Shine by Candy Gourlay
Oct. 15th, 2013 11:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
This is not a ghost story. Though there are plenty of ghosts in it.
And it’s not a horror story. Though some people might be horrified.
It’s not a monster story either. Though there is a monster in it and that monster happens to be me.
Monsters are in the eye of the beholder.
Forced to hide herself away from the superstitious community of Mirasol, thirteen-year-old Rosa seeks solace online. There she meets Ansel95, and as their friendship moves from virtual to real, Rosa discovers that she’s not the only one with something to hide …
As Rosa’s social life blossoms, how will she seize the freedom to be who she really is?
From the author of the critically-acclaimed Tall Story, comes a haunting, intense and moving novel which weaves myths and ghosts into a modern setting.
13-year-old Rosa lives on Mirasol, an island where it always rains with her father (her mother died when she was five). Rosa suffers from The Calm, a medical condition that’s left marks around her neck and left her unable to speak. Mirasol’s inhabitants are superstitious about The Calm – deeming sufferers to be “monsters” - so Rosa tends to keep to the house but she uses the internet to make friends, including Ansel95, a boy who shares incredible photos, including those of Mirasol.
As Rosa and Ansel’s friendship grows, Rosa worries that she’ll have to reveal the truth about her condition. But it soon becomes apparent that there are other secrets within her house, secrets that Rosa was never intended to discover …
Candy Gourlay’s second novel is a moving middle grade tale that’s part coming of age story, part ghost story and which revolves around a compelling main character. I completely believed in Rosa, her insecurities and her struggle to come to terms with her mother’s death and I loved the relationship between her, her father, her fussy housekeeper Yaya. Rosa’s story is mixed with chapters from her mother’s point of view, which slowly provide background to the secrets being kept from her. I was thoroughly enjoying all of this until a key revelation in the final fifth, which had a melodramatic feel out of kilter with the subtler storytelling in the rest of the book. This is a shame because there are some beautiful moments in the book and Gourlay’s one of the most interesting voices in children’s fiction right now.
I really believed in the loss Rosa feels for her mother, her insecurities about her condition and the effect it has on others and her need for friendship. I liked the nervousness of her developing friendship with Anselm and the way they bond over photography. Clucky housekeeper Yaya with her superstitions and genuine love for Rosa is sweetly depicted and I believed in Rosa’s grief and anger as she discovers things about her parents. I similarly really enjoyed the parallel storyline narrated by Rosa’s mother with its slow building revelations but the pay-off had a distinct FATAL ATTRACTION feel to it, which just didn’t fit for me with the rest of the book.
Ultimately, this isn’t a perfect book but it’s an interesting mix of mythology and character and I will definitely check out Gourlay’s next book.
The Verdict:
Candy Gourlay’s second novel is a moving middle grade tale that’s part coming of age story, part ghost story and which revolves around a compelling main character. I completely believed in Rosa, her insecurities and her struggle to come to terms with her mother’s death and I loved the relationship between her, her father, her fussy housekeeper Yaya. Rosa’s story is mixed with chapters from her mother’s point of view, which slowly provide background to the secrets being kept from her. I was thoroughly enjoying all of this until a key revelation in the final fifth, which had a melodramatic feel out of kilter with the subtler storytelling in the rest of the book. This is a shame because there are some beautiful moments in the book and Gourlay’s one of the most interesting voices in children’s fiction right now.
And it’s not a horror story. Though some people might be horrified.
It’s not a monster story either. Though there is a monster in it and that monster happens to be me.
Monsters are in the eye of the beholder.
Forced to hide herself away from the superstitious community of Mirasol, thirteen-year-old Rosa seeks solace online. There she meets Ansel95, and as their friendship moves from virtual to real, Rosa discovers that she’s not the only one with something to hide …
As Rosa’s social life blossoms, how will she seize the freedom to be who she really is?
From the author of the critically-acclaimed Tall Story, comes a haunting, intense and moving novel which weaves myths and ghosts into a modern setting.
13-year-old Rosa lives on Mirasol, an island where it always rains with her father (her mother died when she was five). Rosa suffers from The Calm, a medical condition that’s left marks around her neck and left her unable to speak. Mirasol’s inhabitants are superstitious about The Calm – deeming sufferers to be “monsters” - so Rosa tends to keep to the house but she uses the internet to make friends, including Ansel95, a boy who shares incredible photos, including those of Mirasol.
As Rosa and Ansel’s friendship grows, Rosa worries that she’ll have to reveal the truth about her condition. But it soon becomes apparent that there are other secrets within her house, secrets that Rosa was never intended to discover …
Candy Gourlay’s second novel is a moving middle grade tale that’s part coming of age story, part ghost story and which revolves around a compelling main character. I completely believed in Rosa, her insecurities and her struggle to come to terms with her mother’s death and I loved the relationship between her, her father, her fussy housekeeper Yaya. Rosa’s story is mixed with chapters from her mother’s point of view, which slowly provide background to the secrets being kept from her. I was thoroughly enjoying all of this until a key revelation in the final fifth, which had a melodramatic feel out of kilter with the subtler storytelling in the rest of the book. This is a shame because there are some beautiful moments in the book and Gourlay’s one of the most interesting voices in children’s fiction right now.
I really believed in the loss Rosa feels for her mother, her insecurities about her condition and the effect it has on others and her need for friendship. I liked the nervousness of her developing friendship with Anselm and the way they bond over photography. Clucky housekeeper Yaya with her superstitions and genuine love for Rosa is sweetly depicted and I believed in Rosa’s grief and anger as she discovers things about her parents. I similarly really enjoyed the parallel storyline narrated by Rosa’s mother with its slow building revelations but the pay-off had a distinct FATAL ATTRACTION feel to it, which just didn’t fit for me with the rest of the book.
Ultimately, this isn’t a perfect book but it’s an interesting mix of mythology and character and I will definitely check out Gourlay’s next book.
The Verdict:
Candy Gourlay’s second novel is a moving middle grade tale that’s part coming of age story, part ghost story and which revolves around a compelling main character. I completely believed in Rosa, her insecurities and her struggle to come to terms with her mother’s death and I loved the relationship between her, her father, her fussy housekeeper Yaya. Rosa’s story is mixed with chapters from her mother’s point of view, which slowly provide background to the secrets being kept from her. I was thoroughly enjoying all of this until a key revelation in the final fifth, which had a melodramatic feel out of kilter with the subtler storytelling in the rest of the book. This is a shame because there are some beautiful moments in the book and Gourlay’s one of the most interesting voices in children’s fiction right now.
