Review: The Girl In the Park by Mariah Fredericks

Publisher:  Schwartz & Wade/Random House Children's Books

Publication Date:  April 24th, 2012

When Wendy Geller's body is found in Central Park after the night of a rager, newspaper headlines scream,"Death in the Park: Party Girl Found Strangled." But shy Rain, once Wendy's best friend, knows there was more to Wendy than just "party girl." As she struggles to separate the friend she knew from the tangle of gossip and headlines, Rain becomes determined to discover the truth about the murder. Written in a voice at once immediate, riveting, and utterly convincing, Mariah Frederick's mystery brilliantly exposes the cracks in this exclusive New York City world and the teenagers that move within it.

(Courtesy of Goodreads)

The Girl In the Park was one of those books that had me waffling on my feelings about it several times throughout the book.  There were things I loved and there were some problems.  The main character, Rain, is a sympathetic one.  She's a bit of an outcast at her private Manhattan prep school.  She was born with a cleft palate, and although she's long ago had it fixed, she is haunted by the abuse she endured from her peers when she was younger, and just doesn't talk much; she's kind of invisible. When her used-to-be closest friend, Wendy, is brutally murdered after a party one night, Rain starts to remember the things that made her love Wendy in first place, and feels a deep desire to put the pieces together and solve the mystery of her death.  She has intense, if very mixed and confusing feelings, as she rehashes the past few years, their friendship, and their eventual growing apart.  You see, Wendy didn't have the best reputation.  Wendy had always been shunned by her classmates for being Jersey new money trash, but on top of that, she had earned herself a reputation for being a slutty, boyfriend-stealing, party-girl.  When she turned up dead, people acted shocked and saddened, but whispered on the sidelines about how she kind of had it coming.  Rain knew Wendy like nobody else did, and knew there was more to Wendy; knew she was too smart to go into Central Park alone at night...

I enjoyed the parts of this book that had Rain exploring who she is, as a result of her friendship with Wendy.  I enjoyed the complicated mixed feelings she had about Wendy, who very much deserved her reputation, even if she didn't deserve to die.  I enjoyed the emotional journey that Rain underwent.  Rain is a complex character, and surprisingly, so was Wendy, and it was only through Rain's memories of her, that I ever really understood that.  At the beginning, I also thought the mystery was well done.  It certainly had me turning the pages. Where it went wrong for me was when I pinpointed the killer, far too soon.  I don't get mad when I predict the ending, unless it is WAY early in the story, and that is what happened here.  I did think the way Rain worked it all out was well done, but I don't like that I KNEW, without a doubt, the "who".  It was like the author tried too hard to put the focus on the guy she wanted us to think did it, and in doing so, made it glaringly obvious that it was the someone else...  My other complaint about this book is that there was ZERO levity.  Even in books containing serious subject matter, such as this one, there should always be something to break the tension here and there, and this book had nothing.  Because of this, it became a bit tedious.  That said, I still enjoyed this quick, intense read.  It wasn't perfect, but books rarely are.  If you like a fast-paced, intense mystery, give this book a go, just don't expect any huge surprises in the end.

My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ½ 

Grade Level Recommendation:  This book has a bunch of teen drinking, sex, inappropriate relationships, a brutal murder, and some language.  I would say this is appropriate for grades 9 and up (ages 14+).

Review: Diary of a Parent Trainer by Jenny Smith

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: June 12th, 2012

MEET KATIE SUTTON, WORLD AUTHORITY ON HOW TO HANDLE GROWN-UPS.

A must read novel for anyone requiring tips on how to control this bizarre species by (undiscovered) genius Katie Sutton - a fabulous, funny new teenage character who rivals Georgia Nicholson with her wit.

Katie is an expert on operating grown-ups. She knows exactly how to get the best out of them, so she decides to write a guide to help the world's long-suffering teenagers do the same.

But then Katie's mum starts dating the awful Yellow-Tie Man. Suddenly Mum is acting completely out of character and totally out of control! For everyone's sake, Katie needs to use all her expertise to get rid of him - and quick!

(Courtesy of Goodreads)

This book is classed as a YA title, but I don't think it is going to appeal to the majority of YA readers; I would class Diary of a Parent Trainer as a Middle Grade or Middle School read. It was a fun, very cute book, but it was definitely a bit on the juvenile side. I loved the Brit humor and the characters were just great. They were very real and the story, written as a series of diary entries, disguised as a "how to" for dealing with adults, was really funny, insightful, and much deeper than the synopsis and title imply. This book is more of a coming of teenage (it's a bit too young to be a "coming of age" novel) story that deals with not only what it's like to be a middle school aged girl, but one who is dealing with her mother dating someone after the death of her father. It has a really positive message that is masked with humor and wit, which is exactly how this type of book needs to be written if readers are going to get anything from from it. Tweens and teens don't want to be preached to, and this book never comes off that way; readers will absorb the message without ever realizing that it was there, and I LOVE that. Honestly, kids will have such a great time relating to all of the funny, very true, things that the protagonist observes about grown-ups, that they will never catch on that they are learning valuable life lessons at the same time. That said, there are a few mentions of "snogging" (the setting is in England), a spattering of language here and there, and some allusions toward sex (although no outright mentions), so some parents might not want their middle grade child reading this, and that is where I am struggling... Although I liked this book, I can't really say that it has a very wide audience, which is a shame. The average reader over the age of about 13 is going to think this is a kid's book, and they wouldn't be wrong. Because of this, my rating is reflective of what I would think if I were reading it as a person of the audience it is best suited (girls, ages 9-13).  As an adult reader, I would probably give it more like 3 stars.

My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ 

Grade Level Recommendation: As I mentioned above, this is a book best suited for upper middle grades (4th or 5th) through about 7th grade. 

Review: The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman

Publisher: Random House Children's Books

Publication Date: April 10th , 2012

It was like a nightmare, but there was no waking up. When the night began, Nora had two best friends and an embarrassingly storybook one true love. When it ended, she had nothing but blood on her hands and an echoing scream that stopped only when the tranquilizers pierced her veins and left her in the merciful dark. 

But the next morning, it was all still true: Chris was dead. His girlfriend Adriane, Nora’s best friend, was catatonic. And Max, Nora’s sweet, smart, soft-spoken Prince Charming, was gone. He was also—according to the police, according to her parents, according to everyone—a murderer.

Desperate to prove his innocence, Nora follows the trail of blood, no matter where it leads. It ultimately brings her to the ancient streets of Prague, where she is drawn into a dark web of secret societies and shadowy conspirators, all driven by a mad desire to possess something that might not even exist. For buried in a centuries-old manuscript is the secret to ultimate knowledge and communion with the divine; it is said that he who controls the Lumen Dei controls the world. Unbeknownst to her, Nora now holds the crucial key to unlocking its secrets. Her night of blood is just one piece in a puzzle that spans continents and centuries. Solving it may be the only way she can save her own life.

(Courtesy of Goodreads)

Honestly, I've been trying to write this review for almost a week.  This is THAT book.  You know?  The one that is almost impossible to review without spoilers?  This book has so much going on, that every time I try to articulate my reasons for liking it, I give some important spoiler-y detail away.  I am going to do my best...

This book was very, very good.  I enjoyed it as an adult reader, and I have a feeling that although it is a YA book, it is going to require a certain type of YA reader.  Not every YA reader is going to want to invest in the intellectual side of this story, and that is a HUGE part of this book, but those readers who like to THINK, will love this book.  This is not Twilight, people.  It's more like The Da Vinci Code meets A Great and Terrible Beauty.  It is smart, with intelligent, driven characters.  It is full of mysterious twists and plot developments, jumping back and forth between the late 1500's and the present through letters being translated to English from Latin by the protagonist, Nora.  As she translates these letters, she begins to realize that they may be the missing piece to the puzzle; the one that is needed to break the code that will make sense of a 400+ year old book that supposedly holds the key to knowing the mind of God.  This is a secret that people would kill to know or protect, depending on which side they are on...  As Nora and her friends get mixed up in this centuries old dispute, truths come out that are both unbelievable and grotesque, and you never know who is to be trusted.

This book is one hell of a ride, and it will keep you guessing until the very end.  It had its slow parts, but they were well worth it every time the action kicked off again.  This book appears to have been meticulously researched, and it had me in awe of Robin Wasserman and her dedication to getting it right.  If you like a smart, action-packed mystery that will make you question right and wrong on many levels, pick this one up.

My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★  

Grade Level Recommendation:  This is not a book for younger readers.  It's violent, but that isn't even the issue.  This book has too much detail and historical reference for even the most well-read, intelligent Middle School readers.  This book reads like adult lit, and I would recommend it for grades 10 and up (ages 15+).