ABSTRACT
The novel Gabi, A Girl in Pieces is examined for the poetry lens it presents. Gabi Hernández is in her senior year of high school in the fictional town of Santa Maria de los Rosales, California. Like Lupita, Gabi cultivates a ChicaNerd poetic and writer identity, but whereas Lupita combines her love of theater and poetry, Gabi discovers her passion for the spoken word poetic tradition. In addition to Gabi’s senior year, the novel presents a period marked by traumatic events, such as her best friend’s pregnancy as a result of rape; another close friend’s rejection and abandonment by his family when he reveals he is gay; her mother’s pregnancy; and finally, her father’s death from a drug overdose. In the process, the novel rejects myths of Mexican female identity around stereotypes of overt sexuality; skin color as an indicator of “authentic” Mexican identity/colorism; and family struggles, such as her mother’s pregnancy, her father’s drug overdose, and her younger brother’s behavioral problems.
