Warning: this book contains Serious Issues. You’ve also been warned that there aren’t any angels, zombies, vampires, demons, or changelings. No one has supernatural superhero powers. It isn’t set in the future and there has not been an apocalypse. Still interested? Yes! I loved this. Shine by Lauren Myracle is a realistic, gritty and powerful coming of age story that is raw and emotional but also completely worthwhile.
After Cat’s friend Patrick is brutally assaulted, marked with a gay slur, and left for dead at a gas station in their hometown of Black Creek, NC she decides to figure out who could have done something so horrible. The sheriff is investigating, but seems sure that it was outsiders – just someone passing through. At face value, this book is a mystery. Cat sets out to interview people who were with Patrick the night of the attack to establish a timeline and she tries to determine motive. Patrick was friends with many people in town who were also uncomfortable to some degree with his homosexuality.
But really the heart of this book isn’t so much figuring out who did it, but how the characters come to terms with the resolution. Cat also has to face her own demons in this process. I liked that she wasn’t a superhero, but a girl who got kind of messed up and is really trying to do the right thing. Read more »
"My father, James Witherspoon, is a bigamist" is the shocking opening line of 
Every reader knows that once in a while, you come across a strange word, often from another language. This word may take hold of your imagination because it looks or sounds so weird, or you might be exposed to it over years and years in the most disconnected contexts, until you just have to look it up. Such is the word Bildungsroman. 
Warning – Don't look for these books in the Young Adult section! These are "Adult Books," written for adults. Teens beware!
“An action packed historical novel set on the high seas!” claims the book jacket for 
June is generally recognized as LGBT Pride Month. In honor of this, the