Book Review: ‘Shine’ by Lauren Myracle

Shine first caught my attention during a National Book Awards controversy a few months ago. When the finalists were being announced, Shine was mistakenly named. But no one realized the mistake right away, since the book is acclaimed to be great. However, after much back-and-forth, the NBA asked author Lauren Myracle to withdraw Shine from the proceedings. Myracle handled the situation well, which in turn caused a backlash toward the NBA and their terrible handling of such a situation. Even though Myracle lost out on the “honor,” Shine got some new publicity and allowed people like me to learn about Shine. I finally got my hands on Shine last week, and I must say that NBA totally missed out on honoring an extraordinary book.

Shine follows a girl named Cat as she investigates the beating of her gay friend, Patrick, who’s lying in a coma. The story is set in a North Carolina meth town. Crystal meth has taken over many residents in Cat’s town, and that may be linked to whoever hurt Patrick. Also, small town sensibilities are also pitted against Patrick because he’s homosexual, which leaves Cat with a ton of suspects and no one to help with her investigation.

Shine is exquisitely written. From the very first page, I was absorbed in Cat’s story. Myracle paints Cat’s town with the right amount of details. Every side character is described very well. They are all fleshed out into real beings. Each had an impact on Cat’s life or story. She also gives Cat an interesting voice. Cat is smart; that’s immediately clear. So as the reader, I trusted everything Cat said. In a way, that heightens the mysterious aspect of the novel. Usually, I start looking for clues on who the culprit is, but because I trusted Cat I sort of figured that she would catch on those clues on her own. So when the twist happens, I was surprised, which was nice to be for once.

As I mentioned, the mystery is really what keeps you reading. It definitely reminded me of the film, Winter’s Bone. It has its differences, but the vibe was the same. While Cat investigates and talks to every person that she suspects may be involved, we learn a little more about the town and Cat herself. I love how the story is told in that fashion because it isn’t just handed out to us. We follow Cat on this journey for justice, and in the beginning, we don’t know much about her life and by the end, we know everything. Shine is such a fulfilling and enjoyable read, which is weird to say because the subject matter is rather gritty. I can’t recommend Shine enough. It’s one of the best books I’ve read all year. And it’s the holiday season, so definitely think about adding it to your book collection.

You can purchase Shine from our TYF Store by clicking here!

Book Info:

Publisher: Amulet Books

Pages: 376

Source: Kindle Edition

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