The Girl in the Park by Mariah Fredericks

                Before I start the review let me apologize and explain.  The last week or so I’ve been feeling very blah.  I’m sure everyone has these times and it’s not just me.  I haven’t been working on my WIP and I’ve been only semi keeping up with blogs I follow and if I do I just can’t find the energy to comment.  For that I am sorry but I’m feeling more like my usual self.  So thanks for sticking with me.  Now onto business.  This was another ARC from Netgalley.com which I just finished last night.  The Girl in the Park, comes out April 24^th, published by Random House Children’s Books.

                The Girl in the Park, is a mystery.  Wendy is dead.  Body found in the park after a party.  She wasn’t the most popular girl in school and had a reputation for being a wild party girl who would do anything.  The press makes her look horrible, victim or not.  Rain though, former good friend, has a hard time accepting this.  She knew Wendy was flawed, they hadn’t been friends in a while but she still remembered the girl who made her feel special and knows she wasn’t all bad.  Either if she was she didn’t deserve what happened to her.   Almost by mistake she sets out to find out who killed her friend.  No one will speak up for Wendy then it’s up for her to try.

                Now I will warn you that I did figure out who did it pretty early on in the book.  I know some of my friends have a problem with things like that.  For me it depends on the story.  In this book I didn’t mind at all.  I knew I was right but reading along finding new evidence that either helped or hurt my suspect was enjoyable.  Because it’s not just a story of finding out who murdered Wendy, but a story about Rain and her coming to terms with herself and the things that have happened in her life.

                I have to say I really like the main characters Rain and Wendy.  Yes, Wendy dies in the beginning.  So how can she be a main character?  Easy, we learn about her life, all the different aspects of her, what she did who she was before she was killed.  I felt like with each passing page I got to know both characters even better.  Now Rain.  I have to say at first this name caught my attention, and I liked it.  Different and cute.  It also played in well with the difficult teasing.  She isn’t perfect, speech problems, cleft pallet…anyone who has been in high school and wasn’t top tier popular will totally feel for her. 

                Rain doesn’t speak much.  Never speaks up for herself given the teasing she’s endured through most of her life, a habit that is hard to break.  A fear.  Still she is drawn to figure this out even if it causes more problems because after all she is really good at listening to people.  Sometimes they just might say something they don’t want anyone to really know.

                Overall I would give this book a solid 4 Stars.  I liked it.  It intrigued me.  I knew who did it but that didn’t take away, for me anyways, from the story.  Again the book comes out April 24^th and if you like a good mystery and self journey check it out.