Young Cat is devastated when her friend Patrick is beaten nearly to death, the apparent victim of a hate crime (Patrick is gay). As local authorities sit on their hands and look the other way, Cat resolves to solve the mystery festering like a wound in the heart of her close-knit Appalachian community. As she digs deeper, she uncovers painful secrets not just within herself, but those closest to her.
Basically a murder mystery sans murder, "Shine" is a compelling whodunit in a classic tradition, while drawing its own conclusions and positing a strong authorial voice in Lauren Myracle. Cat and her classmates have a depth that is refreshing for a YA novel, and Myracle paints a picture of a community smothered by grief and hopelessness, the specter of meth hanging always just behind the action.
Recalling the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, "Shine" is a novel that has been a lightning rod for controversy (recalling much of Myracle's work), and which raises some delicate questions about bigotry and complacency. What it is most of all, though, is a gripping and satisfying mystery.
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