Lauren Myracle

I wanted to be able to back up my belief that it was unnecessary for the National Book Award committee to make Myracle remove herself from consideration after they mistakenly nominated Shine. If the book were somehow terrible, then sure, its inclusion might have hurt the award’s integrity. Except it’s not terrible. It’s the rather remarkable story of a girl trying to find out who committed a hate crime against her former best friend, a gay boy who is left in a coma. But even more than show more the plot, the setting - a tiny, rural, impoverished town in North Carolina - impressed me. Myracle chose to examine a part of America not often seen in fiction. In doing so, she opens the eyes of her young readers, most of whom probably didn’t realize that there are places where meth is readily available, but cell phones, Internet connections, and high school diplomas are not. As for the teenagers who live in that world, a book like Shine shows them that their lives and problems matter. A book like that is worthy of recognition, even if it’s unintentional. show less

After spending six weeks of her summer away from home, working on a hiking trail expansion, Carly returns home to her upper class neighbourhood in Atlanta with a greater desire to be real. But while she struggles with how to be true to herself, she must also deal with the reality that her little sister, Anna, has grown up over the summer and become the definition of hot. Struggling with her ultra religious and conservative high school, crushes on boys, and her complicated relationship with show more her sister makes Carly's attempts to define herself increasingly complicated.

This novel was a fun read while simultaneously dealing with some serious themes. Addressing issues of body image, sisterhood, and identity, Myracle interweaves humour and a compelling narrative to fantastic effect. Carly is an utterly realistic teenager with all of the built in insecurities and the occasional lack of perspective that makes her fascinating to follow. The other characters are equally interesting and well-crafted and are an essential aspect of what makes the novel so enjoyable. But the best element in this novel is its look at sisters and the complicated relationships that exist between them. An excellent read. show less

Lauren Myracle is following the Judy Moody/Stink model here with a new series about the younger brother of Winnie.

Ty is a fairly typical seven year old; he likes to play goofy games, gets into trouble without meaning to, and is having trouble adjusting to a new baby in the house. A series of minor crises lead to him making a very bad decision and he ends up with a serious penguin problem (yes, that's a REAL penguin). Fortunately, his sisters are there to help save the day and he works things show more out with his mom and realizes the new baby isn't so bad.

I'm a bit tired of so many beginning chapter books and middle grade chapter books featuring phobic little boys (yes, Alvin Ho, I'm looking at YOU) that get stressed out over everything. I'm not saying those kids don't exist, but most kids are more interested in reading about kids with a little more balance in their lives (the opposite gender parallel is the class clown or spunky little girl. I am really, really sick of "spunky" little girls). Lauren Myracle does a really good job of keeping Ty a realistic and balanced character. He's nice to the preschoolers and is uncomfortable when the wilder Lexie wants to play guns with rubber bands, but he's also not above chasing the cat with a Dustbuster or doing a little perilous climbing. Ty's feelings about the baby are spot-on, but the author shows a real understanding of kids when Ty gets distracted from his feelings by pretty much whatever else is going on. Although the text is limited, the supporting characters are nicely drawn as well and I loved seeing a "spunky" little girl, Lexie, from an outsiders' perspective. The art is cute, but not too cute and complements the story nicely.

Verdict: I did find the final penguin exhibit a little beyond belief (then again, I've never tried the door handles at the zoo exhibits, so...) and the ending seemed rather abrupt - what happens with the sisters and the penguin? but overall this is a great beginning to a new beginning chapter book series. I'm feeling more enthusiastic about my summer booktalks already!

ISBN: 9780525422648; Published May 2013 by Dutton; ARC provided by publisher at ALA Midwinter 2013; Purchased for the library show less

When her best friend, Patrick falls victim to a hate crime, Cat isn't content to sit back and let their small town sheriff handle the investigation (what little there seems to be), instead, she's going to find the perpetrator.

While the police are sure it's an outsider, someone outside of their tiny town of Black Creek, North Carolina, Cat thinks someone they know did it - and she's determined to find out who.

With Patrick in a coma, Cat will talk to friends she hasn't spoken to in years, show more eavesdrop on everyone she can and, inadvertently, put her self in danger as she tries to find out who beat her friend and left him for dead outside the gas station.


Shine is a fantastic boo that addresses a topic that is much, much to seldom addressed in fiction, much less this well. Myracle manages to write a novel not only about bullying (in its almost severest, cruelest form) but also about homophobia and yet neither topic is forced or done in a way that the book feels like a PSA or that it's pushing an agenda of any kind.

The characters are all complex, richly developed and ones that near any reader would be thrilled to read a novel about even if the main plot point of this novel were completely different. If this were just a novel about Cat and her hometown, about her summer, it would still be good if only for the characters and their complexities.

But it's not just that. It's also a rich story about the interaction between the characters, their flaws, the secrets we all have, the darkness and the quest to to be better and how that all manifests itself.

All of this is mixed with the bits of charm of Cat's Southern upbringing, her aunt's view's on a meal, her garden and the way people from the different towns see each other. Everything, somehow, all pulled into a whodunit of a mystery, too.

Shine is a novel masterfully written about incredibly relevant topics that will leave you wanting to make sure you're not only letting your light shine, but sure other's are able to lets their shine as well. show less