Wacky Wednesday: 34 Pieces of You by Carmen Rodrigues

One cool thing about this book is that something that's mentioned in it actually makes it onto the cover. I won't explain, but if you catch it, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. :)

Summary (as seen on Goodreads):

There was something about Ellie... Something dangerous. Charismatic. Broken. Jake looked out for her. Sarah followed her lead. And Jess kept her distance, and kept watch.

Now Ellie’s dead, and Jake, Sarah, and Jess are left to pick up the pieces. All they have are 34 clues she left behind. 34 strips of paper hidden in a box beneath her bed. 34 secrets of a brief and painful life.

Jake, Sarah, and Jess all feel responsible for what happened to Ellie, and all three have secrets of their own. As they begin to confront the darkest truths about themselves, they will also find out what Ellie herself had been hiding all along...

Yays:

• Ellie's 34 notes. They were very insightful and packed punches, giving readers insight into her character even though she's dead, telling a story of their own. I read the notes without any break in between and enjoyed how they flow together.
• Details of this story were well written. For example, the sisters with popcorn flakes left in their teeth, the bubble in Sarah's chest, etc. The details of this story were most definitely better written than the overall novel was.
• Ellie's controversial character. Controversial characters are always more realistic than perfect, angelic ones, and Ellie especially is a good example of how to write a controversial character well.
• The sibling relationships presented in the novel. They were essential to the story, and it was nice to be able to read about them.

So-sos:

• Jess and Ellie's 'relationship' developed a little weirdly. It read more like they were together because they were thrown together by the author rather than an actual connection.

Nays:

• The different characters may have been delegated different points of view, but they never really seemed to sound any different from each other. Each voice blended into the next and each chapter sounded like it was all coming from the same person.
• The overall story didn't really seem to have a point. Ellie had some secrets, but the focus seems to be shifting all over the place throughout the novel, making it hard to focus and truly hone in on what her secrets are.
• While sibling relationships were really important to the novel, the presence of romantic relationships really overshadowed these sibling relationships. Every character was presented with romantic relationship issues, and while a few of them in a novel is reasonable, to have every character involved in such complicated romantic relationships was a bit much.
• The ending doesn't really feel like an ending. There isn't really a finality to the novel, and felt like it would've been better wrapped up with a few more pages.

Giving this book a rating is difficult because I loved the details that were weaved into the novel so much. However, because of the overall picture, I can only give it 3 jellyfish. I'd be interested in reading something else by this author in the future for sure.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy reading!