Lose Yourself in 34 Pieces of You

The book I have chosen for my first book blog is 34 Pieces of You by Carmen Rodrigues. This suspenseful and intricate novel is definitely an original that can be compared to other novels such as Secret Society by Tom Dolby and Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly. This novel is the second to be published by Rodrigues, and is an engrossing tale that explores drugs, love, lust, and betrayal in the lives of a group of teenagers.

Before beginning her career in writing, Carmen Rodrigues attended Florida State University to study creative writing and theater. She then moved to New York City, where she began her writing career at a local paper as a staff writer; this led to her first novel, Not Anything. After its publication, she returned to school at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where she earned her MFA in creative writing. As for awards, she has not won any; YET that is, because she is currently writing her next novel due in Fall 2014, Carry You With Me. In her book, 34 Pieces of You, she connects her characters to her life and what she knows by where each character lives. In the book, each of the characters begin their journey in Ohio, where Rodrigues was born and lived until she moved to Miami at the age of 11, then went to New York after graduating college to pursue her writing career. In this book one character goes to Miami to live with his father before going to New York University.  

                In the epilogue of 34 Pieces of You, the story opens to Jess waking up to her sisters and mom calling for her mingled with the sound of sirens. Jess’s family tells her that her sister, Sarah, and friends were in an accident; the first thing that Jess thinks is that they were all drinking. She is told that her sister’s friend Ellie was badly injured and that the prognosis isn’t good, while her sister is still alive.  The next chapter switches to Sarah’s point of view, where she is seeing a therapist in the junior psych ward. This is where Sarah thinks about the drug overdose that took Ellie’s life, and how the doctors continue to say that she herself is lucky to be alive. When Sarah asks to go to Ellie’s funeral, it is revealed that she was cremated; and Sarah begins to contemplate the many ways a person can die but still be alive. The story jumps to Ellie’s brother, Jake’s , point of view; where he is consoling his mom after spreading Ellie’s ashes. Her mom is crying and saying over and over again that it was her fault for not being at home at the time, while Jake keeps thinking that it is his fault.  The scene cuts to Jake’s memory, during the summer before when he was leaving to go to New York University, and Ellie doesn’t want him to go. It is revealed that Jake has always liked Sarah, but won’t acknowledge it because Ellie asked him never to go out with her friends. Then, in a moment of sibling loyalty, Ellie forces Jake to promise to come back if she ever needs him, and he does. We than see the story through Jess's eyes again, where the situation is affecting her as much as Sarah, though no one seems to care. As seen through her eyes, both Jess and Sarah are in different stages of denial; jess won’t admit she has develop an eating disorder as a  result of Ellie’s death, and Sarah won’t accept that she needs to open up to the therapist who can help her. Will these girls ever find the help they need? Or will their secrets be revealed, causing them even more pain? Where has Jake gone? And why does he think this is his fault? What actually happened the night Ellie died? Find out as you lose yourself trying to pick up the pieces when you read, 34 Pieces of You.

(Information for summary found on pages 1-40)