Piecing Me Together
First edition
AuthorRenée Watson
PublisherBloomsbury USA
Publication date
February 14, 2017
Pages264
AwardsCoretta Scott King Award
Newbery Medal
Josette Frank Award
ISBN978-1-68119-105-8
OCLC948336456

Piecing Me Together is a 2017 young adult novel written by Renée Watson. The first person novel tells the story of Jade, an ambitious African American high school student. The book, a New York Times best seller,[1] was well reviewed and won several awards.

Plot

Jade, who is also the book's narrator, is a sixteen-year-old African American student attending a mostly white private school in Portland, Oregon on a scholarship. Jade is from a poor neighborhood and is different from the rest of her school. Heeding her mother's advice, Jade works to take advantage of every opportunity presented to her. Hoping to be afforded the opportunity to study abroad so she can utilize her fluent Spanish Skills, Jade is instead offered the chance to be paired with a mentor in the Women to Women program by her school's guidance counselor. Paired with Maxine, Jade initially has high hopes for this mentor-ship, hopes which are dashed when Maxine proves unreliable and Jade begins to wonder if it is she or Maxine who is getting more out of the program. Through her art, Jade begins to act on the realization that she needs to make her own opportunities.

Reception and awards

Piecing Me Together received starred reviews from The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books,[2] Kirkus Reviews,[1] Publishers Weekly,[3] and School Library Journal,[4] as well as positive reviews from Booklist.[5]

Kirkus,[1] School Library Journal,[6] NPR,[7] New York Public Library,[8] and Chicago Public Library[9] named it one of the best books of 2017.

It was named to the Bank Street Children's Book Committee's 2018 Best Books of the Year List with an "Outstanding Merit" distinction and won the Committee's Josette Frank Award for fiction.[10][11]

Awards
Year Award Result
2018 Coretta Scott King Author Award Winner [12]
Newbery Medal Honor [13]
Josette Frank Award Winner [14]
Amelia Bloomer List Top Ten [15]
Coretta Scott King Book Award Winner [1]
YALSA's Best Fiction for Young Adults Top Ten [16]
2019 Outstanding Books for the College Bound: Literature and Language Arts Selection [17]

References

  1. ^ a b c d PIECING ME TOGETHER by Renée Watson | Kirkus Reviews. Kirkus. November 2, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  2. ^ Stevenson, D. (2017). Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson (review). Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books 70(8), 384. Johns Hopkins University Press. Retrieved December 1, 2018, from Project MUSE database.
  3. ^ "Children's Book Review: Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson. Bloomsbury, $17.99 (272p) ISBN 978-1-68119-105-8". Publishers Weekly. November 21, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  4. ^ Anderson, Kristin (January 12, 2017). "Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson | SLJ Review". School Library Journal. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  5. ^ Suarez, Reinhardt (December 1, 2016). "Piecing Me Together". Booklist. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  6. ^ Journal, School Library. "School Library Journal | Best of 2017". School Library Journal. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  7. ^ Friedman, Rose; Mayer, Petra; Novey, Beth; Sullivan, Meghan. "NPR's Best Books Of 2020". NPR Visuals. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  8. ^ "New York Public Library Announces Its Best Books of 2017 for Kids and Teens". The New York Public Library. November 20, 2017. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  9. ^ "CPL Best of the Best Books 2017". Chicago Public Library. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  10. ^ "Best Children's Books of the Year Archive". Bank Street College of Education. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  11. ^ Hare, Peter. "Past Winners". Bank Street College of Education. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  12. ^ Watson, Renée (June 28, 2018). "2018 CSK Author Award Acceptance by Renée Watson". The Horn Book. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  13. ^ "John Newbery Medal | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. Archived from the original on April 16, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  14. ^ "Awards - Bank Street College of Education". Bank Street College of Education. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  15. ^ "2018 Amelia Bloomer List". American Library Association. February 14, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  16. ^ "2018 Top Ten Best Fiction". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). February 14, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  17. ^ "2019 OBCB Literature and Language Arts". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). February 14, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
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