Review and Giveaway! "A Hundred Pieces of Me" by Lucy Dillon

Gina Bellamy is starting over. Fresh from her divorce from a man who was always good to her, until he cheated on her, Gina is faced with all of the "stuff" from her previous home and her previous life. Surrounded by boxes and boxes of unknown items, Gina decides to sort through them one by one and to keep only one hundred things that have significant meaning to her. The task seems monumental but as Gina begins to sort through her boxes and come to terms with some difficult events from her past, she begins to realize that perhaps it isn't the "stuff" that has meaning for her, but the memories that her things represent. Helping to make her task manageable are two new friends and a very dear old one, not to mention a dog named Buzz that finds his way into her heart and her home.

I think that the first thing that attracted me to A Hundred Pieces of Me was the great concept. I'm sure that it would be a very welcome feeling to narrow your non-essential possessions down to only one hundred things! Each thing in your home and in your life would have significant meaning in some way, and I think that would lead to each day becoming more meaningful as well! I enjoyed reading about the things that Gina was keeping, and why she decided to choose them over different items.

I enjoyed the focus on Gina's female friendships in this book. Portions of the book were (understandably) dedicated to dealing with Stuart, Gina's ex-husband, but the focus of the book, socially, was on Gina's long-time best friend Naomi and on Gina's new friend, charity shop owner Rachel. Both women were there to support Gina on her new path, and their unwavering support was both uplifting and refreshing. Even Gina's budding romance took a backseat to the place that her friends had in her life.

I can say with certainty that my favourite parts of the book were when the author focused on Gina's budding relationship with her new dog, Buzz. I won't tell you how Gina came to have Buzz in her life but I loved the parallels between Gina's emotional healing, and Buzz's. Dogs are such wonderful, loving animals and I loved how Buzz and Gina healed each other!

Some may say that the ending of this book was not uplifting, or that it was disappointing because it left things open-ended. I would say that the way that this book ended simply left it open to interpretation, and there is nothing wrong with that! Although the potential for sadness is there, so is the potential for hapiness, and as readers we get to choose our own ending for this story.

A Hundred Pieces of Me was an emotional read in many ways. It alternated between being sad and joyous, uplifting and uncertain. It was beautifully written and the underlying message is one that we can keep with us; things are just things, it is the people and the moments that we keep with us that truly matter. My thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book for review. Be sure to enter the giveaway below (open to US only)!

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