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Lauren Myracle

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Shine Hardcover – May 1 2011

by Lauren Myracle (Author)

4.5 88 ratings

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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

AWARD:
WINNER: Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award for young adult fiction
YALSA 2014 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults

Print length

376 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Harry N. Abrams
Publication date

May 1 2011
Grade level

8 and up
Reading age

13 years and up
Dimensions

13.65 x 3.18 x 20.96 cm
ISBN-10

0810984172
ISBN-13

978-0810984172
Lexile measure

680
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Product description

About the Author

Lauren Myracle is the New York Times bestselling author of the Internet Girls trilogy—ttyl, ttfn, and l8r, g8r—as well as Rhymes with Witches, Bliss, and the new Flower Powerseries, among many other books for teens and young adults. She lives in Fort Collins, Colorado, with her family. Visit her online at www.laurenmyracle.com.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harry N. Abrams; 1st edition (May 1 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 376 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0810984172
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0810984172
Item weight ‏ : ‎ 494 g
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.65 x 3.18 x 20.96 cm

Best Sellers Rank: #1,078,267 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,164 in LGBTQ2S+ Fiction for Young Adults
- #1,298 in Coming of Age Fiction for Young Adults
- #1,672 in Mystery & Detective Stories for Young Adults

Customer Reviews:
4.5 88 ratings

About the author

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Lauren Myracle

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Lauren Myracle is the author of many popular books for teens and tweens, including the Upside-Down Magic series, The Wishing Day trilogy, the NYT best-selling Winnie Years series, and many oh-so-many more!). She lives with her family in Fort Collins, Colorado.

P.S. She thinks you're cool. :)

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Top reviews from Canada

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Book Cupid

Heartfelt topic but worth reading

Reviewed in Canada on July 15, 2013

More authors are tackling the subject of bulling these days, but rarely do we see someone take on several difficult topics at once, as Lauren Myracle did with Shine. She turned the spotlight on rape, homophobia, drug addiction, family issues -- and didn't think twice if readers were ready for it.

Cat is not perfect. She pushed Patrick and her friends aside after a terrible incident, and standing up for herself doesn't come easy. Still, she tries to amend her errors by investigating the hate crime. Even though it means investigating her friends.

I was glad we weren't provided with a love story hero. That one guy that would show up and solve Cat's puzzle. Solving this meant coming to terms with her turmoil past. It was a must.

The writing was authentically southern and contained some swear words. Also the hate crime is pretty detailed. But the twist at the end makes all the hard scenes worth reading.

Helpful

TeensReadToo

Courtesy of Teens Read Too

Reviewed in Canada on August 5, 2011

Cat is a loner. Something happened a few years back that made her withdraw and ignore even her best friend, Patrick.

One horrible night, Patrick is attacked at the gas station he works at and left for dead. He's in a coma, and Cat is determined to figure out who is responsible. The police in their backwards town are doing little to solve the crime.

Cat embarks on her quest with many against her seeking the truth. When she is confronted by a college student at the library, things turn even more bizarre. The boy at the library is unknown to her, yet he, too, seems to know Patrick.

SHINE is one of those stories that it's hard to give a review for without giving away most of the plot. So my review is left intentionally vague for that reason. This is a deep mystery with many twists and turns up until the final revelation. It's one of the few stories that I can recall reading where one of the main characters is always present, but says nothing throughout the story...

With SHINE, Ms. Myracle branches out beyond her "Internet girls" genre to take on a story involving cover-ups and hate crimes.

Reviewed by: Jaglvr

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Jenna Detrapani

Not for the feeble hearted

Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2013

Verified Purchase

SHINE is a small town mystery story that touches on the subjects of justice, hate, the danger in seeking the truth and the socioeconomic divisions that occur within a small population, among other topics. It is at times a very upsetting book, but regardless it is one that should be on the reading list of anyone over the age of 16. (The book says ages 14 and up, but I digress. There is reference to sexual violence and lots of talk about drug use/dealing, as well as some strong language.) This is a book that will have you reeling about the violence in hate and the destructive outcomes of stereotyping. It is also a book that will have you turning the pages, eager to find out if justice will be served in the end.

Plot: 9

Shine starts right off with a printed news article describing the hate crime that occurred to, Patrick, former best friend of 16 year old Cat. The story is told from her point of view, and takes right off from this article into her quest to find out the truth – to find out who committed the horrific crime to her friend that, for reasons yet unknown, she had separated herself from some years ago. I cannot say that I “enjoyed” the plot, per say, due to the subject matter, but I appreciated having the privilege to read a well-thought out story on such an emotional subject matter. Cat’s friend was targeted, presumably, because of his sexual preference. Many in this small town have the mentality that being gay is not “Christian”. People even resort to the line: “he got what he deserved”. It’s disturbing, to say the least. But also is the undercurrent that something just ain’t right in this town, and that is when the story throws in the wrench that dominates much of the story.

The only issue that I have with the plot is that, about mid-way through, the subject of drug use takes over the subject of hate and social division that was so prevalent in the first part of the book. While just as equally disturbing a topic as well as one of the driving forces, I feel that this may have down played what I thought was the story’s strength: the small town hate and class division. It is really my only issue with the book, a minor one, since the topic drug use is a major cause of concern for the youth in our society. One can hopefully learn from this book.

Characters: 10

The characters, every one of them from Cat to Beef, Robert, Jason, Tommy, Cat’s brother, Christian, and just about everyone else that made an appearance (there are quite a few characters) – they all felt very real to me. I felt the pains and joys that each of them was experiencing as I read. Living in a small town you may think that you know everyone, even those closest to you, but sometimes it turns out that you really don’t.

Cat, who is somewhat of a recluse living with her own demons at the start of the story, is to be admired for her sudden bravery and adamant determination to seek the truth. Her voice (as well as the voices of all the other characters in the book) was perfect and easy to relate to. Characters said what I thought they should say – did what I believed they would do. Not to say that they were predictable or fit to “small town cliches”, they just seemed to be more like real people rather than characters in a book. It’s almost as if that news article in the beginning was a real news story and the characters were actually in a true crime book and not a work of fiction. All in all, Lauren knows how to bring a voice to each character and make them real.

Setting: 10

Set in a very small town (with a population of about 500) near one of my most favorite places in the U.S. (Asheville, NC) I was able to picture exactly where and what Cat’s world was like. Lauren definitely knows how to describe that Southern small town setting. She uses it to mold and shape each character’s individual personality, motives and economic situation. The kids play down at the local “water hole”, they ride bikes from house to house, they are dealing with poverty, drugs, unemployment, etc. Then there is Cat’s school, which is located in a larger town where the class lines are much more clear than in her home town. You get to see just what the rest of the country thinks of “her type”. Even a trip to the library in the larger town becomes a place of scorn and judgement. As with the characters, Lauren has a way of “keeping it real”.

Pacing: 9

What helps with the pacing of the book is the manner in which Lauren tells her story. The book is broken down into days – from the first Tuesday that Cat decides to start her quest, straight through to the final Tuesday of the story. All this takes place in the span of a few weeks, and only one week is told in great detail. There are chapters, but the separation of days feels more like the true chapter breaks. Each day takes you to a different location in Cat’s quest. Things get messier and the plot thickens as she gets closer to solving the mystery. It’s actually very easy to rip through this book in one straight sitting, but I recommend that you take it slow so that you can really appreciate the themes of the story. The only thing that weighed down the middle part of the book was the focus on the drugs, as I described above when talking about the plot. Otherwise, I cannot complain, it was easy to get through this story without becoming bored or distracted.

Style: 9

The same can be said about Style that was said above about Pacing. The only other item I would like to add is Lauren’s writing in this book is superb. The voices for the character’s (as described above) showcase her skills as a writer. It’s amazing what a change this book is from Lauren’s typical YA fare. I took a point off for the language, which, which realistic, is something I just don’t like to see much of in YA fiction. My prudish mommy tendencies are showing. And that ending! Talk about suspenseful.

To lay it straight, Shine is not a book for the feeble heart, nor for those who have strong convictions against homosexuality or teen drug use, unless you are open and willing to read a realistic story on those topics for more insight. I appreciate a story that stirs the soul and makes you think about tough topics. As far as that type of story goes, SHINE excels. I hope Lauren continues to write stories such as this.

One person found this helpful

G. Whalley

Should have won an award

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 7, 2012

Verified Purchase

I bought this book in the wake of the National Book Awards mix-up, and loved it. A difficult subject is dealt with sensitively and the character's flaws are well-written. It would have been easy I think to have made this a very moral and preachy tale but Myracle avoids this slightly saccharine approach opting instead for a credible and sometimes unpleasant narrative on man's inhumanity to man. A book which manages to include sexual assault, small-town bigotry, homophobia and rampant drug abuse without resorting to out and out gore and has meaningful characters is a great achievement.

Karen S D Robinson

I loved 90% of this book, but not the ending

Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2011

Verified Purchase

Lauren Myracle is a local author, and I was vaguely aware of her text-message novels, like TTFN and TTYL, but I hadn't read them. I hadn't heard of her latest book, "Shine", until my sister brought my attention to the brou-ha-ha over the way Myracle was un-nominated for the National Book Award. My sister was so indignant that I ordered the book for my kindle and started reading it that morning. I was so hooked that I continued reading on my commute by using the kindle's text-to-speech robot, and finished it that night.

The quality of the writing astonished me. From the first page, the writing style reminded me very much of Harper Lee, and I wasn't surprised when the main character's favorite book turned out to be "To Kill a Mockingbird".

The story takes place in today's world, but it feels like the 1950s, in a rural town in North Carolina, where the people are so poor they don't have cell phones, and have to go to the library in the neighboring city to use the Internet. A gay teenager named Patrick is found badly beaten at a gas station, and tied to a gas pump with a nozzle forced down his throat. As he lingers in a coma, his friend Cat tries to find out whodunnit, since the local police aren't trying very hard.

At first I wasn't sure I would be able to read this, since I broke my heart over Matthew Shepard, who died in the same hospital where my children were born (Lauren Myracle's children were born there too.) But the writing pulled me in, and the suspense drew me along.

I have to say I was disappointed in the ending. I'll discuss it in a spoiler section without revealing whodunnit. But despite that, I loved the book, and will probably buy a hardcopy.

Spoilers:

Patrick's attacker is never brought to justice by society; the attacker dies as a result of his own actions, but Cat decides not to tell anyone. Cat also decides not to tell anyone about the boy who raped her, letting him off when he apologizes. And she never tells anyone about the meth dealers in the town. The unspoken message seems to be don't rock the boat, don't tell the grownups because they won't do anything. I did like that Patrick survives and seems likely to recover from his horrible injuries, though it wasn't entirely believable. It seemed like the author set up a lot of important themes and then never brought them to a satisfying conclusion. And even if she'd decided that justice wouldn't be done, at least she could have acknowledged that, but her moral seemed to be "forgive and forget", and she seemed to follow that moral in real life as well. Patrick's grandmother, Mama Sweetie, would be proud of her. I hope it serves her well, and that her book becomes a best-seller.

4 people found this helpful

YA Litwit

My Favorite Book of 2011!

Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2012

Verified Purchase

I find this so funny because I'm not the Lauren Myracle reader in my house. That would be my daughter, Emma, and she is the main reason I picked this book up at all. You see, Lauren Myracle is one of those authors that writes both MG and YA novels, and not all of her books are appropriate for my (almost) 10 year old (this one is NOT, but I'll get to that later). When Emma found out she had a new book coming out, she begged me to buy it for her and I told her I would read it and let her know, so I guess I can thank her for one of my best reads so far this year, and possibly ever. I won't do that yet though. That would make her only want to read it more, and that would be torture for her over the next 4-5 years...

"So why do you feel the NEED to get the word out?", you ask. Well, for starters, it's a total page turner. It's one of those books that no matter what is going on around you, you cannot put it down. I got so sucked into this book I found myself thinking about it even when I had to put it down for basic human functionalities like going pee, making/eating meals, brushing my teeth, and showering. I actually took it to my six year old daughter's softball game and pretty much missed a nail-biting win to read... It's a mystery that keeps you guessing from the first page, but it is SO much more. Lauren Myracle manages to take a horrible event and make it a cathartic growing experience, not just for the protagonist, but also for the reader. When a book makes you look within yourself, you know it's a winner. The story is so heartbreaking, yet so beautiful. Honestly, it's beautiful cover (which is one that even my husband noticed and commented on) really does a great job capturing the essence of the story. The person responsible for the cover design at Amulet Books must have read this book and connected with it like I did, and so many other people will do. It's a book that will stay with me forever, much like To Kill a Mockingbird and The Outsiders.

This book is about a horrible hate crime against a gay teenage boy, Patrick, in a small backwoods NC mountain town. When I say horrible, it really is just awful. It still brings the taste of bile to my mouth when I think about it. The story isn't really about him though. It's about his childhood best friend, Cat, a 16 year old girl who had been struggling with her own demons for several years. Over the years, she had dropped all of her friends and isolated herself from everyone who loved her. When this happens to Patrick, she knows there's more to it than meets the eye and decides that maybe she needs to take matters into her own hands; find out the truth... Cat is a smart girl and she notices details most people would miss. She notices that her old group of friends, the same group that Patrick continued to be a part of when she dropped him, is acting funny and she feels an inescapable desire to get to the bottom of it. The problem is that everyone in the group either does not want to talk or seems to be scared to. This doesn't deter her. In fact, it just makes the fire in her burn hotter. While on her quest to find the truth and bring justice to Patrick's attackers, she realizes many truths about herself; truths she really doesn't want to face, but must in order to find the facts she needs. She also finds out that her small town harbors serious meth addiction issues and that many of her friends are involved. She is surprised to find out how wrong she is about some of her assumptions, while being dead on about others.

This book is such a detour from the books I'm used to reading by Lauren Myracle. I know her for her Winnie Years and Luv Ya Bunches MG series, and her Internet Girls YA series. All light, funny books, filled with humor and the anguish of being a girl. This book is not light, funny, or humorous. It's gritty, truthful, painful, beautiful, emotional, and raw. I found myself invested in the characters, feeling their pain and helplessness. I felt Cat's desperate wanting to have hope, while second guessing her right to have it. I felt the anguish of the people around her. The ones that helplessly had to stand by, watching those they loved spiraling down into the black hole of meth addiction, and those drowning in the black hole, feeling that meth was the only way to ever feel joy again.

I think that this is one of the rare YA books that adults would also love. In fact, I think that as an adult, I got so much more out of this book than I would have as a teenager. That's not to say that teens should not read this book. There are several important lessons in this book and I think it would make a great discussion book for a HS or college literature class.

My Rating: '5 stars++++

Grade Level Recommendation: This is definitely a high school and up book (I would say ages 15+). I told my daughter she had to wait 5 years. There is graphic description of a violent hate crime against a gay teen, which I'm sure you can only imagine. There is also sexual assault (also rather graphic in it's description if it's read by a younger reader), rampant drug use, drinking, and violence beyond the assaults described before. This is not the type of "what if" violence in dystopian or fantasy fiction, but real violence, much of it domestic, of the ugly and violating sort- the type I wouldn't want a child to read about.

5 people found this helpful

danielle.

One of the best books of 2011

Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2011

Verified Purchase

It is October, 1998. I am close to the end of the first semester of my senior year of college, just a few months away from beginning my student teaching experience and one month away from my 21st birthday. Early in the month, the news is dominated by the story of Matthew Shepard, a boy the same age as me, who has been tortured and left for dead in a field in Laramie, Wyoming. His crime? Being gay. On October 12, Matthew died in a hospital, unable to recover from his injuries. This crime haunted me then and still does today. How is it that human beings can be so cruel to one another? What drives someone to act out so violently just because someone else is different?

Reading the first pages of Lauren Myracle's Shine brought back all these emotions. The book begins with a newspaper clipping, "stunned residents of Black Creek, North Carolina, pray for seventeen-year-old Patrick Truman, beaten and left for dead outside the convenience store where he works." The article goes on to describe the abuse Patrick suffered, clearly the victim of a hate crime. All the emotions I felt in college hearing about Matthew Shepard came back at once. This introductory article would not be the last time this story brought me to tears, Patrick's story is agonizing and, unfortunately, very familiar.

Shine is narrated by Cat, one of Patrick's friends, who struggles with feelings of guilt for not having been a better friend and anger at the abuse he suffered not only the night he was beaten, but daily as he was the victim of school bullies. Unsatisfied with the attention the local police are giving this crime; Cat takes it upon herself to investigate and to bring justice to Patrick, who lies comatose in the hospital.

Myracle is a master story-teller with an uncanny insight into the human experience. None of her characters are stock, none are uncomplicated. Readers will recognize in the characters the complexity of the human experience. In flashback, Cat describes a particularly terrible instance of bullying that took place on the first day of high school. Patrick is pushed into the boy's bathroom and tormented by some of the school jocks. Instead of helping her friend, Cat turns a blind eye, afraid if she stands up for him, she will also become a victim. Those are the kinds of choices humans, whether teenagers or adults, are faced with every day. How many times have you turned a blind eye to something because it was easier than getting involved? We all know what the right thing to do is, but sometimes are unable to speak up for fear of drawing attention to ourselves. Through Cat's journey, readers will be inspired to take a stand and will be forced to evaluate their own actions towards others.

Equal attention is paid by Myracle to creating a cast of supporting characters who are every bit as human and imperfect as Cat. She brings to life the reality of living below the poverty line in the south. The school Cat attends is divided sharply down socio-economic lines. Patrick, as it turns out, is not the only one who has been the victim of bullying. Cat has also experienced torment, though she suffers her victimization silently, afraid of the ramifications of standing up to a rich and powerful family in the town. What would happen if her aunt, with whom she lives, is fired because she speaks up against her boss? Again, Myracle deftly illustrates the painful decisions we are faced with every day.

Beyond her mastery of characterization, Myracle is a master of words, able to paint beautiful or terrifying pictures with her words. Through her brilliant use of imagery, she is able to draw readers into the scene and set the mood. "Patrick's house was a ghost, dust coated the windows, the petunias in the flower boxes bowed their heads, and spiderwebs clotted the eaves of the porch. Once I might have marveled at the webs--how delicate they were, how intricate--but today I saw ghastly silk ropes." These first lines of chapter one paint a beautifully haunting picture and let readers feel the pain Cat is feeling--a house that once was beautiful and full of life is now empty and somber, symbolic of both Cat and Patrick. Myracle is indeed a master wordsmith.

To say Shine haunted me would be an understatement; I struggled to write this review hoping to do justice to the book. The story is both tragic and inspirational and is one that needs to be read. Parents, kids, teachers, everyone needs to read this book--the story is too important not to be heard. After reading Cat's tale, you will see the world differently, you will be different yourself. This may be the most important YA release of 2011.

Review from [mymercurialmusings.com]

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Shine Hardcover – May 1 2011

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