83 pages • 2 hours read
Isabel QuinteroGabi, a Girl in Pieces
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2014A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Essay Topics
Describe Gabi’s development as a writer. What are some of the key diary passages and poems that demonstrate her growth in this area?
This story is a bildungsroman, or a coming-of-age story. Which milestones in Gabi’s life impact her most? How do these events contribute to the growth of her character?
Gabi is not a perfect person, which makes her realistic even though she’s a fictional narrator. What are some of Gabi’s flaws, and what are some of her character’s strengths? Is she a relatable character? Is she a reliable narrator?
Which social and cultural norms does Gabi challenge? How does she go about challenging these norms?
Why is Gabi’s mother so concerned about Gabi acting White? What behaviors are associated with being White?
In what ways are Gabi and Tia Bertha similar? What does Tia Bertha learn from Gabi?
Which characters are supportive of Gabi throughout the story, and in what ways do they show their support? Who is not supportive, and why?
What does Gabi come to learn or accept about herself over the course of this year in her diary?
The author dedicates this novel to “all the gorditas, flaquitas, and in-between girls trying to make their space in the world. Don’t worry, you got this” (5). In what ways is this a story of encouragement? What strengths does this story highlight through its various characters?
Gabi asks in her collection of questions she can never ask her mother, “How will I know when I’m a woman?” (149). Does Gabi ever find an answer to this question? What does it mean to be a woman in this novel?
