Title: Shine by Lauren Myracle
ISBN-13: 978-1419701849
- Pages: 376
- Appearance:
- Summary:
- When her best guy friend falls victim to a vicious hate crime, sixteen-year-old Cat sets out to discover who in her small town did it. Richly atmospheric, this daring mystery mines the secrets of a tightly knit Southern community and examines the strength of will it takes to go against everyone you know in the name of justice.
- Against a backdrop of poverty, clannishness, drugs, and intolerance, Myracle has crafted a harrowing coming-of-age tale couched in a deeply intelligent mystery. Smart, fearless, and compassionate, this is an unforgettable work from a beloved author.
Sooo...has anyone heard of Lauren Myracle? I feel like she has followed me since elementary school with the Winnie Years series all the way to now. I just think her name is so cool, like since when do you find people whose name represents a word. I mean, it's just so special, I think, if you were named Myracle. Bringing it back to this book, the miracle of shining. How everyone has that ability to shine great and reach others through your personality, your background, you. That it is impossible to do without God's help (look below for the quote) This isn't a religious book per say, but it does include stuff having to do with religion because it takes place in a conservative town. That shouldn't put you off, but it is a warning if you are absolutely against that sort of stuff.
Although I liked Myracle's other books, I have to say though, this is her best book that I have read. What happens is that Cat's best friend Patrick is found strung to a gas station fuel pump badly beaten and in a coma. He was openly gay so the locals blamed him for bringing this crime onto himself while the authorities say that it done by an out of town homo-phobe. But Cat doesn't think this is actually the case, and that the perpetrator was a person from the town considering how conservative they are.
Patrick was raised up by his very religious grandmother, Mama Sweetie, who later died resulting in him fending for himself, a vulnerable situation. At first she thinks that it is the group of her brother, Christian's, friends whom she lovingly refers to as the redneck posse. Their leader is Tommy, someone she has never gotten along with as well as the others. Next is Dupree, a known user and involved with a local meth distributor, Wally, and then there's Beef, the one person Cat is actually comfortable with because he has always been the one to stand up for the underdog. Another suspicion is that Cat never knew the boyfriend that Patrick always talked about. She knew that he had one, but she didn't know who he was.
The last night before the crime, she knows that they had been fooling around at Suicide Rock (hehe...) partying, drinking, etc...But then she always comes to a dead end because she can't figure out why and how Patrick ends up being eaten up especially when there was no one else around at that hour.
Patrick was raised up by his very religious grandmother, Mama Sweetie, who later died resulting in him fending for himself, a vulnerable situation. At first she thinks that it is the group of her brother, Christian's, friends whom she lovingly refers to as the redneck posse. Their leader is Tommy, someone she has never gotten along with as well as the others. Next is Dupree, a known user and involved with a local meth distributor, Wally, and then there's Beef, the one person Cat is actually comfortable with because he has always been the one to stand up for the underdog. Another suspicion is that Cat never knew the boyfriend that Patrick always talked about. She knew that he had one, but she didn't know who he was.
The last night before the crime, she knows that they had been fooling around at Suicide Rock (hehe...) partying, drinking, etc...But then she always comes to a dead end because she can't figure out why and how Patrick ends up being eaten up especially when there was no one else around at that hour.
And while this is all happening, one of the leads, lead her to a college dorm where she finds Jason, a college kid she knew was friendly to Patrick. And ends up slowly becoming more friendly with him after a rude first encounter with him...(oooh love :))
It's a happy ending, it made me so happy to know after all this sadness that there was something good at the end of it. I would tell you...but you have to read it first :)
“Knowledge was more powerful than fear. Love was stronger than hate.”
“God loves you even on your blackest days, and He will always, always be there to guide you home. All you have to do is look for the light of His love.”
“I loved everyone who said yes to the world and tried to make it better instead of worse, because so much in the world was ugly- and just about all the ugly parts were due to humans.”
"God will always be there to guide you home. If you look for the light of His love, He will help you cast off darkness so you can shine."
"Yes, that man acted ugly," she told us in plain English. "But throwing more ugliness back at him ain't the answer.”
“God loves you even on your blackest days, and He will always, always be there to guide you home. All you have to do is look for the light of His love.”
“I loved everyone who said yes to the world and tried to make it better instead of worse, because so much in the world was ugly- and just about all the ugly parts were due to humans.”
"God will always be there to guide you home. If you look for the light of His love, He will help you cast off darkness so you can shine."
"Yes, that man acted ugly," she told us in plain English. "But throwing more ugliness back at him ain't the answer.”
4 out of 5 stars:
~Jenn
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