The Girl in the Park (edition 2012)

Rain and Wendy hadn't been close friends since ninth grade but Rain is still saddened when Wendy is found murdered in Central Park. Wendy had a reputation as a bad girl but Rain knew a softer side of her friend. Rain typically keeps quiet and doesn't speak up but her friend's senseless death pushes her to speak and be heard. The book had an interesting beginning but then it became to formulaic. The author didn't flesh out the characters well and didn't keep the suspense going throughout the book. I think the book would have been more interesting if all the threads of the mystery didn't come together so neatly ( )

I read this in a few hours. It was definitely a page turner.

I read this in a few hours. It was definitely a page turner.

This book was intense, and had a more bittersweet ending than my usual preferred happy one, but I really liked it in the end. It explores friendship and belonging, betrayal and murder, all in the setting of an exclusive high school in New York City. Rain and Wendy, both on the fringes of the popular crowd at school, used to be friends--once. Times have changed, though, and they've turned into the kind of acquaintances who might only exchange a few words at a party or in the halls at school. The morning after one of those parties, Wendy is discovered in Central Park, murdered. Rain, for reasons even she isn't clear about for much of the book, feels compelled to uncover the truth of her murder.

Mariah Fredericks really wrote a page turner with this one! I, along with Rain, kept taking her cleverly disguised wrong plot turns--and though I did pick up on an early clue that Rain missed, I didn't quite understand the motivation until later on(and was actually relieved to be proven right on the whodunit part, because it solved the one rather big part of the story that I was extremely uncomfortable with). Due to certain aspects of the story, I'd say this is definitely more of a high school on up story, but well worth the read. I'll be looking for more from this author for sure. ( )

Main character Rain tries to stay quiet and avoid notice. She has a cleft palate that still affects her speech patterns, despite a lot of speech therapy. This definitely makes her stand out among the YA books I've read, reminding me most of Wonder by R. J. Palacio, which is amazing by the way. Both main characters are freaks because of deformities they were born with, but both are also really great people. From reading Auggie's viewpoint in Wonder and Rain's in The Girl in the Park, it's so obvious how smart they are and how much they have to offer.

Rain's a really nice person. She's the kind of girl who will help someone out just because they're in pain. Even if that person is the most popular girl in school and has never been kind to her, Rain will listen to her and comfort her when she's down, because that's what she does. This is how she befriends Wendy, a transfer student. Watching Wendy, Rain sees someone who wants so desperately to be popular that she stands no chance of achieving her goal. Rain offers her advice and tries to be friends, even though they are completely different.

One thing that did bother me was something that just was not believable, namely that the school sent out a message saying that students who did not feel up to coming the day after Wendy's death would not be marked absent. No real school would do this. Why? Because EVERY SINGLE STUDENT would suddenly feel the strange need to mourn for Wendy, whether they knew her or not, liked her or not. What schools do, and I have experienced this, is still have the exact same attendance policy, but make the guidance counselors extra available for people to talk to if they're sad. Seriously, if a school is going to make attendance optional that day, they might as well just close altogether, because that's how many kids would show up. Does this matter at all with regards to the plot? No.

Death is really awkward, especially with the advent of all of this web interconnectivity. The Girl in the Park does a pretty good job of highlighting this fact, although I don't imagine that's something all readers are going to take away from it. Wendy wasn't even very well-liked, but, in death, suddenly she's missed and fascinating and everyone's sad, even though many of them probably wished she would leave the school, if not the living world. Kids go to right on her facebook wall about their condolences and how awesome she was, though they may never have thought of it and though Wendy cannot actually read these messages. Whenever someone I know dies, which thankfully is not often, this same sort of furor erupts. There's this desire to be closest to the tragedy, to garner attention because of it, which I'm seriously creeped out by and do not approve of. Was grief always so public?

The Girl in the Park reminds me a lot of Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, although the issues they are dealing with are not exactly the same. They do, however, share themes of popularity and being afraid to speak up. Rain's distance from others, although certainly not as extreme, is also a commonality between the two. I recommend this book to readers who enjoy the depressingly honest YA books by authors like Anderson and Bick. ( )

Originally posted on Little Book Owl

The Girl in the Park was not an overly complex story, but the mystery was not easily predictable for me and managed to keep me guessing as it unfolded. My assumptions for who Wendy's killer was, were proved very wrong.

The beginning was pretty slow. It took a few chapters to really get into what the story was actually about and start delving into the mystery. There was just way too much backstory right at the start. It did eventually pick up a few chapters in a got really into the mystery around the middle of the book. Towards the end, I found my heart racing as the truth is revealed and I was anxious to see how things panned out. That being said, I was expecting a much more dramatic scene when the killer is confronted.

Rain was a very unique and interesting main character. She has a cleft pallet and as a result is understandable shy and insecure. She avoided a of human interaction with her judgmental and teasing peers. There is some character development as the story progresses. She is very determined and starts coming out of her shell and standing up for her deceased friend.

All of the characters were very believable and pretty well drawn out, but unfortunately I felt very disconnected from them all, and even Rain. ( )

This one was hard for me to love. I did like the mystery aspects and found most of the characters were easy to feel sympathetic for. The main character annoyed me because she couldn't seem to figure out that Wendy was using her, and may not have been a true friend. It was also hard for me to suspend belief that a teenager could figure out who a murdered was while the cops blamed the wrong person.

*My original review was submitted to bookdivas.com which was kind enough to provide this book for me to review. It can be seen at bookdivas.com. ( )

I am not going to lie.... the cover of the book gives me chills. The book sat on my bookshelf for a really long time because I could not get past the cover. Many of you know that I am a sucker for covers. Sometimes, when I see a cover that just doesn't spark my interest I will by pass it and not even give it a chance. I know that I should not do this. You know, "never judge a book by its cover...blah blah blah..." But I can't get past them. :( And this book was a victim to this very reason. And I should have listened to all of you that told me in the past hey....don't judge a book by its cover.....

This book was beyond good. I started writing this review about a week and half ago but I could not find the words to express this story. The story is more then a few hundred pages in between two covers. It is a heart felt story that makes you appreciate every single one of your friends. It makes you want to reach out to those long lost friends that have drifted away and try to make your friendship work because you don't know when you will be able to talk to them again. I personally have never read a book that made me feel that way before. It definitely makes you think, what would you say if you never saw that friend again???

Rain has this one friend who is always there. She has been friends with her since forever and they are drifting apart. But she is trying her hardest to still be friends with her. See she doesn't always understand the decisions that she has made. But sometimes you just have to just be there for moral support. Well when they go to party with their classmates, Rain leaves Wendy at the party because Wendy claimed she was fine. Well now it is the next day and Wendy's body was found in Central Park.....dead. I don't know how I would ever recover from this. It would take a really strong person, and I just don't know if I am that strong.

This book showed how such a young girl takes the heartache and how she tries to deal with it. It was more then a page turner. It made you want more. It made you want everything to be okay for Rain, for her to be in peace with what happened. The author did something that not many author can do. She made you feel sorry for the characters. Mariah did an amazing job! I will read anything that she ever writes because she is truly a great author! And I could not believe when I heard that the author got the inspiration for this book by seeing a news story about an actual girl being found in Central Park. That is just heart breaking.

There were two main reasons why I really liked this book. The mystery was definitely the first thing about the book that drew me in. I love love LOVE a good mystery that delivers. That is realistic. The Girl in the Park definitely has this. Throughout the whole book I found myself nodding my head in agreement whenever Rain suspected somebody. By the end of the end of book, I found myself going Ah-ha! So THAT'S who did it!, because I honestly didn't know.
The other aspect was the story behind the mystery: Rain's friendship with Wendy (the dead girl). Although I would have loved to have learned more about what exactly Wendy did that made Rain go through such a drastic change, I could see how Rain changed because of her. I love seeing Rain continue to solve the mystery despite how scared she was.
This a definitely a novel you should pick up. 4 stars! ( )

3.5 of 5 stars.

When Wendy Geller's body is discovered in Central Park, the newspapers dub her "Party Girl" and the rumors about Wendy's personal life start flying. Her former best friend, Rain, has lived her life by the motto "listen, don't speak." But when it becomes apparent that there's more to Wendy's death than the papers - and her classmates - are letting on, Rain realizes that it's time she stood up and let her voice be heard.

I am a big fan of the well-written mystery, and that's exactly what this was. From the start, I was engrossed in the story, desperate, like Rain, to discover the truth about what happened to Wendy. I also found myself drawn to Rain herself; she is a very real, flawed character, and she was really wonderfully drawn. Rain was born with a cleft palate, and as such, had to undergo years of speech therapy. She doesn't like to talk, because, during those times when she was taking speech, she was ridiculed by her rich classmates, and still feels that lingering sense of, "I'm going to say this wrong," every time she goes to open her mouth. But she loved Wendy, and can't stand to let the version of her that's being painted in the papers and news stories be the only side of her people see. Rain becomes determined to figure out exactly what happened the night Wendy died, and I really appreciated her unyielding search for the answers.

As for the mystery itself, it had enough twists and turns that it kept me thoroughly engrossed; I was finished with this book in two sittings. I liked how Rain kept discovering new information, and how her gift for listening to others helps her figure things out. As someone who's quiet herself, I liked that the main character of this book wasn't out there and in your face. She was very deliberate in the way she went about gathering information, and while she ends up making mistakes, she does her best to correct them and try to undo the things she's gotten wrong. I just really enjoyed Rain a lot.

The reason I took a star and a half off, however, was the way the book itself was written. While the characters and plot were fully fleshed out, the writing was a bit clunky in places, particularly in the sentence structure. The author used a lot of interjections in the sentence, which made everything kind of jerky and not run as smoothly as I would have liked. Also, there are no contractions used in this book, which really threw me off. I mean, we all speak with contractions all the time - they help shorten sentences and make them flow more easily. Without them, the sentences just didn't move as fluidly as I would have liked, and it made me think, more than once, "why didn't she just say 'I'm' or 'hadn't', etc," which pulled me out of the narrative. It was disruptive enough that I had to mark off for it. I know this is a style thing, and it's the author's preference, and everyone is allowed to write the way they want to. But for me, personally, it just really didn't work.

The Girl in the Park is a really great read, nonetheless. The mystery is solid, the characters well constructed, and the story itself quite satisfying. I would definitely recommend it.

An e-galley was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Bestselling author Mariah Fredericks is known for writing perceptive novels about teens’ struggles with peer pressure. Her adult characters are reputed to be as believable as her teen characters. When I got the opportunity to read an advance readers’ copy (ARC) of her newest novel, The Girl in the Park, I couldn’t resist. This murder mystery set in the party world of privileged Manhattan teens definitely sounded intriguing to me. Although it’s a YA novel, I believe it has enough depth to appeal to mystery-loving adults as well. Read the rest of my review at http://popcornreads.com/?p=3692 ( )

This post was republished to RaeLynn Writes! at 1:01:49 PM 4/8/2012
The Girl in the Park Book Report

The Girl in the Park
Author: Mariah Fredericks
Genre: YA Mystery
Pub Date: April 24, 2012
Rating: PG-13 (partying, underage drinking, strong undercurrent of sex)
Coffee Beans: 4/5
Favorite Line: “The sound of her crying is like vomit; you can tell it hurts to let it out.” (pg 56, Nook);”Now the whole rotten memory comes back in a rush like vomit.” (pg 75, Nook);
Spoilers: Yes, a little about a subplot
Disclaimer: I received this ARC free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for this honest review

Publisher’s Summary:

When Wendy Geller's body is found in Central Park after the night of a rager, newspaper headlines scream, "Death in the Park: Party Girl Found Strangled." But shy Rain, once Wendy's best friend, knows there was more to Wendy than just "party girl." As she struggles to separate the friend she knew from the tangle of gossip and headlines, Rain becomes determined to discover the truth about the murder. Written in a voice at once immediate, riveting, and utterly convincing, Mariah Frederick's mystery brilliantly exposes the cracks in this exclusive New York City world and the teenagers that move within it.

I immediately connected with this book for a number of reasons. Two of them being the voice it was written in and the fact that it reminded me of The Sky is Everywhere, and I absolutely love that book. So well written and interesting, this novel pulled me along at a speed that had me finishing the book in only a day and a half. Now, let’s get down to the specifics, shall we?

What I liked:

• The cover’s pretty stinkin’ sweet. Come on, admit it. Uber mysterious and creepy. Perfect for a book about a murder
• It reminded me of Jandy Nelson’s The Sky is Everywhere, but not as deep and aching—and with a murder—but still about dealing with the loss of someone you loved and finding out they weren’t who you thought they were
• I loved how the plot kept me guessing who the killer was. By page 100, I was certain I knew who the killer was. Then, at least two other times I thought I knew who the killer was
• At first, the writing was a little scattered and abstract with all the breaks and scene shifts and flashbacks. I had to go back a few times and re-read a line or paragraph to understand what was going on, but once I got the flow of it, it was well executed and perfect.
• Lots of good lines in the writing. Good subtleties picked up on to give that extra bit of detail to the writing
• Overall the characters were pretty well-rounded. I didn’t get that deep of an understanding for any one character, except for Rain, but I knew them well enough to feel connected with them in the story

What I didn’t like:

• When Fredericks reveals the murderer, it was sort of anticlimactic for me. I was expecting them to be a little dangerous or violent when Rain figured it out. Instead, they sort of just cried about it. Not entirely believable for someone who’s life is officially over
• Rain’s mom. We don’t see much of her, which is typical of a YA novel, but when she was on stage, I wasn’t impressed. We don’t get the impression that she’s a “phone in” mom or a deadbeat. She’s a famous opera singer and they’re pretty well off. Anyway, the first time I got to be unimpressed by her is the very first page when Rain tells us she’d been at a party the night before and her mom was waking her up early and she was irritated by it because her mom knew she’d been out partying the night before and had gotten home late. The second time (SPOILER ALERT!! IT’S FOR A SUBPLOT, BUT STILL, IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW AHEAD OF TIME, DON’T READ THIS NEXT PART!), was when her mom asked if Rain liked the teacher that walked her home and says the teacher likes her back. Instead of protecting her daughter from a potentially harmful situation, she comments that Rain should stay away BECAUSE HE’S MARRIED. Not because it’s wildly inappropriate (like any parent should say) but because she doesn’t want her SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER TO GET IN THE MIDDLE OF A MARRIAGE. I’m sorry for those of you who don’t agree (and that’s fine), but that’s the ENTIRELY wrong message to be sending to teens. On so many levels.

Okay, overall, I liked this book. It was well-written, had a compelling storyline that kept me turning the page and a main character with a great voice. Pick it up and see how you feel about it.

Happy reading, my friends! http://RaeLynnFry.Blogspot.com ( )

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. After reading the synopsis, I thought I was going to read a predictable mystery, but that’s not what I got at all.
The story is much deeper than I expected, and isn’t just about the disappearance/murder of a spoiled rich girl. In fact, Wendy wasn’t wealthy at all. While almost every kid at this posh school has a prominent, wealthy parent or two, Wendy comes to the school a total outsider being the daughter of a pool cleaner, her education paid for by her grandparents. She tries desperately to fit in and befriend the popular kids to no avail.

Quiet and shy Rain narrates the story. She knows all too well what it is like to be the outsider. She was born with a cleft pallet and has struggled with a speech impediment most of her life. She befriends Wendy and they remain close for a while until Wendy takes it upon herself to get back at the spoiled rich bitches who shun her by sleeping with their boyfriends.

Rain and Wendy eventually grow apart when Wendy’s antics begin to weigh on Rain, but when Wendy is found dead in Central Park after a party, the media portrays her as a slutty party girl that was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s then that Rain takes it upon herself to set the record straight and find out what really happened to Wendy.

While the mystery surrounding Wendy’s murder is interesting, I was more interested in the character study. Ms. Fredericks really gets to the heart of her characters, and develops them into more than just mere caricatures of your standard high school cliques.

Ms. Fredericks writing style is great and she unravels the mystery at a perfect pace. Rain is a strong, reliable narrator and I really liked her. The mystery is a good one and I didn’t guess the true murderer as early as I usually do in this type of book, which made it even more appealing to me. This one is definitely recommended to anyone looking for a good mystery. ( )

Before I started this book, I wasn’t sure what to expect. If it was just going to be another mystery book where you already know what’s going to happen a third of the way in, or if it was going to have surprises. It started off like-able but ended amazing. Rain was down to earth and very likeable. Throughout the book, you were rooting for her to find the truth and face her fears. You also got to learn more about Wendy Geller, what she was actually like and what kind of secrets she had after her and Rain stopped being friends. This book kept me guessing until the end because what I thought I knew was going to happen every time was blown away by some new secret Rain finds as she digs deeper for the truth. The end scene was very powerful and actually quite fitting. Overall, I highly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone.

I usually don’t read books like Girl in the Park, but I reluctantly stared reading it anyway. I won’t say it was amazing however it held my attention. To me a good book is one that makes you feel connected to the main character, and Girl in the Park did that. I felt kindred to Rain and Wendy. In school I felt like Rain but I had embarrassing episodes of trying to be like Wendy. I really understood the two girls and felt at times like I was telling the story. The book was well written and I will definitely be passing it on. My only negative feedback would be that the ending was a little predictable and I got mad at Rain for not seeing it. Although, now that I think about it she probably suspected all along but didn’t want to admit it. ( )

The first word that came to mind when I finished this book was "wow." In the span of a little over 200 pages, Mariah Fredericks captivated me and sent her message home. The Girl in the Park reminds me of the saying that goes along the lines of "it can be any of us." Wendy is the party girl, but she is also the one who wants to be loved, the one who had a nice best friend, the one who made the wrong decisions and placed her trust in the wrong people.

I love how the flashbacks develop the context surrounding the situation. While they show us how Rain can't stop thinking about Wendy after hearing about Wendy's murder, they also tell us more about Rain and Wendy, their friendship, and how they drifted apart. It makes us all the more curious about the circumstances surrounding Wendy's murder.

Rain, the nice former best friend, is an easily relatable narrator. Like Wendy, she also wants to be loved. Unlike Wendy, she listens and observes. She doesn't try to be someone that she isn't. And when people start saying mean things about Wendy after Wendy's murder, Rain is the one who tries to find out what really happens because she is one of the few who knows what Wendy was actually like. Through her, we get a better understanding of who Wendy Geller is and about human nature in general.

The Girl in the Park is a quick read and one that I am glad to have read during the day. If you like dark mysteries, go ahead and read it in the dark. If not, you should still read this, but read it when you're safe, locked up, and the sun is shining. ( )

A prestigious school near Central Park, the students are wealthy, well connected, yet one of them is found dead in the park and another student arrested for the murder. The new portrays these student as having everything, so why did this happen? Frederick's does a wonderful job portraying the teenage years, that regardless of status in life, there are still outsiders, insecurities and students who want nothing more than to fit in. This is a novel of jealousies, how one person can show a different face to many different people as they try to traverse their teenage years. About friendships and what it means to be a friend. This is a very suspenseful read that will appeal to adults as well as older teens. ARC from NetGalley. ( )