Review: Shine by Lauren Myracle

Title: Shine

Author: Lauren Myracle

Published by: Amulet Books

Released: 2011

Summary: A hate crime rocks the small town of Black Creek, North Carolina. A boy is tied up, beaten, and left for dead, sending the town reeling. That boy was Cat's best friend Patrick, and she's determined to find the culprit, but it is complicated because Cat has her own issues to deal with, issues she's let fester for three years, Cat has cut herself out from her friends and her life. By playing detective and solving the crime inflicted on Patrick, Cat hopes to break out of her shell and be the person that she once was. Black Creek holds a lot of secrets though, secrets Cat will have to wade through to get to the truth.

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this book. It was a very quick read with an addictive writing style. There were times in the story where I couldn't stop reading because I had to find out what happened next.

I really liked getting introduced to the town of Black Creek, North Carolina. It is always cool to read a book that's set in the state (or area) that you live. I also liked the closeness of the town. Not saying the town was perfect, it definitely had some problems, but I liked the feeling of community that the town embodied. Everybody knew one another, knew one another's families, and they cared about their town.

I also liked the mystery of the story, wondering who really had done so vicious a crime.

I did kind of question Cat's detective skills. I don't think she made a very good detective. Just when it seemed that her lines of questioning might reveal something, she abandoned it. She was also kind of impulsive, going to visit the creepy drug dealer pedophile just seemed like an exceptionally bad idea, and she went and did it anyway. I also thought she acted a little young for her age. I almost didn't believe she was 16, felt more like 13 or 14.

I really enjoyed reading Shine. It had a great story and enjoyable mystery. I also really enjoyed the fact that it was a stand-alone novel, you don't find too many of those in this day and age. Reading Shine was a great way of  stepping into a small, mountain town and discovering all the love that's in it and all the troubles that plague it.

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3.5/5

Give this one a read!