Shine by Lauren Myracle ISBN: 9780810984172
Published by Amulet Books on May 1, 2011
Genres: Contemporary, LGBTQIA, Mystery
Pages: 359
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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.
Praise for Shine
“Cat eventually uncovers the truth in a cliffhanging climax in which she confronts fear, discovers that love is stronger than hate and truly ‘shines.’ Raw, realistic and compelling.” –Kirkus Reviews“The page-turning mystery and Cat’s inspiring trajectory of self-realization will draw readers in and give them plenty to ponder.” –The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“Dramatic in both content and presentation.” –Los Angeles Times
“Myracle captures well the regret that many feel for things in their past about which they are ashamed. Cat’s reflections on these moments are spot-on.” –School Library Journal
This was a difficult book to read in that it handles homophobia (and child abuse) in a rural NC town. There are a lot of slurs, and though it didn’t feel gratuitous (it’s definitely used to set the insidious hatred atmosphere of a town in decay) it was still painful. It also deals with extreme poverty, sexual abuse, child abandonment, drug abuse, and the combination of all these factors.
The MC, Cat, is a resilient, intelligent young woman who has retreated into herself for the past 3 years due to trauma, utterly cutting herself off from her support network. In a way, this saves her from getting involved with heinous things that drag at several of her friends (and the whole town), but it also reinforces negative self-perception, removes her light from her friends’ lives, and puts her on the path her Aunt Tildy is on (real talk: I wanted to punch Tildy in the soft bits, several times throughout this book).
The mystery itself is well executed, revealing tidbits of truth here and there. Cat is blind-sided as much as the reader, owing to her self-imposed isolation, which further helps us sympathize with her. I’ll admit I didn’t see the end coming (I had half-guessed at part of it, but was off when it came to who nearly killed Patrick. It weaves disparate lives into a single (bleak) tapestry that ensures no single person (not even the MC) is a good person through and through- people are complicated.
On the flip side, the villain of the town is meth, corrupting formerly beloved townspeople in all-too-real ways, a side effect of rampant job loss when the paper mill closes. But Myracle doesn’t go after-school-special with this message, instead revealing the subtle ways in which drug addiction creeps into lives and twists family dynamics. Along with the poverty, there’s also the general lack of education, with kids expected to drop out of high school before graduation, and a sort of hometown pride in being insular. In a nutshell, the community is deeply forked, and there’s very little redemption or hope to be had for anyone in it.
There’s a romance, but I’d classify this as a mystery (it’s what drives the MC’s decisions and actions throughout the book). The romance really only serves the purpose of showing the MC’s healing arc, past her trauma and isolation. It’s definitely stayed with me, and I suspect parts of it will haunt me for awhile. I’d recommend it, but be aware that it’s a downer. There are moments of healing and triumph, but most of this novel is pain and heartbreak and very unfair things happening (mostly to children).
Read for the ClearUrSht readathon.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
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