Review: 34 Pieces of You by Carmen Rodrigues

34 Pieces of You by Carmen Rodrigues
Published: September 4, 2012
Publisher: Simon Pulse 
Pages: 336
My Rating:  3 of 5 stars

Synopsis: A dark and moving novel—reminiscent of Thirteen Reasons Why—about the mystery surrounding a teenage girl’s fatal overdose.

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...

My Review: For me 34 Pieces of You was a big disappointment. I loved Thirteen Reasons Why so when I read that it was supposed to be like that book I thought that this book would become a new favorite. I was wrong. I've read so many better books that deal with the same topic.

Now what I just said may make it seem like I hated this book, but I didn't. It was actually pretty good. I think I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would because I didn't connect to the characters. I felt no pity for any of them.They were just kind of there. I wasn't upset that Ellie had died. I didn't wish that she hadn't died. I didn't feel anything I thought I would feel. I think the only character that tugged on my heart a little was Jake.

I think the only thing I enjoyed was the romance in this book. As much as I didn't like the characters I really enjoyed their relationships with each other. I especially liked Jess and Ellie but their relationship was not surprising to me at all. I'm not sure if it was supposed to be a surprise, but it would have been nice if it was.

The switching from Before and After really confused me because I wasn't sure how much after the story was taking place and there were all different months for Before and After. It was hard to keep track of what happened first or when something happened sometimes. The pieces took me a while to figure out and I'm not exactly sure if I really understand them now.

I feel like this book could have been so much better and that some people will love it but other will think its very average. I think that people who haven't read any books about teenage overdose should start with this one. Those people will probably love this book.