Pieces of Georgia Reviewed by Wendy Kelleher, Department of English, Arizona State University, Tempe, USA. Jen Bryant, author of nearly a dozen biographical picture books and now two young adult novels, joins the ranks of such talented artists as Sharon Creech, Robert Cormier, Nikki Grimes,
and Karen Hesse with her novel in verse, Pieces of Georgia, the story of a teenage artist who, through her writing and her art, pulls together her shattered life after her mother's death and her father's subsequent emotional abandonment.

Told in first person, the story is a collection of poems written by Bryant's young protagonist, Georgia McCoy, after her school counselor gives her a red leather notebook with these instructions: “Write down what you might tell, or what you might ask, your mother if she were here” (p. 5). Georgia has not coped well with her mother's death and visits her school counselor once weekly along with other at-risk students. She expresses her bewilderment at being on the same list as classmates who have “substance abuse” next to their names but accepts the help Mrs. Yocum offers her through the notebook.

Georgia has been given another gift, this one inherited: the gift of being an artist, just like her mother and her namesake, the American artist Georgia O'Keefe. She takes comfort in her drawings when she cannot find the words to express her feelings but knows that she must hide her talent from her grief-stricken father, who, in a moment of despair, burned all of his wife's artwork while Georgia looked on. The two do not talk about their shared grief, and so Georgia turns to her journal for a listening ear.

Through the journal, we discover that an anonymous donor has given Georgia a very special 13th birthday gift—a membership to the Brandywine River Museum, a nearby art museum that features the art of some members of the Wyeth family—N.C., Andrew, and Jamie. At the museum Georgia discovers the inspiration she needs to see the world around her with an artist's eye, enabling her to take her art to a new level. With her art teacher's encouragement, Georgia applies for and wins a place in a statesponsored arts-in-education program for the next school year. Bryant ends her lyrical novel with the warm promise of new beginnings and healing for broken hearts, both for Georgia and h6er father.

A newcomer to the world of young adult fiction, Bryant writes a smoothly crafted story with authentic voice and genuine emotions that is easily accessible to young readers. Young teens will identify with Georgia's feelings of loneliness and isolation and will connect with her descriptions of school, family, and friendship. The book would make a great literature circle pick, particularly for lower level readers. Bryant has a wonderful website for young readers interested in getting better acquainted with her at www.jenbryant.com/writer_001.htm.

Jen Bryant. 2006. New York: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers. 166 pp. ISBN 0-375-83259-9. US$15.95. Home