(59)Shine by Lauren Myracle

While reading the initial pages of Lauren Myracle's new novel, Shine, I thought it might be similar to Cryer's Cross, but the deeper I got into the novel, I realized they were not even remotely similar.

Shine is a mystery set on a different planet, well not really, but might as well be, as a small rural community set in the hills of the South is about as far away from my life as you could possibly get. Sixteen year old Cat was shocked when she heard that her close, childhood friend, Patrick is in a coma after been savagely beaten while at work. Due to the nature of the crime she knows that the local police will make little effort to solve the crime, for Patrick is gay, and she knows that being gay is nearly a crime itself in her community. So Cat decides to take it upon herself to find Patrick's attacker and bring them to justice.

I was really impressed with Shine. Cat, the main character, is a very courageous young woman. Taking on the social injustices like she did in her small little town takes courage. She didn't let the bully's stop her from finding out the truth, no matter how much they scared her.

Lauren Myracle takes on a lot of social issues in her new book, Shine. Poverty, bullying, and acceptance of others is the ones that really "Shine" through. We follow Cat as she searches for answers and learns some hard truths about her town and her friends. I really enjoyed Shine, I think it is one of those books that readers of all ages can learn from.