I found myself checking from time to time if these were a memoir or fiction - it feels so much like a true story! I love when authors use fiction to discuss difficult topics, particularly mental health issues. This was such a compelling and gripping story - I definitely recommend it.

This is the first book I’ve read with a dissociative identity disorder storyline. I found it so interesting. The only things I know about DID is what I’ve seen in movies, not enough.

The story was so creative, I was pulled in from the very first chapter. I was as confused as our MC Dylan and needed to figure it out asap. I could not put this book down.

It was so interesting to read about Dylan as she discovered her diagnosis and learned to live with her alters. Not only did we get to know Dylan, but we also got to know each of the alters. I found them all so fascinating. I don’t want to give away too much though. Just read it.

This novel is dark, with lots of triggers. So while I recommend it, please take care of yourself first.

Pieces of Me is the third book I've read by Kate McLaughlin. Of the three this is my least favorite - not because of the writing - its just the dissociative identity disorder storyline which I seldom like. I do think the author did a lot of research on the subject and did a good job portraying the confusion Dylan was experiencing prior to her diagnosis. Its just a me thing but I get so flustered in DID books when all the alters are presenting themselves - if not done well it can get really confusing to the reader and it seems like there is so much going on. I do think Dylan's story was a bit easier as she had an excellent support system as well as a super understanding new guy in her life. In reality I'm not sure things would go so smoothly and I'm pretty sure the patient and her friend wouldn't figure out about the DID diagnosis from googling about it - but hey we all google our symptoms so it does make sense to a certain extent. . Mclaughlin is excellent at writing books featuring young adult characters in serious situations. and she always seems to have characters who are well developed. We all need a friend like Izzy in our life - I think she was one of my favorite characters in the book. . I enjoyed reading this book and I look forward to reading whatever she comes up with next. . Thank you St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books and NetGalley for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book was absolutely fantastic. I've already added it to our list for order next year and will recommend it to students.

Pieces of Me is a novel that explores a woman's (Dylan) experience learning of her DID, dissociative identity disorder. The anxiety and frustration I felt while reading this novel is probably nothing compared to what someone who has DID experiences on a day to day basis. It was frustrating to think about not knowing everything that is going on inside her mind. It was also frustrating to know what she did remember and not share with others to help her cope with what was going on. It also made me very curious if Dylan could even be depended on as an unreliable narrator. It also made me wonder if the way Dylan communicated with the others is the way real world people with DID communicate as well. The idea of a journal for everyone to write in was brilliant.
While this was not a favorite novel of mine, I appreciated the author's attempt at sharing what happens with someone who is diagnosed with DID. I know little to nothing outside of reading this novel regarding DID, so I am assuming the author's research is valid.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for gifting me a copy of this book in exchange for a free and unbiased review.

This book had a fascinating premise and opening set-up, and I zipped through the first 50-60% of it. But then the pace dropped dramatically for a bit, and I really struggled to finish the book - not even because it was boring, but just because it had already had such a strong rise and fall that it felt like it was already over. When I finally got through that hump, it did pick back up for the last 15-20% of the book, but it never reached the same heights of suspense that shaped the first half, ultimately making the story fall a bit flat for me.

Dylan and her alters were well-shaped, likable (or at least empathetic), and well-differentiated. There was never any question that the alters were different from Dylan, which I could imagine being an issue in this kind of book. The other characters, however, were not quite as well-rounded, and there was a substantial lack of external conflict (except for the main villain, who is all bad, and a couple small moments with her brother). Everyone accepted her diagnosis very quickly and was all in on doing whatever they could to help her. This did help hone in on Dylan's experience of the condition itself, but it also created an odd mixture of sappiness and very dark themes, and just felt a bit too good to be true. Throwing in some external barriers could also have been a good way to up the stakes in the third quarter.

The writing style was just okay. It told the story, but didn't do much else.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, and learned a lot about DID (which seems to be accurate, based on a small amount of additional reading), but the unusual concept is the main thing that stands out - there don't seem to be many novels out there about people with DID living relatively normal lives, and it's a fascinating perspective to look through.


I received a free review copy from NetGalley.

This story was a creative and so on point that I did not want to stop reading it. I found the main character so beautifully complex; the writing has a way of drawing you in and not letting you escape. This is my first book by this author, I will be reading more from her. This book should be added to every book club, there is so much to talk about. There are many triggers so look at those before you read.

Dylan wakes up in apartment she does not recognize, the people at the apartment seem to know her but she has no idea who they are. When she calls home, she realizes she has been missing for three days. What happened?? She has had blackouts before but not for three days plus she gave up drinking. Other events happen, a girl recognizes her on a bus that she has no idea who she is. With the help of doctors, she is diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder. As she starts to put the pieces together, issues from her past start to come to light, can she be brave and face these demons with support of her family and friends.

This is a fast pace, keep you on your toes, complying story about girl trying to find herself and where she belongs in the world.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday books for copy of this book for my honest review.

This story was such an interesting take on Dissociative Identity Disorder. It’s something I’ve always been interested in, from how it begins to manifest, to how many personalities one person can have, and this book definitely helps gives a little insight into the disorder.

Eighteen-year-old Dylan has been experiencing disruptions in her memory. Places she doesn’t recognize, people she has never met, and yet somehow they know her. It isn’t until she wakes up in Connor’s bed without any recollection of who he is and learns she has been missing for three days, that she realizes something is seriously wrong. She is diagnosed with DID and upon acknowledgement of her personalities, she discovers that something traumatic happened to her in the past and they are there to protect her from the terrible memories.

Connor seemed to be the only one holding her together and his patience and acceptance of her diagnosis were truly admirable. He never treated her like she was crazy, and even when she would dissociate into another personality, he went along with it so effortlessly. I think the author did a wonderful job with this story, and it shows that she put a great deal of time into researching DID. I really look forward to reading more of her books.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing a copy of this book to review.*

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙜𝙪𝙩-𝙥𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙡𝙮 𝙚𝙣𝙟𝙤𝙮𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙆𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙈𝙘𝙇𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙡𝙞𝙣 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡, 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙝 𝙞𝙣 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙚.

📍 Read if you like:
• YA Thrillers
• Lovable MC
• Mental Health Rep
• Moving Stories

Although this is a YA book, it had some dark themes I wasn’t expecting from this story. For example, it talked about Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) as our MC struggles with that.

Dylan’s character was so interesting. I was immediately intrigued and wanted to know how DID would be portrayed in this book, I think it was done so well.

I loved the thrilling side to the book, however, it was much darker than your normal YA thriller… talking about topics like suicide and abuse.

I couldn’t put this book down, I was so intrigued and wanted to keep on reading. The characters were very well-developed.

At times, this book had me so emotional. Dylan struggled so much throughout her life with family and other struggles. She was such a relatable character and the whole time you just root for her.

Again, there’s a lot of talk on DID and I really think it was portrayed so well. I can tell there was so much research done beforehand by the author and I really feel like this story will be so moving but also informational. Highly recommend!

Thank you so much NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the review copy in exchange for my honest review!

•𝗧𝗪/𝗖𝗪: Sexual assault, mental illness, child abuse, adult/minor relationship, pedophilia, self-harm

I couldn't get enough of this book! I'm pretty sure that I've read a book that had DID before, but I think that was before it was called that. And I've seen Split and Moon Knight, which apparently the former isn't a great representation, while Moon Knight is. So I was looking forward to see what it was like in this book! Kate McLaughlin deals with difficult subjects, with young adults, and they've all been well done to my uneducated eye.

Dylan doesn't know what's going on with her. That she woke up, missing days, that's a bit terrifying. It's the not knowing that is hard. And once she has a diagnosis, it's finding a balance within her system, now that she's aware of it. The alters that we got to know felt very distinct and their own people.

While there was a romance (which was so adorable, and I loved how supportive he was, and how he wanted to learn more about her alters) the main focus was on Dylan and her relationships with her alters. Since they were created to keep her safe from the memory of trauma that she went though as a child, it did take some effort on all of their parts to find that balance.

The trauma that caused her alters to come into being to protect her? When we found out what it was, it was disgusting and horrible that she'd gone through that. I guessed who it was, but having it confirmed, well, I'm glad that justice was served, though it doesn't negate what all the victims had gone through.

Loved reading this book, and I can't wait to read more!

I have read several books by Kate McLaughlin, and she always tackles tough topics with an even hand and an authentic tone. Pieces of Me followed suit with her previous books, this time shedding light on dissociative identity disorder (which used to be known as multiple personality disorder).

Before this book, my understanding of dissociative identity disorder was limited to the movies I had seen and books I had read, typically thrillers where the twist at the end reveals a character with this disorder. And this understanding has been skewed by an entertainment industry that has used it as a tool for telling a good story but failed to give a fair and accurate portrayal of what the disorder is in real life.

Because I knew basically nothing about dissociative identity disorder (DID), it's hard for me to comment on how accurate the portrayal is in this book by Kate McLaughlin. But with my limited knowledge, it seems to be very accurate and I felt that McLaughlin did her research and strived to present a genuine and accurate picture of a teen girl with DID. It felt authentic to me! And I also felt like I learned so much, and it made me interested to learn more.

It was so interesting to read about Dylan as she discovered her diagnosis and learned to live with her alters. Not only did we get to know Dylan, but we also got to know each of the alters as their own character, which helped to cement a better understanding of how each alter exists as an actual personality.

I could not put down this book and stayed up way too late reading it. It deals with some tough topics, especially sexual abuse, so read with caution. But otherwise, I would recommend it for a thoughtful and genuine portrayal of an often misunderstood mental disorder.

I love this authors previous 2 books so I jumped at the chance to read this one. I didn’t like this one as much as her others, but I still enjoyed it. I love how different all her books are. I don’t want to give away to much about this book, but usually this mental illness comes up as a twist in books and I do not like books when they go this route because I always see it coming. However this book was written from the perspective of the person with the mental illness. Im not sure if this is going to be controversial, but in reading the authors note it seems she did the best she could to understand the illness and represent it in an honest manner. I look forward to reading others thoughts on this one. Thanks to the publisher/Netgalley for my copy.

Thank you Netgalley & St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for honest review!

Wow this was a good read right from the start, I couldn’t put this book down. I 100% recommend it to anyone. This is my 1st book by this author, but definitely not the last. I will for sure be checking out her other books.

Even after giving some slack for being targeted as a YA novel, this one is cringy. I can't speak to how the DID diagnosis is portrayed since that is not a diagnosis I live with or am familiar with but it seemed very simplified and almost dumbed down. There are a lot of heavy topics in the book but it reads so elementary and contrived at times that these topics seem so out of place. It was not for me.

Thank you so much to @wednesdaybooks for sending me a complimentary copy of Pieces of Me by Kate McLaughlin so I could read and review it near its publication. Pieces of Me came out on April 18, 2023 – available now!

Dylan keeps blacking out for chunks of time, and meeting people who are sure they have met before, but she doesn’t know. She is diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder and quickly gets to know the other people living in her head and they help her identify the trauma she experience that caused them to come about.

After loving McLaughlin’s previous releases, I was looking forward to getting back into her writing style and Pieces of Me did not disappoint. I was quickly drawn into the story. I really enjoyed the way much of the story is told from Dylan’s perspective with flashes into the other characters who reside in her head.

This was a great way to be introduced to DID, and as a YA book I think this will be a great resource for people looking to learn more about the way DID can impact a person.

My only complaint about the book is the timeline. A diagnosis for Dylan was made within a few days, and that everyone in her life accepted the diagnosis almost immediately. While I love that this is the way the story played out for Dylan, it felt a little too perfect and not the way this would happen in most cases.

Overall, after reading Pieces of Me, I will continue to read and recommend Kate McLaughlin’s books as they come out.

Eighteen year old Dylan wakes up in bed with a guy she doesn’t know. She realizes that she has no ide where she is either. Whose apartment is it? When the guy wakes up, he realizes that she is freaked out. Her mom tells her that she’s been missing for three days and Dylan did not realized it. She can’t remember anything that happened in that time. He insists on taking home after talking to her mom on the phone. His name is Connor. Connor meets her mom who is glad that Dylan is finally home. Dylan wants to know why her three day blackout happened. Dylan’s mom makes an appointment to see a neurologist who sends Dylan to get a brain scan and see a new therapist. Eventually Dylan finds out that she has Dissociative Identity Disorder (multiple personality). Her girlfriend supports her besides her brother and mom. Connor is supporting her too. Unfortunately when the therapist somehow gets too close to something that made one of the personalities tried to get her to kill her self . When she wakes and sees the blood, she screams. Dylan goes to the hospital. It scares Dylan that she did and not know she did it.

There is so much more as all the above is just a small part of the novel. I was engaged in this novel as it was about someone I knew who had that. My friend has moved to a different state and have lost hearing from her. The novel is about mental illness. I think it will help people understand mental illness what it is like. Mental illness is a subject that is not really talked about. Usually you hear people say stay away from that person as you could get hurt.

An extremely well-written story about a little-known and little-talked about mental health disorder. It deftly deals with heavy topics and packs an emotional punch. I have a handful of students who I know I can immediately hand this to and they will enjoy and appreciate it immensely.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader copy of Pieces of Me by Kate McLaughlin in exchange for an honest review. This was an interesting take on dissociative identity disorder. I find the topic fascinating and have for years. I couldn't really connect with the main character's background though and therefore her. I can imagine how scary it would be to loose chunks of time and never really know what was going on. Interesting book.

Pieces of Me is a very moving and gripping story of a girl struggling to get a diagnosis of dissociative identity disorder and deciding who she is.

Dylan finds herself in a strange apartment with a strange boy and realizes that she has blacked out and lost 3 days. She’s been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and tested for multiple other disorders but is still suffering from something else. Her grades are dropping, and friends and family are getting to their breaking point. What is going on in her head to make her lose time?

This book balanced some really unsettling and upsetting plot points with an almost too perfect support system. I didn’t think that was very realistic but it was nice to read! Dylan’s friends, new boyfriend and family all so supportive and understanding to her diagnosis (even her brother who she has some arguments with, overall supports and loves her). You can tell Kate McLaughlin did a lot of research into DID in order to shed light and de-stigmatize preconceived notions the reader may have.

I couldn’t put this book down and I think it’s a great read and taught me a bit more about DID.

I was able to read an advanced reader’s copy of Pieces By Me through Netgally. The book interested me through the description of a young adult struggling with mental illness. The character provided an intimate view into the life and hardships of a person with DID. Highly recommend!