Collages

Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson

"Piece by piece we stitch ourselves back together."

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The cover art for Piecing Me Together features an eye-arresting collage. I love the interplay of images, shapes, and colors. They are an excellent metaphor for the life of Jade Davis. This budding young artist is constantly in search of interesting scraps, remnants of her world. She skillfully repurposes, repositions, and reframes these bits into something fresh and new. Jade is also acutely aware that her own life is composed of pieces, often seemingly at odds with each other. She seeks to put these elements into her life in a meaningful way.
Watson has fashioned a moving story of one girl's attempt to reconcile her present circumstances with her potential future. She finds hope while struggling with reality.
Renée Watson's vivid portrait of a teen transcends the page and sinks deep into the soul. Thank you Ms Watson for introducing readers to the mind and heart of Jade. I fell in love with her.

Pieces of Jade's Life

• Life outside the neighborhood

"Like the universe was telling me that in order for me to make something of my life, I'd have to leave home, my neighborhood, my friends."

• Opportunities

"But girls like me, with coal skin and hula-hoop hips, whose mommas barely make enough money to keep food in the house, have to take opportunities every chance we get."

• Value of literacy

"I've wanted to be a black girl who could read and write many languages, because I know there was a time when that seemed impossible."

• Constant struggle

"Sometimes it feels like I leave home a whole person, sent off with kisses from Mom, who is hanging her every hope on my future. By the time I get home I feel like my soul has been shattered into a million pieces."

• Condescension 

"I don't know what to say. Every time I see Maxine, it is two steps forward, two steps back."

• Understanding difference 

"Those girls are not the opposite of me. We are perpendicular. We may be on different paths, yes. But there's a place where we connect and are just the same."

• Speaking up

"I doubt my conversation with Mr. Flores will change anything. But at least he knows how I feel. At least I spoke up."

• Fitting in/ Not fitting it

"At school I turn on a switch, make sure nothing about me is too black."

• Living with pain

"Every tear I've been holding in goes onto the page.
Tears for Mom's swollen ankles after a long day of work, for her jar of pennies. Tears for every 'almost,' for every 'Things will be different next time.' Tears for what happened with Mrs. Weber, the lady at the mall, the boys at Dairy Queen. 
I didn't realize how much I was holding in. How many cries I've buried."
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Companion Artist: Bisa Butler

"We were the ones who had the scraps and we had to make do with them."

Beautifully crafted quilts by this Brooklyn=based fabric artist are a stunning companion to Watson's YA novel.
Meet Bisa Butler. Learn more about her and her craft with this introductory video.
This slide show offers a sample of her exquisite quilts. They are amazing.