Pieces of Me

Gr 10 Up–Dylan knows what it feels like to black out from drinking. For the past year, while she’s taken college courses in art school, she’s made it a point to stop abusing alcohol in order to stay on top of her precarious mental state. So, when she wakes up in a strange boy’s apartment one morning, she is baffled. Though Connor and his roommate Jess seem comfortable with Dylan, she has no recollection of how she got there. Doing her best to pretend, she finds her way back to her New Rochelle home, where her famous actress mother and twin brother live. As she struggles to make sense of the troubling events of the past few days, Dylan, who has been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, feels a deeper sense of panic bubbling within her mind. When additional unexplainable events occur, one that is life-threatening, a new diagnosis of dissociative identity disorder takes over her world as she grapples with how to move forward. McLaughlin has created in-depth characters and a compelling plot to highlight this mental disorder. Dylan (who is white) and her best friend Izzy (who is Black) share typical young adult moments but also work together to uncover the truth behind Dylan’s condition. With humor and insight, the author writes a compelling narrative that is unique and fascinating. There are a few sexual encounters, and triggers include suicide and memories of sexual abuse.