This was okay but I feel like the author wasn't sure what age group they were aiming for as an audience. There were a lot of topics handled through the narration of an 11 year old that most kids that age wouldn't have the background knowledge to properly understand and most adults wouldn't enjoy learning about through a child.

DNF at 53%
This review is going to be In the minority. This book has great reviews and I wanted to love it but it just didn’t grab my attention. It was slow and boring and I just couldn’t get in to it or connect with the MC.

A Girl in Three Parts still haunts my heart when I'm alone even though I read it months ago. Allegra is surrounded by people who love her but don't love each other. Her grandmothers believe in her wholeheartedly but that belief only applies to the dreams they have for her. Reading about one grandmother makes you just want to hug Allegra while the other grandmother makes you want to scream "Listen!" all while her father floats around in the background. The definition of a coming to age story which starts much stronger than it ends in my opinion. Children ages 14 and up.

A Girl in Three Parts Hardcover by Suzanne Daniel is a bit of a slow, burn, but very worth the read. This is a great feminist story about family, perfect for mature teens and adults who enjoy YA novels. The writing style was engaging and smart, yet appropriate for the genre. Many thanks to NetGalley and Knopf Books for Young Readers for the advance copy.

Many authors present us with a protagonist on the cusp of adolescence, learning what it means to grow up. They are learning what they think about issues, learning to stand up against small injustices. And that's the difference here. Because Allegra is confronted with both unfairness in her immediate environment and the larger injustice of being a woman in a world that does not value her. She sees abuse and oppression and the expectations of women. Even the ways that well meaning desires of the adults in our lives for us to have things "better" can put damaging pressure on us. The central idea is still that a girl must find her voice, to express her own desires and feelings and not simply fall into the role others have made for her. Due to the frank talk about domestic violence this is not a book for a very innocent reader. But for someone prepared to handle the emotional journey it's beautifully heartbreaking.

Set in 1970s Australia, a girl in three parts follows Allegra as she struggles to figure out the world around her as much as herself and her place in it. Allegra is an engaging narrator taking you on a journey through her days as someone on the fringes of society trying to figure out her place. Allegra’s understanding of herself develops as she experiences, understands and applies what she has learned as she witnesses people in strife both in her family and in her community. For middle grade readers, the story is a slow starter and takes awhile to hook in the reader. Also, it has quite a bit of Australian dialogue and location that will be difficult for American student to navigate. It will take a bit of advertisement to get this book the attention it deserves.

Raised in the sheltered triangle of her grandmothers and her father, Allegra searches for clues about her place in the world and the reasons why her mother left it.
A Girl in Three Parts intricately weaves together several fascinating storylines: a girl growing up under the care of three shockingly disparate guardians, her attempts to understand the harsh realities faced by other girls and women in the wider world (and how they connect to her own story), and the momentum gained by the Australian Women’s Movement in the 1970s. Author Suzanne Daniel provides several experiential examples of womanhood for Allegra to look to: the power struggle between a single woman and her abusive employer, a woman stretching out her hands for equality while still being dependent on her un-liberated husband, various women and children seeking shelter from their abusive partners, and a young girl who needs to end a pregnancy but has no safe way to achieve that. She also shows the ways that women can build each other up; the circle of women that gather around grandmother Joy and Allegra’s friendship with Patricia are healthy examples of non-judgmental support. This book provides a lot of food for thought; the writing opens a lot of doors and tells a story that is hard to forget.

I'm not sure why, but I struggled to get into this one. The premise is very interesting, but it just wasn't really for me. Maybe it's the narration style? I'm not sure. Oh well.

Adults will feel for Allegra because we'll have the emotional intelligence to realize how tough and resilient her character is. Kids will enjoy her because she's relatable and real. This is a story for any child that feels torn between two people he/she loves and feels that a role needs to be played for the sake of someone else.


I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

COMPLETELY fabulous coming of age story. I adored every moment! Honest looks at issues that girls today face; grief, identity, femininity. Every young woman should read this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book. .

This is about a young girl named Allegra. She feels torn, like she's only partly herself, depending on where she is and who she is with.
She struggles with her spirituality, her family dynamics, etc.
Allegra was a well written character, and the overall story was good. At times I had to look things up because of the speech used outside the USA, but that wasn't a huge deal.

A Girl in Three Parts was one of those books it took a bit to work through. This is a book that was originally released in Australia and will be released here in the US this spring. This is the story of Allegra, a young girl, who feels divided due to her family situation. She is constantly fighting her spiritual beliefs, her loyalties, and her attention between her grandmas and her father. She loves each of them dearly, but has an internal battle of how to please them all seeing as they have complicated relationships with each other.

The pros for this book were the characters and their spirits. I found myself laughing at moments and hurting at others.
The cons were there were many cultural references, and language used from Australia that for a young reader (the target audience of this book) would potentially be confused.

I didn't have super high expectations for this book but found that Allegra worked her way into my heart. She was a small ray of joy amidst the trials around her. It was a perfect balance of a fun and innocence and a deeper serious tale that draws you in for more. Thank you to @netgalley for my early peek at it. This will hit the shelves in the US April 14th of this year.