Gabi, A Girl in Pieces (2014) is a young adult fiction novel by Southern Californian writer Isabel Quintero. It is a bildungsroman following Gabi’s transition to adulthood, her evolution as a writer, and her growing acceptance of herself. Gabi, A Girl in Pieces is Quintero’s first novel and earned various awards for young adult readers, including the California Book Award (2015 Gold Medal) and the William C. Morris Award for YA Debut Novel. This summary is based on the 2014 edition published by Cinco Puntos Press.

Plot Summary

The story is told in the form of Gabi’s journal entries spanning nearly one year. Her diary opens in the final weeks of summer before senior year of high school, and her last entry is on graduation day. Diary entries are regular, but not daily. Through her diary entries, Gabi offers opinions and reflections on the drama that surrounds her as she navigates her final year of high school.

Gabi grows up in Santa Maria de los Rosales, California, a town in Southern California far from her dream school UC Berkeley. She is a good student, although she struggles in Algebra II and has to repeat it in senior year. Just as Gabi is getting into the final weeks of her last high school summer, her friend Cindy becomes pregnant. Cindy’s pregnancy becomes the topic of gossip when school begins, and Gabi’s mother worries continuously about Cindy being a bad influence upon Gabi.

Gabi’s first boyfriend Eric is attractive, but their lack of shared values comes through when he makes an insensitive comment towards Gabi’s gay best friend Sebastian. Gabi ends her relationship with Eric and quickly moves on to Martin, a boy from her poetry class with whom she develops a much more personal, trusting, and mature relationship.

Gabi’s father is a drug addict who comes in and out of her life sporadically. When he declares his intention to be sober, Gabi really believes him this time. Things are looking up for Gabi as her father works on his health and she becomes more engaged in her poetry class. By mid-November, though, Gabi’s father is no longer sober, her brother Beto is acting out, her mother discovers she is pregnant, and Gabi can’t help but feel the weight of so many life complications. Still, she completes her college applications and continues hoping for a future at UC Berkeley. She continues developing as a writer and even reads her poetry to a live audience at a coffee shop.

Gabi’s father dies after overdosing. Her mother goes into early labor and gives birth to her second brother, Ernie. Cindy’s son is also born, and she names him after her best friends Gabi and Sebastian. Gabi’s Tia Bertha moves in to help the family, and Gabi has to work hard to focus on her poetry and finishing her senior year of high school. She completes her zine project for her poetry class—the highlight of her growth as a writer—and shares it at the coffee shop to a supportive and receptive audience.

When Gabi learns that Cindy’s pregnancy was the result of rape, she attacks the boy who raped Cindy. Gabi is suspended from school for the attack, and she is prevented from attending the senior graduation ceremony, but her principal decides not to include the disciplinary action on Gabi’s permanent record, effectively saving her acceptance to UC Berkeley. Gabi’s final journal entry is on her graduation day as she waits for her friends and family to join her for lunch. She is sad to have missed her own graduation ceremony, but excited to be heading to UC Berkeley in the fall and feeling more confident in who she is.