Thank you for the digital copy, I ended up receiving a physical copy and will be reading and reviewing on my socials that way. Thank you again for the digital ARC.

I have to be honest when I say that I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book. Normally, I don't enjoy reading books about the topics discussed in "Pieces of Me" because they often make me anxious but I have got to say that this book was very different and I didn't once feel that way.

McLaughlin wrote a story that was beautiful, intense, and informative. You got only to know Dylan you got to know about her posse and you went on the Dylan's journey with her. You learned with her, you felt her emotions with her. You were rooting for her the entire time.

This is my first book by this author! I was not disappointed, and I know you will not be either! absolutely incredible!

5 out of 5 !!

Was intrigued by the description of this book, but a couple things turned me off:

The initial disclaimer and story in preface pages about dissociative personalities took away from the tension they could have been built in book. Maybe a dedication at the end would have been more appropriate?

And the writing seemed very juvenile and that of someone in either an undergrad fiction course or high school creative writing. Was too stilted and used I too much, though written in first person.

Dylan wakes up in a stranger’s house to discover that she had no memory of the previous three days. Later, she meets a stranger on a train who seems to know her intimately. All signs point to Dylan having Dissociative Identity Disorder. As she becomes aware of the many personalities inside of her, she struggles to remember the traumatic events that caused her disorder.

The book is divided into three sections, Me, Them, and Us, which nicely correlate with the evolving relationship between Dylan and her personalities. My interest in psychology, particularly abnormal psychology, drew me to this book and kept me invested in the story. The author dealt with Dylan’s disorder in a compassionate manner, making each personality their own unique entity.

The dynamics between the identities created conflict, particularly with those alters willing to go to extremes to keep Dylan safe. My favorites parts of the book were those that showed different personalities “fronting” Dylan’s body and seeing the perspectives of the various personalities through her journal and during interactions inside her mind. The trauma that created Dylan’s disorder was handled well giving enough clues to understand the depths of the abuse without making the story traumatizing to read. I enjoyed seeing how Dylan’s art filtered though her personalities, as each had their own preferences for media and styles.

At times the information delivered felt a bit repetitive and boyfriend Connor’s character frequently journeyed into manic dream boy territory. I liked how Dylan’s parents had Hollywood connections and her brother sought a career as a model and an actress. Dylan’s therapists were great characters, which I hope make appears in the author’s other works.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to Wednesday Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group, for providing an Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley.

- thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc to review!

- i don’t know how to properly rate this book. on one hand, it was nice to see that the author researched intensely to depict DID in a nuanced light, and i can commemorate her dedication to research. on the other hand, though, i feel iffy, as this is not an #ownvoices novel, and reviewers with DID can confirm if this is harmful or not. regardless of that, i don’t have much to say about the book. it was nice seeing a supportive set of characters, and Dylan was a nice protagonist to follow— complex and all. the writing style flowed easily and worked well with the story, though it did have moments where i found myself blanking on descriptions.

- overall, i would recommend this read, but be weary, as this is not an #ownvoices novel, so respect the reviewers who have DID and what they say about this novel.

- content warnings: flashbacks to childhood sexual abuse, self harm (implied, talked about), vomiting, disassociation, sex, substance abuse,

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is such a difficult concept for me to wrap my mind around. Kate McLaughlin’s new YA novel Pieces of Me makes it a bit more manageable. This story about Dylan, a teenage girl who realizes that something unsettling is going on in her life when she wakes up in a stranger’s apartment only to discover she has been there for three days with no memory of the events of the weekend, is eye-opening and incredibly informative. Anyone who has ever been interested in learning about DID (previously known as split or multiple personalities) will appreciate the work that McLaughlin put into this book.

Pieces of Me takes readers through Dylan’s realization of her illness, the diagnosis, and her work toward recovery. This book is such an intriguing journey through mental illness - as Dylan learns about DID, so do we right alongside her. She has no idea of what to expect and neither do we. Because this book is packed with so much of the nitty gritty of living with DID, the writing does come off as dry at times because it is so technical - McLaughlin is literally educating as she “entertains” - but I still found this novel to be compelling, nonetheless.

McLaughlin handles a difficult concept with dexterity, managing to write distinct voices for multiple “characters” all embodied within the one character of Dylan. I was able to carve out in my mind space for all of Dylan’s alters without getting confused, which is saying a lot considering that many novels loaded down with numerous characters often feel like too much work to follow. That’s not the case here.

In all, this book, like McLaughlin’s other works, is an engaging exploration into a difficult subject. I have read other reviews that state that McLaughlin embellished the illness some, portraying it far closer to fantasy than reality. I am not familiar enough with DID to verify this, so I recommend that readers do their own research to distinguish fact from fiction.

Rounded to 4.5 stars.

CONTENT WARNING: anxiety, mention of depression, mention of bulimia, suicidal thoughts, blood, suicide attempt, mention of self-harm, mention of alcohol abuse, mention of child abuse/sexual assault

The summary sounded incredibly intriguing, and I’ve read two of her other books, so I already know that she doesn’t shy away from the difficult topics in YA fiction. Previous books have dealt with being the child of a serial killer and sex trafficking, and I felt like both topics were handled with care, so I was fully expecting this to be the same.

We’re introduced to Dylan as she’s coming out of what she views as a blackout. She has struggled with alcohol abuse in the past, but stopped drinking six months ago, so doesn’t have any explanation for why she lost time. It only gets worse when she calls her mother and realizes that she’s been missing for three days, not one night as she previously thought. As she’s processing this, stressors pile up. School and fighting with her twin brother, as well as the realization that she has absolutely no idea what happens when she loses time start to be a bigger problem for her, and she starts to actively take steps to get to the bottom of her missing time.

But digging only reveals bigger issues, culminating in a major event that lands her the diagnosis of Dissociative Identity Disorder, formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder. She has no recollection of any trauma during her childhood, but is starting to have vague flashbacks of something happening when she was young.

As she learns more about the disorder and processes things with her therapist, she realizes that the voices in her head are her alters. I loved how this was portrayed, and how her inner system was explored. While DID was briefly discussed in my master’s program, I’ve never actually seen it in real life, and don’t know much about it. It felt like the author did a lot of research into this, and discussed it in a really careful and sensitive way.

The way therapy is portrayed in the story felt accurate, and the treatment providers were all so accepting and compassionate, the way providers should be. They worked with Dylan (and her alters) to create a safe and welcoming environment where she was given agency over her life and her treatment program, as well as offered the opportunity to make major decisions, allowing her to regain control over her body and her choices that were denied to her as a child. Her artistic talent is incorporated into her treatment as a therapeutic tool and coping skill.

And while I don’t know much about DID, I loved how it was explored in the story. Rather than being viewed as an illness to be cured, it was painted as a coping skill to protect an individual from an unhealthy and dangerous situation that was beyond their capability to manage at the time. And in treatment, the goal is decided by the individual—for some, integration is the goal, while for others, they learn to live with the system.

Finally, I especially appreciated how the importance of having supports was stressed throughout the story. Dylan is surrounded by people who support her on the journey of recovery, and while they’re each dealing with their own emotions, she learns to set boundaries for giving them space to process, and them giving her space to process as well. But through it all, they rally around her to let her know that she isn’t alone for any step of this, and they fully support her no matter what. This was a powerful story, and it’s written so beautifully, making Dylan and her family incredibly relatable.

Thank you Netgalley and the Publishers for allowing me to read this novel. Firstly, I must say the writing style is phenomenal. Allow I have read novels like this before the author’s writing style did stick out to me. The cover is beautiful and I love what the author did with this story.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NETGALLEY for the ARC.]

I really enjoyed this book and getting to know Dylan. I love reading about Dissociative Identity Disorder as it isn't something talked about much and wish to see reviews from people with DID to see their opinions. To see Dylan come out top at the end was nice. Something I disliked a lot was the Google Search to figure out what she had, Like no, we don't look up stuff like that because 9 times out of 10 it will tell us we are going to die. Another thing is while I loved the support system, I wish there was some more pushback in a way. Seeing Mark getting angry was nice, because he also has feelings about the whole situation. Also with how her dad acted about Travis was another thing from me. I would be so mad if I was the dad and for him to act like that really dislike him.

I appreciated handling of mental illness. However, the attempt to give each "personality " its own voice was not well-executed and not believable. The book was jumbled and confusing. Subject matter was admirable; execution was poor.

Ⓑⓞⓞⓚ Ⓡⓔⓥⓘⓔⓦ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

ℙ𝕚𝕖𝕔𝕖𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕄𝕖
𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐌𝐜𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐧
YA Fiction
368 pages

Sʜᴏᴿᴛ Sʏɴᴏᴘsɪs

In Pieces of Me, an eighteen-year-old girl named Dylan suffers from blackouts. When she wakes up and realizes she can’t remember three days of her life, she scares herself and her family more than ever before.

With the help of her family, friends, and a new doctor, Dylan learns she has multiple personalities. Now she must figure out what caused her mind to split. What horrible thing happened to her as a child? As her personalities work up to remembering that event, she starts learning how to live with multiple personalities.

Mʸ Tᴴᴼᵁᴳᴴᵀs

How could multiple personalities not be interesting? Pieces of Me is a story you won’t soon forget. The personalities make for a smorgasbord of characters who are all there to protect Dylan. Her family, friends, and love interest are behind her all the way. They really are an amazing group of people.

The author researched this topic well. I can’t say as I know anyone with this issue, but the story is undoubtedly intriguing and different from the typical book. It delves into hidden memories, abuse, and how those things can affect lives. These could be triggers for some, so use caution.

I ploughed through this book pretty quickly. It grabbed my interest from the get go. Even when you think you have a good understanding of what is going on, new things pop up. I feel like I received an education while reading fiction, because I did. It is obvious the author made this story as valid as possible. I can’t imagine dealing with multiple personalities as the one with it or the people in that person’s life.

This was my first ARC since joining NetGallery and I have to admit that it’s as thrilling as you’d think to read something before it’s actually published.

Pieces of Me by Kate McLaughlin is a YA book set to be released in April that tells the story of one teen girl’s experience with Dissociative Identity Disorder, which has 18 year old Dylan increasingly losing time and finding herself in strange situations.

The story is written as a mystery in that the protagonist has to find out what was so traumatic in her past that caused her to develop this condition.

While I appreciate mental illnesses being highlighted in fiction because of how important representation is, I was distracted by how the character’s other identities were written, specifically when each became a narrator. I also struggled with how seamlessly Dylan’s treatment was initiated and how the mystery was resolved in that it didn’t seem particularly realistic.

⭐️⭐️

This book is emotional, raw and captivating but and well worth the read. It’s about an 18 year old girl named Dylan who wakes up in an unfamiliar apartment, but feels safe.

Dylan is later diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder.
I really enjoyed seeing how each Alter worked and seeing the difference in each one was really well written.

The authors extensive research in this topic really shows. Her key to detail is amazing! She had a unique take on mental health. The book was a page turner and I honestly couldn’t put it down!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

this was so good!!!

the story starts with dylan waking up with no memory of where she is and how she got there. she’s been hearing voices in her head and experiencing blackouts. she eventually gets diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder which was caused by childhood trauma. as she tries to grapple with this diagnosis and navigate her life with her alters, she uncovers the trauma her body has tried so hard to keep buried.

it’s important to remember that this is a work of fiction. while the author did a lot of research on this disorder, it shouldn’t be used as an actual description of it.

i liked this a lot. dylan was an incredible character and it was interesting to be as clueless as she was about herself in the beginning to then learning about DID, getting treated, and confronting trauma. her best friend, izzy, was the first to diagnose her and honestly i really liked that. people diminish self-diagnosing so much but it can really help and in this case it got dylan the supprt she needed.

i enjoyed how the pov would switch between alters depending on who was fronting. it was nice to get perspective and see how their thoughts and feelings bled into dylan’s.

overall, i really enjoyed it!

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me this e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you so much for an ARC copy to review.

Unfortunately this one just didn't work for me. Everything was a little to easy, and an initial diagnosis by Google is a little irritating.

I'm glad that mental health is being displayed more and more in books, but this didn't work for me.

I have mixed feelings about this one. I appreciate the author's intent in trying to tell a story of a girl with DID. It felt a little naive/too optimistic, too fast healing, too good of a friend and boyfriend. Too good family, too fast resolution with the abuser. As a story, it was interesting but also didn't work for me. . I came into this knowing a lot more than the average person about it, as I have known three women with this.

Eighteen year old Dylan quit drinking when her blackouts started to scare her. So when she wakes up in a strange boy's apartment and discovers she can't remember the last three days, Dylan realizes that there might be something more serious going on. A few medical appointments later and Dylan is diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder. She can't remember any sort of trauma that would have caused her brain to create different identities, but each passing day leads to more information from more identities.

Pieces of Me is an in-depth look at DID. All of the characters are extremely well developed, including Dylan's other identities. The story is hopeful and uplifting, and DID seems to be well researched and well represented. Some readers might find the quickness of Dylan's medical appointments and diagnosis and the somewhat easy support and understanding of her family and friends to be unbelievable. The sexual content isn't super descriptive, but reads as more new adult that ya. Probably not a great fit for my high school library, but a super engaging and compelling read for the 17+ age group.

Pieces of Me is about a girl named Dylan who finds out she has dissociative identity disorder (DID). She finds out strength in coping with it.

This is my first Kate McLaughlin book and will definitely not be my last. I was hooked from the first page and didn't want to put this book down!

I didn't know much about DID before reading this book but you can tell the author went to great lengths to research it and she did a phenomenal job portraying it. I loved getting to know all the different personalities that made up Dylan's disorder.

***Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me a free e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review***

3.5/5 stars! I found this story fascinating. It is clear the author did a great deal of research reading Dissociative Identity Disorder. However, in her attempts to minimize the stigma around mental health, she almost eliminated any conflict or ruptures in the MC's support system. I worry that this could minimize the experiences of people with DID whose support systems are not as accepting (which appears to often be the case). The story itself is compelling and I think provides really interesting insights into this diagnosis.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily