A Million Little Pieces | Teen Ink

A Million Little Pieces

September 30, 2008
By Anonymous

James Frey wakes up on an airplane and everything hurts in his body. He has been a drug and alcohol addict for the past ten years, and is then put into a treatment facility in Minnesota. James wants to kill himself but many people help him overcome obstacles, even his parents who he dislikes. Is James going to be strong and survive his new life?

The main character of A Million Little Pieces is James Frey. He is skinny because he throws up three to four times everyday. He is about 5'8 to 5'9, has pale green eyes, scars, brown hair, and is 23 years old almost 24. James Frey's personality symbolizes how he looks; he is very aggressive and independent. He always has mood swings and is constantly forlorn state of mind.
James Frey is an alcoholic and drug addict; do to this, he is put into a treatment facility. James's physiologist, Joanne, tells him the only chance of survival and to overcome his life threatening addictions is the twelve step method.
I recommend this novel for high school students, as well as ages 20 to 30 because he gives very deep details about the drug he takes and his life in the past. Also he explains his life in the clinic and how he overcomes many obstacles. James Frey gave very good detail; one of my favorite parts was when James got surgery on his two front teeth. First they strap him down in the chair with nylon straps and buckles. He holds two tennis balls in each hand because he can't have any anesthesia to numb him due to the drugs he is currently taking. Then they undergo a duel root canal. He says “the drill is going through the fragment of his left tooth, then to a more fragile part of the bone. It penetrates through and everything goes white and I can't breathe.” He clinches his eyes and bites down and digs his fingernails into the tennis ball so hard that they crack and start to bleed. This quote shows grand detail and gives a good overview of just one brutal experience he encounters. The reason why readers should submerge into A Million Little Pieces is because the book is a million times better than anything I have ever read in the past and was an immense inspiration on my life.



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