Skip to main content

SHINE by Lauren Myracle


copyright date: May 2011
primarily marketed for: young adults (high school)

Shine by Lauren Myracle is one of those books I felt an itch to talk about as soon as I finished reading.  The story is that powerful, the craft that stunning, the characters that compelling.  It is a book that will surely linger in my mind for days to come.

Ever since I took a summer literature class in Southern American Fiction, I have been in love with stories set in the South.  So, I am sure that element drew me further into what is already a captivating story.  Shine begins with a fictitious, yet chilling, newspaper article reporting the brutal beating of sixteen-year-old Patrick Truman, apparently driven by his homosexuality.  From that point on, while Patrick lies comatose in a hospital, the story becomes Cat’s.  Cat used to be one of Patrick’s closest friends, before a traumatic event in her own life caused her to quietly withdraw from all social activity.  It is the attack on Patrick that prompts Cat to end her period of withdrawal and reengage with the world around her. 

However, reengaging with the world means looking in the face of both its beauty and brutality.  So, Cat’s quest to uncover secrets and dangerously break through the small town code of silence forces her to grow up quickly. 

Shine is a coming-of-age story filled with poetic language, deep thoughts, and no easy answers. Although it is rife with harsh language and mature situations, they are handled with just the right balance of shock and grace to tell this story and leave it lingering in your heart and mind.


Lauren Myracle signing my copy of Shine

some of my favorite lines…

“The approach of twilight, along with the insect sounds that heralded it, made me feel alone in a way of separating me from all things human.”
from Shine by Lauren Myracle, page 143 (paperback)

“Dark flecks messed with my vision, because turned out I wasn’t so good with heights.  I didn’t know it till then.  Wasn’t that odd?  All the stuff that went into mind and body and soul, and so much of it left buried unless the right situation came along to unearth it.”
from Shine by Lauren Myracle, page 157 (paperback)

“I hid in the shadows, but hiding had the power to hurt, too.”
from Shine by Lauren Myracle, page 291 (paperback)

Labels:

Comments

  1. Deb DayJuly 5, 2013 at 9:11 AM

    Wasn't this a wonderful book? It stayed with me for a long time.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Linda BJuly 5, 2013 at 10:20 AM

    I loved this book, Christy. How great that you got to meet Lauren Myracle. Thanks for reminding about the story.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tara @ A Teaching LifeJuly 5, 2013 at 9:41 PM

    So, I need to get this book, Christy! I love meeting authors - something so very cool about having a few words, and getting that signature.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

TAKE WHAT YOU CAN CARRY by Kevin C. Pyle

copyright date: March 2012 primarily marketed for: young adults (12 and up) Despite the fact that the teacher in me sees so many lesson possibilities in Kevin C. Pyle’s graphic novel Take What You Can Carry , you should read it simply for the grace of its stories.   The artwork is as striking as the stories it tells.   Using artwork in two different colors and styles, Pyle tells the stories of two teenage boys living years and miles apart.   And yet, he communicates the universality in their experiences.   One boy is a Japanese American forced to move into an internment camp during WWII.   His family struggles to maintain their dignity and sense of peace under unbearable conditions. The other is a rebellious boy with an attitude whose reckless behavior causes him to wind up in trouble with the law.   To make amends, he finds himself completing community service hours in the most unlikely place.   I found my...
1 comment
Read more

THE SEA IN WINTER by Christine Day

  release date: January 5, 2021 primarily marketed for: Middle grades The Sea in Winter  by Christine Day is a gift to its readers. It is a book of quiet strength with much to offer.  Maisie is a ballet dancer who feels most herself when she is at the dance studio. However, at the start of this story, Maisie is coping with a serious knee injury that prevents her from dancing long-term. She misses her friends from dance and struggles to maintain those connections when she is no longer part of the dancing life they shared.  When her mom and stepdad plan a road trip to the Olympic Peninsula to visit sites of familial and cultural significance, Maisie stubbornly overworks her healing knee. She is determined to heal and return to the studio  faster than expected. Although her knee is the only focus of Maisie's wellness journey, it turns out there is more to healing than physical fitness.  Maisie is a quietly compelling character, but I was surprised to find myse...
Post a Comment
Read more

THE GREATEST SUPERPOWER by Alex Sanchez

copyright date: January 1, 2021 primarily marketed for: middle grades The Greatest Superpower  by Alex Sanchez is a gem. I was in a bit of a reading slump until I picked up this book, thanks to NetGalley .  This middle grades book is about comic book loving Jorge who is navigating his parents' divorce and his first crush on a girl. Jorge's parents not only announce they are getting divorced, but his father also reveals to Jorge and his twin brother Cesar that she is transgender and wishes to live as her true self.  Although this announcement is a confusing surprise to Jorge, his love for his father ultimately trumps all. Cesar, however, is angry at their dad and works to prevent Jorge from sharing the truth with his friends.  In the midst of the changes in Jorge's family life, he and his friends are trying to invent a new superhero for a comic book contest. When Jorge blurts out the idea of the superpower to gender-shift, his friends jump on board.  Conversatio...
Post a Comment
Read more