reading notes, entry 8...

*Shine by Lauren Myracle.

Why I read now:

I've wanted to read it ever since Heather recommended it. And she did put it on my happiness project list. :) And it works perfectly for glbt theme month.


Where I got it:

Bought it new. In fact, I wanted it so badly after Heather read it that I couldn't even wait for it to come out in paperback. But yeah, then didn't get around to reading it until now.


Random thoughts:

*Love the cover.

*It begins with a newspaper article that was so horrifying that it made me sick. Literally. Because while fiction, the hate crime described is all too real. A teenage boy, Patrick, is brutally attacked because he is gay. He's now in a coma.

*The sense of place in this book is so amazing, and it feels flawlessly authentic. When an author pulls this off with this much skill, it's impossible not to place myself right into the setting and feel as if I'm somehow part of the story.

*Cat. The story is told from her point of view. And Cat--she feels authentic too. Cat--I understand her all too well. I get the shutting down and withdrawing and keeping it all inside thing that can happen when something horrible happens to you. But poor Cat--now she's blaming herself for what happened to Patrick, telling herself that if she hadn't shut down a couple years ago then she somehow could have prevented what happened to her childhood best friend.

*Just finished. Read the last 200+ pages non-stop. I rarely do that anymore. (Mostly because I rarely have a chunk of free time that long, but also because I've become so distractible in the last couple years.) But this book, I. could. not. put. it. down. And it was more than just a page turner. It was just soooooooo good. Hard though. Really hard. A lot of things in this book hurt.

*I love YA. But I must admit that the stories, or rather the overall setting and feel of the stories, seldom hold a lot of resemblance to my teenage years. (And yes, so of that is undoubtedly just because my teenage years were so long ago. Not that I don't vividly remember them, just that the world changes.) Anyway, The Body of Christopher Creed (another book I loved!) and this book are really the only two I can think of that just completely took me back to my high school days.

*Whew--talk about a cast of flawed characters! Yet again, the word that comes to mind is authentic. And for the most part, that only made me want to comfort, made me root for them all the more.


Bottom line:

I LOVED THIS BOOK. (Thank you, Heather!!!)


Quote:

I knew there were certain sadnesses a person had no choice but to live through, but I put my arm around her anyway. I decided a hug did make a difference, and even if it was the tiniest difference ever, it was better than nothing. (p. 343-344)

Postcard quotes sent:

Chris--2 melancholy

*****
Just wanted to mention that I may be largely absent from the blogging world for a few weeks. Annie might guest post a few more times, as she's reading some interesting books. But I likely won't be posting or even reading blogs much. Nothing wrong, it's just that super busy time of the homeschool year where final quarterly reports are due and the huge task of writing up next year's plans must be done. (Technically next year's plans are not due until the end of the summer, but getting them done right away allows me to start prepping everything now.) Anyway, I know it totally doesn't need said, as we all understand because we all have our busier spurts where we just can't keep up with blog reading, but I wanted to say it anyway--I'll miss you.