A review by random_spider
Shine by Candy Gourlay
3.5
**Not yet a settled review**
Shine was good. It's my second book by this author, and even though I knew it couldn't beat Bone Talk, it was still able to entertain me. We follow our young protagonist (with social issues about her condition) took on the internet, and then later meeting his mother's lost twin? (I'm not sure, but she IS family.) This is actually a potent collaboration of mystery and psychological thriller genre, found within a middle-grade novel (which was new for me.)
I treat this book as a weaker version of Pretty Baby (by Mary Kubica), but I don't want to discourage anyone from reading this book because it's pretty decent. I like the Yaya character (Filipino term for housemaid/household helper.) And the connection/mistranslation between disabilities and supernatural beliefs was handled well. It goes to show how harmful beliefs and taboos could be in someone's life, especially in an isolated place where escape isn't easy. The book had problems though, like the themes in the first half of the book was totally abandoned in the later parts like it didn't matter much. Our main protagonist was also transformed into a background character in the third act.
A reliable 7/10 rating. Need fresh rereading for updates and justifications.
Shine was good. It's my second book by this author, and even though I knew it couldn't beat Bone Talk, it was still able to entertain me. We follow our young protagonist (with social issues about her condition) took on the internet, and then later meeting his mother's lost twin? (I'm not sure, but she IS family.) This is actually a potent collaboration of mystery and psychological thriller genre, found within a middle-grade novel (which was new for me.)
I treat this book as a weaker version of Pretty Baby (by Mary Kubica), but I don't want to discourage anyone from reading this book because it's pretty decent. I like the Yaya character (Filipino term for housemaid/household helper.) And the connection/mistranslation between disabilities and supernatural beliefs was handled well. It goes to show how harmful beliefs and taboos could be in someone's life, especially in an isolated place where escape isn't easy. The book had problems though, like the themes in the first half of the book was totally abandoned in the later parts like it didn't matter much. Our main protagonist was also transformed into a background character in the third act.
A reliable 7/10 rating. Need fresh rereading for updates and justifications.