Piecing Me Together Summary Next. In some ways, Jade feels like she must leave her neighborhood in order to succeed: she buses out of her North. Piecing Me Together. The title of the book, Piecing Me Together, is a symbol of how the main character, Jade, is struggling to find out who she really is and how she fits into the world. Though Piecing Me Together doesn’t mention the Black Lives Matter movement specifically, it nevertheless looms large over the novel. The movement rose up in response to the 2014 killing of Michael Brown, a black teen, by a white police officer in Mississippi, and it campaigns against violence and systemic racism against black people in the U.S. Book Summary: Jade goes to St. Francis, a private school across town, while most of her neighborhood friends go to the local public school. There are a lot of good things about her school, but she has mixed feelings about the 'opportunities' offered by some of the adults there. PIECING ME TOGETHER: A Discussion Guide About Race, Class, Gender, and Intersectionality offers preparation, sample dialogue, book passages to guide conversations, and “out of the box.
- Piecing Me Together Detailed Summary
- Piecing Me Together Summary Sparknotes
- Piecing Me Together Book Summary
Piecing Me Together Detailed Summary
Summary
Piecing Me Together Summary Sparknotes
Chapter 32 begins with “hermanas,” which means “sisters.” Jade says Maxine is trying to make their time together more meaningful and no longer spends it on the phone with Jon. Mrs. Butler readily agrees when Maxine invites Jade to her apartment. Jade is impressed with how it looks, and notes that it could have come straight off a showroom floor. Two of Maxine's friends arrive. They talk about dating and urge Maxine not to get back together with Jon, who cheated on Maxine and constantly needed money from her. Jade enjoys herself as they talk and play games, and wonders “if this is what having big sisters would be like” (129). When the talk turns to sex, Maxine shuts them down, saying she is going to be sure Jade “doesn't end up like one of those girls” (129). She emphasizes the word “those,” and Jade knows...
The following version of the book was used to create this study guide: Watson, Renee, Piecing Me Together. Bloomsbury YA, New York, New York, 2017. Kindle AZW file.
Jade is a junior at St. Francis High School, an exclusive school for wealthy students where the study body is predominately white. She is black and attending on a scholarship, and she is constantly struggling against the stereotypes and prejudices that are prevalent in the world.
Piecing Me Together Book Summary
As the novel opens, school is starting and Jade is certain she will be granted the opportunity to participate in a program that allows students to travel abroad. She is called in to talk to the school's guidance counselor shortly after school begins and is surprised that they are not talking about that trip. Instead, Jade is asked to join Woman to Woman, a program that pairs a successful adult woman with an at-risk teenage girl. Jade is disappointed and is on the verge of turning down the program when the counselor says she will be given a scholarship if she completes the program. Though Jade hates the idea that she is seen as an “at-risk” student who needs this sort of program, she agrees to participate because of the scholarship.
Jade's mentor, Maxine, does not show up for the first program meeting, but later makes a point to introduce herself to Jade. At the next program meeting, Maxine spends the entire time on the telephone with her former boyfriend, leaving Jade to wander around ar art museum on her own. Over dinner, Jade tells Maxine that she feels she is being short changed. She had envisioned a different kind of relationship forming between them. Maxine realizes that Jade is right, and she makes more of an effort to spend quality time with Jade. She invites Jade to her house for dinner, but Jade soon feels that Maxine had simply been trying to prove to her mother that she was doing something worthwhile. Jade considers dropping out of the program, but her mother says that Jade will not find another way to pay for college, and she insists that Jade “work it out.”
Jade decides she has to begins standing up for herself. She points out that most of the girls in the group want more practical advice, rather than spending an entire evening talking about dating. Group organizers listen, and they begin focusing on how to manage money and spend time with a young black woman who talks about the steps she took to open her own art gallery.
When a young black girl is brutally beaten by police who were called for a noise complaint, Jade and many others are outraged. However, Jade discovers that most of the students at St. Francis have not even heard the story, though it happened just a few miles away. Jade is instrumental in organizing an event to raise money for the girl's medical bills, and she is happily surprised with the number of people who support the event.
As the novel comes to a close, Jade is learning she has the power to stand up for herself and it feels good to do so. She also learns she has the ability to overcome the stereotypes against blacks and that she has to make a commitment to see anything through to the conclusion, including friendships.