ShineBy Lauren Myracle
May 2011
Netgalley
Summary: When her best friend Patrick falls victim to a hate crime, Cat starts her own investigation. Living in a tight knit southern community means that everyone is close, but in the case of violence, Cat is learning they protect their own and don’t appreciate her sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong. Her investigation leads her to learn shocking secrets about those closest to her, secrets that lead her closer and closer to Patrick’s attacker and to danger.
Review: Shine tackles some serious and not often touched on topics including homophobia, hate crimes, poverty, abuse and drugs. While the novel is gritty and honest in how it handles these darker issues, the story has a much softer side. Cat is a compelling character as she comes out of her own brokenness for the sake of Patrick and learns to let people back into her life and to forgive. There was a lot of suspense and I think YA readers familiar with the more adult genre of mystery will really find something to love in this novel. Shine does have a little something for everyone. The writing is very mature and the author often went on flashback tangents that made the pacing a little uneven. However, I think it was an enjoyable novel; one that I hope is not overlooked in favour of more typical blockbuster books.
Also by Lauren Myracle: Kissing Kate, Peace, Love and Baby Ducks, ttyl and Bliss
Author website: http://www.laurenmyracle.com/
Rating:
Writing: 3/4
Characters: 4/4
Plot: 3.5/4
Originality: 3.5/4
Popularity: 2.5/4
Cover Art: 2/4
Grade Level Interest: S
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5 comments:
I've been wanting to read this book.
I'm not sure I want to read this one, simply because sometimes I can't really handle tougher stories. I have been reading some less "happy ending" type books lately, though, so maybe I will check it out. Glad you enjoyed it.
This looks ok, but I'm a little hesitant to read it. One of my friends did, and she said it was hard to read. I think I'll pick it up eventually though.
There is a lot of weight to this novel, but the characters are really sweet. It's worth reading and I've read a lot worse :)
Shine sounds intense! I like books that have an edge to them; thanks for bringing this one to my attention.
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