All the Broken Pieces

by Ann E. Burg

A remarkable literary debut by a stunning new voice in children's fiction.

Two years after being airlifted out of war-torn Vietnam, Matt Pin is by bombs that fell like dead crows, by the family -- and the terrible secret -- he left behind. Now, inside a caring adoptive home in the United States, a series of profound events force him to choose between silence and candor, blame and forgiveness, fear and freedom.

By turns harrowing, dreamlike, sad, and triumphant, this searing debut novel, written in lucid verse, reveals an unforgettable perspective on the lasting impact of war and the healing power of love.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Poetry, Sports, Novel In Verse, Middle Grade, Fiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2009

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

It feels good to be back in the big, “scary” world of verse novels. I was actually craving one. Haha…My biggest literary fear is now a craving! Wow! :)

All the Broken Pieces by Ann E. Burg addresses such a big, traumatic and powerful issue in such a pure way. With a down the middle of the plate, straight forward style, this story and words hit home and my heart hard! With the verse format, Ms. Burg seems to use each word with care and gets right to the emotion and power. The words cut deep.

Matt Pin was just ten years old when he was airlifted out of a worn torn Vietnam and away from his home, family, and all he ever knew. He grew up surrounded by war. Now adopted and living in the United States, Matt must start to face all the pain, memories, prejudice, questions about his parents, and uncertainty with his adopted family before he can begin to heal, forgive and find his way in the world.

“There are no mines here,
no flames, no screams,
no sounds of helicopters
or shouting guns.

I am safe.

How can I
be home?”

There is a lot going on in these pages, but every development and struggle is presented with such honesty, heart and grace. All the characters touched my heart, but Matt had me in emotional knots at page one. The force and power of his struggle broke my heart into pieces right from the get-go. How does a heart or soul survive that kind of trauma? How does a child heal and attempt to move on? People deal with grief in so many ways—from silence to lashing out. Matt turned to music and baseball for solace. Ms. Burg’s use of these two wonderful worlds in Matt’s healing process was magical and filled my heart with all sorts of happy! :D

“When I play the piano,
I’m sheltered
in that safe place
where the only thing
that matters
is music.”

This book shows the physical and mental pain, violence, and continuing ripples of the Vietnam War on the men who served, men who stayed home, families, children, towns, and nations. No one went untouched. Everyone broke into pieces whether they realized it or not. Matt’s story gave me hope and inspiration to keep talking, working, and giving of myself. Hopefully, with time, patience, and teamwork, we can all pick up the pieces together. Matt’s story may have focused on the Vietnam War, but it will ring true for today as well. Soldiers, hearts, nations, and families are still being broken into pieces.

A very powerful read.

I look forward to reading more of Ms. Burg’s work in verse. Off to look her up now! :D

[emerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Sometimes the words people don't say are as powerful as the ones they do.”

[Josiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

"There is darkness on the water.
There is darkness on the land.
There is darkness all around us,
but I will hold your hand.

You are safe, my precious child.
You are safe now, you are home.
We have found you and we love you.
You will never be alone."

—All the Broken Pieces, PP. 11-12

The feel of this book in general will be familiar to readers who loved Karen Hesse's Newbery Medal-winning Out of the Dust. The verse flows forth unimpeded, gently and quietly introducing the story of Matt Pin, a boy who was rescued from Vietnam under some of the most horrible circumstances imaginable.

2009 seems to have been an unusually good year for first-time novelists, and Ann E. Burg's contribution to that favorable trend is perhaps the best of them all. Books in verse tend to have a lighter touch than straightforward prose, even when dealing with emotional and weighty matters such as those confronted in All the Broken Pieces, and this is a somewhat new feel for young adult literature about the Vietnam War; it contrasts markedly with the nearly unbearable gritty starkness of Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers, for example. The details of Matt's sojourn aren't completely known until right near the end of the story, but just within the first few pages we can see that he is weighed down by deep guilt over what happened with his family in Vietnam, that he blames himself for some of the most terrible things that happened, and that even after being resettled in the United States with an American family that loves him, those issues will not go away quietly. His new American classmates won't forget what happened either; they lost family and friends in Vietnam, and Vietnamese Matt gives them the opportunity to put a face on all that loss. His presence gives them a human target upon which to vent their anger, a person to look at and tell themselves, "He is the reason that this happened. It's his fault."

All the Broken Pieces is multilayered in its drive, and each layer surrounds and builds on the others to give the story its power. What comes to the surface again and again, though, are the emotions of the people involved, and the ways that they demonstrate and handle these emotions the best way that they know how, sometimes appropriately and other times unfairly. What everyone seems to have in common is their emotional scars, scars from a war that changed them all from the inside out and made them see the world differently, scars that won't allow them to feel peace even though, for most of them, the losses of Vietnam have ended. How can you forget, when your memories remain as vivid as ever?

The emotional content of this novel comes through sharply and with much effect, even as it is being relayed in such a quiet, lyrical way. All the Broken Pieces feels almost like a ballad, weaving its way into the hurt and following the characters as they come to find some measure of solace in where they stand now. The scenes in which Matt sees his new brother Tommy and thinks of his brother in Vietnam are some of the strongest ties in the entire story, and the gentle lullabies that Matt's mother sings to him when he gets mentally caught back in the Vietnamese jungles make for truly beautiful writing that soberingly contrasts with the violence of the war. This is a remarkable book, and I would give it three and a half stars.

"We have found you and we love you.
You will never be alone.

I will sing to you of morning,
I will stay until it's light.
I will sing to you of laughter
on the other side of night."

—All the Broken Pieces, P. 138

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

All the Broken Pieces is the story of Matt Pin, a twelve-year-old Amerasian boy who was born in Vietnam but currently lives in the United States. His mother was a native Vietnamese citizen but his father was an American soldier who abandoned him after the war. His mother urged him to flee to the US, and now he lives with a caring adoptive family. However, his guilt and sorrow over the Vietnam War still plague him.

I thought this was overall a decent story told in poems. I really felt a strong connection to Matt, even though I was born in the United States I still have family members who lived through the war and tell me all their sad stories. Matt was a very developed, three-dimensional character and I liked his progress throughout the story. My one complaint is that sometimes the poetry got a little sloppy, and it felt like prose being separated into stanzas instead of actual poetry. Decent read though, and highly recommended.

[Kristen Jorgensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Young Matt was born in Vietnam, his father was an American soldier that abandoned his family. Matt was around ten years old when his mother begged American Soldiers to take her son to the U.S.A in hopes that he would have a better life.

Now in the States Matt is adopted by loving parents, and surrounded by an amazing support group, that teaches him baseball and piano. Still, two years later, his difficult past still haunts him, he wakes up at night from nightmares, a few kids at school taunt and bully him, and he fears that when he tells his adoptive parents about Vietnam they won't trust or want him anymore.

One of Matts teammates, Rob, hates Matt. Rob is constantly saying "because of you, my brother died." Matt, and Rob must learn to work together to stop the hate and turn things around so they can both heal.

This beautiful story, written in verse, was hard to put down. The power of music, baseball, and love can make anything possible. Ann Burg makes you grateful for all that we enjoy here in the U.S.A.

All the Broken Pieces is sure to be one the Newbery committee takes a good look at.

[Katy O. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stellar historical fiction verse novel - I'd say the sweet spot for this book is grades 5-7 but it's still appropriate for mature 4th graders. Set in the US post-Vietnam War, it is narrated by a Vietnamese boy who was sent to the US by his Vietnamese mother after his American father left. It's a story about fitting in, adoption, baseball and the difficulty of soldiers returning to the US after the war. Due to the structure, this is one I will be handing to SO MANY of my middle school boys who are wanting shorter sports books. I'll also be adding it to my 6th grade lit circle list.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Some of the imagery and situations in this book were both haunting and beautiful. I really enjoyed the main themes, but it could have used about 100 more pages to really make the storyline more fleshed out and less conveniently clean. Some of the images and situations were just "wow."

[Andy Tutuc · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently finished "All the Broken Pieces" by Ann E. Burg. A friend recommended it to me, so I decided to give it a try. I had not previously heard of this author, so I wasn't sure what to expect.
This book fits somewhere in between historical and realistic fiction. It talks about a Vietnamese child named Matt who is now living in America. He is treated poorly by some people, but manages to stay positive. He makes his school baseball team, and also likes to play the piano. He also volunteers a shelter where veterans are staying.
One of the reasons I liked this book is because it mixes in baseball with certain historical events, like the war. I enjoy learning and reading about these events, but I feel that the baseball deepens the story. It does not just talk about the war and how the families were affected; the fact that the boy is playing baseball presents a realistic aspect that many people can relate to. This helped make certain parts of the story easier to understand. Another thing I enjoyed was the way that diversity was promoted. Sure, the author could have just put the book from an American's point of view. It would be very easy for everyone to relate to that. However, the author showed what it was like to be in the shoes of someone from the other side. This showed me that even if someone is originally from a place that America dislikes, this doesn't mean that they are a bad person.
There was one quote that stuck with me from this book. There was a boy that told Matt: "My brother died because of you." Obviously, the boy's brother fought in Vietnam. However, Matt had been adopted, and had no bad intentions. The other boy told him this twice, and it seemed like Matt was hurt. This quote basically sums up the hardships that Matt faced, and how he was discriminated.

[Joanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe love is like
a monsoon rain.
When it rains
really hard and heavy,
it seems like
it will never end
and we will swim in mud
forever.

But then the wind shifts,
and the earth grows
dry and cracked.
Every gurgle and ooze
tiptoes away
and we're left wishing
and waiting
for rain again.

Maybe love is like that
Maybe the wind shifts
and love just tiptoes away.

Had to include this. My favourite passage for the last three lines.

Matt is 10 years old, loved by his adoptive parents but still struggling with the family he's left behind in the war. He hasn't talked about Vietnam, and he's afraid and unsure of whether or not he should. Ann E. Burg is able to bring forth a lot of emotions in these sparse verses - a very accessible book for everyone. You can choose to go as many layers deep as you wish through Matt's point of view, whether reading to find out how he's dealing with the present or searching back into his past. It's a quick, one-sitter, but don't be discouraged by the length - the simplicity is beautiful, and frankly, communicates better with less than more.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first this seemed like a novel about a Vietnamese boy adopted into an American family and adjusting to American life. However, as I read on it became a novel about how it feels to be adopted, how it feels to be half Vietnamese/half American and never knowing your father, and how it feels to have lived during the Vietnam War. Even further on, it became about post-traumatic stress disorder, and how it affected not just the soldiers who came back from Vietnam, but also the Vietnamese people who survived.
And finally, it was also a novel about guilt and forgiveness, including forgiving oneself. Interwoven between all those threads was a story about baseball, coping with bullies, and dealing with the shock of a very sick coach. This novel had a lot going on it it, and it was well done and had none of that choppy feeling that novels in verse sometimes have. All in all, an excellent effort, and recommended.

[Adamaris Jauregui · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a boy named Matt that was sent to the United States because he in the war of Veitname ,he thought that him mom send him over and abandoned him but then he realized that she sent him over because she loved him and wanted him to live.I liked this book because he gave parts of Veitename that he remembered. I would recommend this book to someone who likes sad books and books that could be true

[Lance Burton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book I rated it a 4 star. If you like short books and wars this is your kind of book. The main characters name is Matt he loves baseball and he thinks that his parents don't care for him even though they do.

[Nathan Kraus · Rating 4 out of 5]

i thought it was a good book also you fly threw it because there is not a lot of words on each page.

[Jenny Jo Weir · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is insightful and revealing. I enjoyed the was it opened my eyes and allowed me to see things from another perspective. I like being able to understand where someone else comes from and why they feel or respond the way they do and this book did a superb job with that. I truly enjoyed it.

[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matt Pin was airlifted from war torn Vietnam to the United States and has been adopted into a loving family. Now at age 12, Matt is struggling with the internal scars of war, combined with his questions of identity. He has haunting memories of his mother and brother whom he left behind in Vietnam. Matt has trouble giving a voice to his internal struggles, while externally he is having difficulties at school and is being bullied by boys on his baseball team. Can Matt manage to make peace with his past so he can embrace his future? Or are the two so intertwined that they are one and the same?

A searing verse novel, this book offers powerful poetry that clearly conveys the emotional scars of Matt and of the community around him. Vietnam is a multi-faceted subject and Burg does an admirable job in paying tribute to its many aspects. Poetry is a wonderful medium for this sort of exploration, allowing things to be said clearly that would have to be danced around in prose. Burg’s poems create a cohesive novel yet offer verses that will linger in the memory and mind, that speak to our humanity and our past.

Here is one verse from the early part of the novel that captures the power and talent of the writing:

He never saw my face.

But she was already swelled

with love for him when he left,

taking with him

his blue-eyed promise

that it would not end there,

with the smell of burnt flesh

and the sound of crying children.

Highly recommended for tween and teen readers, this book covers powerful subjects without turning away or flinching. Readers who are not poetry readers and those who claim not to like verse novels should be encouraged to try this one. Appropriate for ages 12-15.

[Delia]

good

[Meaghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very sweet, touching story, making real the horrors of the Vietnam War but at the same time still appropriate for 9-to-12s. Airlifted out of Vietnam and evacuated to safety in America, twelve-year-old Matt has been living for two years with adoptive parents who adore him. But the war lingers, in his own mind and in the world around him. He misses the family he left behind; he blames himself for his lost little brother's land mine injuries. Once a week he goes to a meeting for Vietnam veterans, many of them disabled. He tries to reconcile his new life with the one he used to have.

The free verse makes the story zip along nicely, and the baseball games give it structure. Matt's piano teacher and his coach are excellent role models. And on top of all of that, on top of enlightening the modern young reader about this forty-year-old war, I think this book is also a good example of how an adoptive family should be. Matt's parents love him unconditionally, the same as they do their biological son, but they also don't try to deny his heritage.

I would highly recommend this, particularly for a school unit on Vietnam or war in general.

[Ellie Ana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Matt Pitt is a Vietnamese boy, brought over at the height of the war from his torn country and family. This story in verse follows him through part of his life in America. I thought this book was pretty good, but I valued it the most for the insight it gave me into the life of a boy who was taken away from his home country due to war. It is a subject I don’t often think about, but when I do it seems intriguing to me. I would recommend this to people who are into realistic fiction.

[Lauren Waters · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the insight and honesty Matt's character portrayed through the perspective of an adopted Vietnamese child living in the U.S. after the Vietnam War. This is a very quick read with a lot of character development.

[David]

I really didn't like this book that much. I expected it to be better but it wasn't. I would recommend this book to people who like sports and poetry

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Post Vietnam War 7th grader Matt is trying to come to grips with who he is and what that really means through the lens of baseball and music. The verse flows freely and the story is truly beautiful. I just wanted more. The arc of Matt and Rob's relationship was nicely done and tugged my heart in all the ways it should, but the rest of the characters and story line could have had more page time. Basically, I wanted to make it back to Vietnam. I get it though, one middle school baseball season is just not long enough!

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredibly beautiful story! "The war changed everyone." Whether you fought or stayed home. The war changed everyone. Wonderful, wonderful story.

[Kimberly Patton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t think the cover accurately describes this book... it’s so much deeper than baseball. The author wove the story together in beautiful ways and I was impressed and occasionally choked up with tears. Adoption is a big theme and that meant a lot to me, but so is family and music and sports and healing from wounds, both physical and emotional. What a powerful book.

[Elizabeth Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this story! This quote about the Vietnam War made me pause, “Maybe the Americans/should have brought baseballs/instead of bombs.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing!!!!!!!!! So moving!!

[Leslie Martinez]

I like the style of writing the book was written in.

[Vikas · Rating 5 out of 5]

All The Broken Pieces is about 12-year old Amerasian Matt Pin, who has an American father who abandoned him and a Vietnamese mother. Matt lives in Vietnam, until his mother urges him to go to America for safety reasons (This story takes place during the Vietnam War). Matt gets a new family and a new life, but can never forget his old one.

This book makes a huge emotional impact when read. Even though it is written in verse it has a serves a plateful of knowledge and emotion. One of the saddest parts of the book is when Matt talks about his brother. Matt's brother is venturing out of the house one day, during bombings, and loses his arms and legs. Matt ends up holding extremely well, even after such a debilitating event.

Even after Matt has gone through so much in Vietnam, he faces another problem in America. Many look down and despise him for all the casualties Vietnam refugees costed families. Over time though, Matt is able to connect to these haters, and make them friends. It's absolutely amazing how Matt makes one of his classmates who absolutely despises him a best friend.

This book is also extremely relatable for me. There are so many times that I meet someone and they seem to absolutely despise me, even though I didn't really do anything to them. In All The Broken Pieces , Matt meets many figures as such. He is very surprised at first that so many people seem to despise him even though he did't do anything wrong. Sometimes we judge people (inclusive of myself) and fail to see their full personality, and instead see a small fragment which we happen to dislike.

An interesting additive to this story of young Matt is that he plays the piano and baseball. The aspect of describing a piano player has a lot of melodic description, which I absolutely love. As an instrument player, I have been in situations where I am surprised at my own music, just like Matt in All The Broken Pieces . As for baseball, Matt is described as being a natural in baseball. Even though this is unlikely in the reality, it is awesome to see another fictional prodigy.

In total All The Broken Pieces is an amazing book which incorporates reality with an emotional storm. The incorporation of piano and baseball just add on to the descriptive factor of this book written in verse. In total, All The Broken Pieces is an amazing read for almost anyone.

[katyjanereads · Rating 5 out of 5]

1. Make no mistake. This book is not just about baseball. DO NOT JUDGE IT BY ITS COVER. It's about the Vietnam War. It's about forgiveness. It's about love. It's about finding your place in a broken world. Putting the broken pieces back together.
2. Books in verse are always so beautiful. This was packed full of imagery, metaphor, and symbolism.
3. My heart broke for Matt. I wanted to shield him from the hate. I wanted to go back in time and stop the war. I wanted to help the war veterans heal.
4. Passages I loved:
"Jeff's fingers are/bigger than mine,/but they know how/to touch each key,/one at a time./They unlock each sound /separately./Jeff doesn't make mistakes./His fingers brush/across the piano keys/like branches/of the tamarind/swaying in the wind./How can such big hands/make such quiet music?"

"Sometimes the words people don't say/are as powerful as the ones they do."

"Music is soothing./Music is not like words./Words are messy./Words spill out/like splattered blood,/oozing in every direction./leaving stains/that won't come out/no matter how hard you scrub./But not music./Even when it's so loud/you can't hear anything else,/music lulls you to sleep./Right now,/I need music."

"Maybe the Americans/should have brought baseballs/instead of bombs."

"You're good, he says,/but music is not simply/playing notes./You have to play/the silence too."

5. Passages that mention "broken pieces":
"My Vietnam/is drenched/in smoke and fog./It has no parks/or playgrounds,/no classrooms/or teachers./It is not/on any map/or in any book./My Vietnam is/only/a pocketful/of broken pieces/I carry/inside me."

"My top drawer/is full of pencils, new,/used, half used, and/all-the-way-to-the-eraser-cap used,/I never get rid of pencils,/I never get rid of anything,/Who knows?/Even a stub/is worth something/If bombs fall here/if something so terrible/ever happens/that I get sent away,/I'll stuff everything/I can fit/into my pockets./Even the broken pieces/are worth something/to me."

Matt's coach made them take a baseball apart to see the insides and how it works.
"I don't think dissecting/a baseball is going to make/me play better or/understand anything better,/but I put all the broken pieces/in my pocket."
6. The blindfold exercise that the coach made the players do was heartfelt. Too bad kids don't learn empathy that easily.

[Nicholas Torrez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book takes place in america after the war between america and vietnam. The main character matt tries to fit in but he constantly gets made fun of for being vietnamese. The book has two conflict person vs self. This is because Matt the main character has to deal with emotional problems and constantly is haunted from the memories of the war. The theme of this book is to be who you are and to accept who you are. In the book Matt has to learn to be okay with himself. He constantly blames himself the stuff that happened in vietnam.

My take on this book is that it really good and emotional. It one of those books that makes you want to keep reading. This is a really good book to read if you're going through a rough patch in your life. The book would help you because The main character Matt is going through a lot. Throughout the whole book hes trying to learn to forgive himself and accept what happened in vietnam. It cause him a lot of pain because he blames himself. He gets bullied for being the only vietnamese kid in the school and on the baseball team. He eventually ends up becoming friends with one of the bullies. The only two things that get him through it is music and baseball.

This book is really good. It so deep and emotional. It just shows how bad life gets This poor kid had to grow up in war and gets given up by his mom and goes to america where he gets bullied. He has to grow up with foster parents. He constantly gets harassed by the same kid. He had to go through so much but still stays strong.

I rate this book 5 out of 5. This is because it is such a good book I cannot stress it enough. I would recommend this book to people who like sad emotional books. If you read this and it sounds interesting you should check it out and see if its for you.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

All the Broken Pieces in a novel written in verse about Matt, a seventh grade boy adopted at age ten from Vietnam. Matt now has a father who sings along to the radio, a mother who brings him snacks while he does his homework, a three year-old brother who follows him, a coach determined to teach his team to work together, and a piano teacher who reminds him to play the silent notes, but Matt is unable to forget his life in Vietnam. He resents his biological, white father from abandoning his Vietnamese mother; therefore, the memories of also deserting his mother and brother prove to him that he does not deserve the unconditional love in his current life. He is sure that his American parents are apt to leave him once they learn about his past, so he works to combat the disappointment by pitching the perfect game, getting straight A’s, refining each new scale on the piano, and cleaning up after his new little brother.

Burg’s novel shows how the Vietnam War affected people in from both countries in devastating ways. Although Matt initially faces some discrimination, veterans and his teammates eventually embrace him as each side finds opportunities to empathize. Matt must learn that love is a stronger motivator than hate or guilt and that the shadows from our past do not need to disappear.

The language is specific and full of memorable comparisons; every word Burg writes serves a purpose. This is a great novel to teach voice and imagery, but, beyond the language, it also provides optimistic messages about love, unity, and compassion.