Hello and welcome to my Sunday Street Team post for
GIRL IN PIECES by Kathleen Glasgow!
I have a Guest Post from the author about how she created believable characters plus you can win a swag pack at the bottom of the post! But first, let's learn more about the novel...
GIRL IN PIECES
Author: Kathleen GlasgowPublisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: August 30, 2016
Summary:
Charlotte Davis is in pieces. At seventeen she’s already lost more than most people lose in a lifetime. But she’s learned how to forget. The thick glass of a mason jar cuts deep, and the pain washes away the sorrow until there is nothing but calm. You don’t have to think about your father and the river. Your best friend, who is gone forever. Or your mother, who has nothing left to give you.
Every new scar hardens Charlie’s heart just a little more, yet it still hurts so much. It hurts enough to not care anymore, which is sometimes what has to happen before you can find your way back from the edge.
Purchase:
“Building Believability”
There are a lot of subjects bobbling around the world of Girl in Pieces, my young adult debut novel: homelessness, adolescent depression, addiction, body image. When you craft a contemporary realistic novel, there’s a certain amount of research, or perhaps just investigation, that needs to be done in order to make the story and characters, well, believable. But you also have to remember that adolescents, just like adults, have flaws. And sometimes those flaws are what make a book believable.There are certain things I did research for the book, so that I could get some basic facts straight. Like looking up signs and symptoms for post-traumatic disorder or bipolar disorder and what they call special psychiatric holds. Or finding out the legal ramifications when a person steals money, a car, and crashes in the desert.
When I was building Charlie, I’ll be honest: a lot of her was just organic. Charlie is homeless and I did only the most basic research, because you know what? I didn’t want Charlie to be an expert at life on the streets. Of course there are shelters and food banks and free clinics that she can go to, and sometimes she does, but is the way she Dumpster-dives the correct way? Probably not. Is carrying a bent fork in an alley really going to keep her from danger? Probably not.
And Charlie is only seventeen, coming from a background of abuse, neglect, and bullying. Of course she’s probably going to pick the wrong person to fall in love with. She doesn’t have the emotional skill set yet to recognize her own worth. That’s something she’s going to have to work toward, hour by hour, day by day, one agonizing moment at a time.
You know, just like in real life.
Connect with the Author:
If you or someone you know is struggling and needs help, please consider contacting:
Crisis Text Line: Text START to 741-741
National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-8255
To Write Love on Her Arms: https://twloha.com/find-help/local-resources/
National Runaway Hotline: 1-800-621-4000
National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-8255
To Write Love on Her Arms: https://twloha.com/find-help/local-resources/
National Runaway Hotline: 1-800-621-4000
Really happy to see this post, as I just started reading Girl in Pieces! I really enjoyed the author guest post, it was nice to find out a bit about how she prepared for and performed her research. It's always interesting to me how authors go about doing research, and also how much effort so many put into it. Thanks for sharing this!
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