitely reading more of her work.
I absolutely love reading YA, simply because you stumble across books like this. As a mother of two teenage girls, Renee Watson’s book moved me deeply in a similar vein to other game-changing book’s like Angie Thomas’ ‘The Hate U Give’. This book is softly narrated, perhaps quieter in tone yet equally hard-hitting, warm and deep, yet also light and sweet. It is pumping with a search for living and a determination not to give up. It is full of the inadequacies and complications of friendships and loved ones, those highs and lows of self-image and trying to figure out the right path, the realities of the past playing into and remaining so pertinent to the lives and struggle of the present, a young black girl’s hunger for self-expression amidst a flood of inner feelings of inadequacy and feeling misunderstood, the journey from understanding self-worth to self-realization. All of these streams flowing through the life of one beautiful young soul, Jade. Jade the artist, the intelligent scholarship kid, the sweet soul determined to craft her own empowered artistic slant on life. This is a beautiful book for young girls especially. Highly recommended.
I didn’t really think there was a plot in this book, there was no conflict really.
True empathy would grow in you when you can walk in their shoes. Even if it’s not 100% authentic, at least you can aware of different point of views of someone other than yourselves. Through this book, I could feel her emotions in each little event through Jade’s voice. I like her journey of how to deal with her inner conflict and to grow important relationships with her friends, mentor, and family members. Renee Watson captured Jade’s learning so beautifully. I highly recommend this book for high schoolers.
I really liked Watson’s previous novel, This Side of Home, and was excited to read Piecing Me Together when I spotted it on Goodreads. Well, this novel did not disappoint. I liked how the author kept things real, touching on topics that are still so strongly present in society, while also depicting relatable problems faced by a teen girl.
Jade wasn’t perfect and didn’t come from a perfect family. She’s raised by a single mother in a far-from-lavish neighborhood and they shared their already tight apartment with Jade’s uncle. Regardless, they did their best. The mother worked hella hard so her daughter could have a good life and always encouraged Jade to do the same. I loved how whenever she was tough with Jade, it came from a place of love and hope for nothing but the best. And I admired the respect Jade had in return, not only for her mother but for where she came from.
Speaking of where she came from. Often times people judge others based on their address and have preconceived notions about their character. But Jade was really smart and focused. She went to a great school that often overlooked her because of the color of her skin, but still, she kept on and looked for opportunities. Many of the things that came up in the story, mainly things that Jade experienced, made me look into my own life and I could remember moments where I had faced something similar. We may come from completely different backgrounds, but I could understand and relate to how she felt and agreed that her perception was justified and dead-on. For instance, that trip would have benefited Jade just as much as any other student, and she truly worked hard and deserved to go. So her feelings about it were acceptable and I wish that Sam was more understanding.
Sam’s character is like many. She was a good friend to Jade, but certain things made her uncomfortable to discuss and she seemed to rather not talk about it. I grew frustrated with her like Jade because, in times where she should have supported and stood up for her friend, she tried to brush it off and explain away the situation. Thankfully she made an effort later on and they were able to hold on to their friendship.
There were other elements of the story that intensified my interest, including the whole debacle with Jade getting a mentor. The way she was sort of shoved into that program pissed me off, but I again, Jade was going for as many opportunities as she could so it wasn’t surprising that she accepted. But that mentor had me rolling my eyes so much. She needed more mentoring than Jade, which brought back the line in the blurb where “just because her mentor is black doesn’t mean she understands Jade,” and that was so true. Glad Jade spoke up and her mentor opened her eyes to reality sooner than later.
My gosh, I could go on and on with reasons as to why I enjoyed this one but I don’t want to give too much away. Loved the writing, the raw depictions of emotion toward horrible events, and that poem at the end was a tearjerker. Such a thought-provoking story. Wonderfully done, Renée.
Like everything I’ve read from Reneé, PIECING ME TOGETHER is a complex story that has stuck with me long after I finished reading it. She just makes you care about her characters so much that you go through every high and low with them. Jade is a radiant character. She’s dealing with some complex issues with her home life, school, and place in society, and watching her navigate everything, sometimes stumbling, sometimes soaring, was utterly captivating. One of the many things I appreciate about Reneé as an author is that she never forces answers upon her readers, instead she causes her characters to ask questions and to work through issues that aren’t always the most comfortable. As a reader, you get to ask those questions too and maybe come up with different answers than you would have before you read the book, on everything from race and socioeconomics to history and art. She makes you think and she makes you care, a winning combination every single time. Whenever I read something new from Reneé I become a bigger fan. I’m so excited that PIECING ME TOGETHER is currently being adapted into a film. I cannot wait to see Jade and her story on the big screen.
This beautifully written book tells the coming-of-age story of Jade, a high school student living in a poverty-stricken neighborhood while attending a prestigious school across town. As much as Jade wishes she could stay at her previous school with her existing friends, it’s clear that her scholarship allowing her to attend a school that could potentially provide so many more opportunities to her—both personal and educational—is where she needs to be. As she looks forward to her future, Jade tries to discern what it is she is really looking for in life. She wonders what it takes to be a successful woman of color in this society.
Through her mentor, she ends up learning more about herself than she could have imagined. Her eyes are opened to both her weakness and strengths and what she can do with those. The things that Jade struggles with personally are so relatable. I think we can all, in some way, relate to not feeling good enough. Feeling judged. Feeling like we can’t figure out where we quite fit in in this world. And this story does an exceptional job exploring these issues.
As a white woman, I know I cannot personally relate to the stereotypes and discrimination Jade faces on a daily basis. However, it was such a great reminder to me that these are things that people of color are dealing with often. I want to be aware of and empathetic to that. I also want to do what I can to protect the rights of minorities so that one day, hopefully, this isn’t an issue any longer.
Honestly, I highly recommend this book! It is a quick read; it is eye-opening and honest. I plan to read some other books by this author soon!
This was a very inspirational book. Great easy read!
I read this as part of a reading challenge from my daughter’s school. I liked the art and the poetry and the not giving up. None of the characters went too terribly deep. Like, I just barely got to know them, it felt like. I liked the depictions of how different cultures can “seem” and be “approached” in different ways, except really, no, I didn’t like it, but…it IS reality oftentimes. I didn’t love this book. It was okay. It was meh. I read it. I didn’t super-duper “get into” it like I had hoped.