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Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Review & Giveaway: Pieces of Me by Amber Kizer









Title: Pieces of Me
Author: Amber Kizer
Publisher: Random House
Pub. Date: February 11, 2014
Genre: Young Adult
Rec. Age Level: 12+
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It isn’t until Jessica Chai dies that she truly learns what it means to live. Jessica spent the majority of her short life invisible to her parents and peers. It isn’t until the final days of her life that anything remotely notable happens to Jessica, when her long, beautiful hair is hacked off by a posse of mean girls in the short span between classes. Jessica’s hair, a shield to hide behind and an integral part of her identity is suddenly gone, leaving her with unexpected, but not completely unwelcome clean slate. But, before Jessica can unveil her reinvention to her peers she’s in a fatal car accident. She doesn’t see a tunnel of light calling away from her old life, she doesn’t simply blink out of existence, she simply stays, as invisible as before. When her parents decide to donate her organs, giving four teens a second chance, Jessica is angry; she knows her mother is manipulating Jessica’s legacy for their own gain. She lingers somewhere between life and death, following the daily lives of the four recipients. Time soothes Jessica’s bitterness about her life and untimely death; what she first considers a betrayal by her parents, becomes the very act that gives Jessica life and allows Jessica, finally, to be seen. Amber Kizer’s PIECES OF ME is a raw, inspiring story of life after death and the enduring legacy of a girl whose untimely death grants the gift of life.

PIECES OF ME is a departure from what I’ve come to expect from Amber Kizer, but it carried the intensity and directness that I’ve come to associate with her writing. Kizer doesn’t do fluffy, she does real. I was so affected by the topic of organ donation that, immediately after I finished PIECES OF ME, I went online and registered to be an organ donor.

The four recipients Jessica follows are so much more than their illness or medical issue. They face complicated home lives, financial hardships, and bullying. But, at the same time, they experience first love, connection, spirituality, freedom, happiness, and best of all, the chance at a future.

The only aspects of the novel that I felt off to me were the romantic elements. Maybe it was that I wasn’t expecting any romance or simply that I was focused on other plot lines, but I found the romance distracting.
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Open to US mailing addresses only. Giveaway ends 3/4/2014.


10 comments:

  1. I am an organ donor, I really hope that it can help someone if I pass away and they are still viable :)
    ­Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings

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  2. None!? How is that possible!? haha. Well, now you have plenty to read (as if you didn't have a huge list already, right?). :)

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  3. The idea of this book is so interesting. I feel like the idea has been out there, but it is always just one organ. The concept of the soul splitting to follow all parts intrigues me. I am an organ and tissue donor. I figure I won't need them when I'm dead.

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  4. I think organ donation is the way to go. Great concept for a story though. Thanks.

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  5. Oh yes, I LOVED The DUFF. And Fangirl made me swoon quite a few times too. Levi <3

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  6. I think The DUFF is totally overlooked!

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  7. I was reading this post a few week ago when I was looking for a new book to read and I choose "Anna and the French Kiss". I just finish it and I'm speechless. It's perfect. And it's made me want to return to Paris like right now ahah. "Fangirl" is also one of my favorite. It was the first time that I could really identify myself to a character (and the Cath/Levi relationship was amazing)

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  8. Ahhhhh I am so happy that you loved ANNA, Melissa! Okay, now you have to go pick up LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR!! And I think the third book, ISLA AND THE HAPPILY EVER AFTER (??) comes out this year! I love hearing about people falling for St.Clair and Anna... I know that it's like a super popular book now and most people adore it, but I still get excited!


    I also really identified with Cath! We definitely have difference, but the way that she interacts with people and how she felt about college at she arrived were so similar to me/my experiences!

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  9. I will order LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR really really soon (I can't find it anywhere in my city).

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