Book #20: Shine, by Lauren Myracle
Mar. 1st, 2012 09:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
grav_ityConfession: I totally only read this book because of the Shenanigans. It's outside my usual wheelhouse, and it's not something I ever would have selected on my own, but thanks to all the publicity, I was curious enough to see what the book was like.
This book nearly killed me, I'm not going to lie. It was beautifully written and painfully authentic. It hollowed me right out. I predicted the ending by imaging the worst possible outcome, and then that's exactly what happened.
But the thing I did love, the thing I always love, is when a girl finds her power, takes agency, and becomes a force in her own life. Cat is surrounded by people who are not forces in their own lives. And for a long time, three whole years, she doesn't either. Her wake up call isn't pleasant, but it works, and Cat starts to take over. It was awful, but it was so real, and it was a good read.
There are quite a few very spoilery things I could say, about what I loved and why I loved it, but I'm not going to. Like "if i stay", which I also did my best not to spoil, this book really should be experienced.
9/10 for being horrific, realistic, beautiful, and for letting it shine.
This book nearly killed me, I'm not going to lie. It was beautifully written and painfully authentic. It hollowed me right out. I predicted the ending by imaging the worst possible outcome, and then that's exactly what happened.
But the thing I did love, the thing I always love, is when a girl finds her power, takes agency, and becomes a force in her own life. Cat is surrounded by people who are not forces in their own lives. And for a long time, three whole years, she doesn't either. Her wake up call isn't pleasant, but it works, and Cat starts to take over. It was awful, but it was so real, and it was a good read.
There are quite a few very spoilery things I could say, about what I loved and why I loved it, but I'm not going to. Like "if i stay", which I also did my best not to spoil, this book really should be experienced.
9/10 for being horrific, realistic, beautiful, and for letting it shine.
