Tuesday, March 20, 2012

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 24th, 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 24th and if you like a good mystery and self journey check it out.

8 comments:

  1. Great review - this sounds like just my sort of book! I love murder mysteries (trying to write one myself) and the characters sound really interesting.

    thanks for posting this :)

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    1. Hey Amy,

      Thanks! Oh I love a good mystery. Or just a good book ;) I wish you the best of luck with your own book, my WIP (not a mystery) is kicking my butt at the moment.

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  2. I hadn't heard of this book until now. It sounds really good! Thanks for reviewing it for us :D

    P.S. I think a lot of people have been absent from the blogs lately, so don't feel bad.

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    1. It comes out next month. I love to read and this is how I tell people about the books to get them to check it out.

      Glad to know...well not for everyone being away but glad I'm not the only one.

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  3. Thanks for letting me know about this one. I added it to my "to-read" list.

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    1. Hey Yael,

      Yes my TBR list is always ever growing.

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  4. Great review. I love books that have scandal, and this one certainly had that. This was such a good story, it is too bad that I was also able to figure out the end.
    - FABR Steph

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    1. Yes scandal always makes things juicy. True, but for me it didn't take away from the story. Haha if it did I'd be in trouble since I figure out about 85% of all books and movies.

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