Pieces of Me by Ann Garner

Pieces of Me by Ann Garner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Pieces of Me is about learning to love, and learning to trust – others as well as yourself. It is about picking up the broken pieces and trying to make them fit together to create a whole again.

And you carefully gather the pieces of yourself. You collect them together in your mind. The old pieces, the new pieces, the ones that are too shattered for you to tell what they are. You collect them and hold them close. You will need these pieces one day.

Delaney is a fabulous but heartbreaking character. She moved across the country to go to college in an attempt to get away from her past, but because the past was in her head she never really truly could put it behind her. We watch her through the story as she tries to make herself over into a new person so she can attempt to be a "normal" teenage girl again, but the memories of her past continually get in her way.

Grace is the kind of friend every girl needs. She is fun and outgoing and tries to help Delaney come out of her shell. Sometimes she may push too far, but only because she cares and cannot really understand what Delaney was going through. But how could she? Grace had everything in life Delaney didn't, a loving home, a great family, and a really great guy.

Cole…holy crap what to say about Cole? He is the kind of guy your momma warned you about. He doesn't "do" relationships and is all about moving from one girl to the next. However, he's not your typical "bad boy" screw 'em and leave 'em type of character, which I think is what I love most about him. He is honest about what he wants and is open, friendly, and a lot of fun.

I truly believe that the characters make the story. Besides the three mentioned above, the rest of the supporting characters were all made interesting and engaging as well. Each brought their own personality to the story and helped it come together into a meaningful narrative. And, while the story told here is not new, the author's execution of the tale was fabulous. Not only did Ann Garner do a wonderful job creating her characters, the rest of the story, the setting, the mood, and just all the small detail, was great as well. The underlying theme of the story was dark and painful, but the author was able to turn it into something beautiful. There was so much emotion infused in the story - I will warn you that it is definitely a tear jerker, so be prepared, but it also had its laugh out loud moments as well.

As a first book for Ann Garner I would say this one is a winner. I have no idea what she has planned for the future, but I really would love to see more of her characters (Robby anyone?). So I would just like to wish you good luck and say thank you for the opportunity to read your story.


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