ARC Review: Pieces, by Maria Kostaki

Title: Pieces

Author: Maria Kostaki

Publisher: She Writes Press

Date of Publication: May 5th, 2015

Number of Pages: 209

Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Summary

When her mother, Anna, abandons her to move abroad with her new husband, Sasha is passed around her three grandparents in Cold War-era Moscow, attending first grade with a Lenin star pinned to her breast. Five years later, Anna and her husband reappear and whisk Sasha off to a “better life” in Athens, Greece. But they are not the gallant rescuers they first appear to be, and Sasha soon finds herself caught between a violent stepfather and a psychologically abusive mother. In her struggle to survive in her new world, Sasha turns to a world of invisible friends—even as she continues to long for something real. At turns haunting and uplifting, Pieces is the story of one girl’s survival and self-discovery—and her continual search for love in a world where she has been given none.

Review

When I first saw Pieces, I was very interested in reading it, as the writer's name is Greek. I don't often get the chance to read what Greeks abroad are writing, and I would be very interested to see to find out. Even though Maria Kostaki is originally from Moscow and spends her time between New York and Athens, she did make an excellent job of showing elements of Greek society, as the characters felt familiar to me. 

When I started reading the book, I couldn't help thinking if it is autobiographical, or if there are some elements straight from the author's life. Sasha is from Russia and spends her first years of life with her grandparents there, before her mother comes to take her to Greece when she remarries. Once she grows up, she goes to New York City, and we see her move back and forth between these cities. 

But apart from this element, the story fell a bit flat for me. Sasha writes this story to her stepdad, who we learn that has passed away. In this narrative, she goes through specific events of her life, her search for meaning in her life, what she really wants to do, and who she really wants to be with. 

What really stroke me as weird is that even though Sasha writes this story to her stepdad, we never saw why she would be attached to him in the first place. There is only a scene where she goes from calling him Micheal to calling him dad, but overall, I didn't really get the connection. In fact, we didn't really see any real relationship with any of her family - her mother, her half-brother, her biological dad, and even her grandparents. 

Another thing that I didn't really like was how disjointed it felt. There was barely any connection from one chapter to the next, it jumps time back and forward without a warning, or at least reason enough, and most scenes in each chapter felt surface-level. 

All in all, Pieces was a struggle for me. I would be willing to overlook some of its flaws if I liked Sasha more as a character, but I did not. If you are interested in a coming-of-age story, and you enjoy a family drama, then you might find something you like in it. 

So, my advice is...

Find the family that wants you!