I received an early review copy of SHINE SHINE SHINE from NetGalley, though I've since purchased the book. Weeks after turning the last page, I'm still thinking about the characters and situations in this remarkable debut from Lydia Netzer. I wondered how I would eventually feel about Sunny and Maxon as they began telling their stories in their oddly detached voices, but by the end of the book, I found myself genuinely emotional and desperate to know whether they would be okay, as individuals and as a family. Netzer's style takes the reader all the way to the edge of over-the-top, then draws you gently back to yes. And one of my favorite lines, near the beginning of the book, exemplifies the quirky, but spot-on social commentary the author makes again and again in SHINE SHINE SHINE:
"Norway," echoed the one in the lime green cardigan. She rolled her eyes. "What a joke." She had a hooked nose and small eyes, but from her blowout and makeup, her trim figure and expensive shoes, people still knew she was attractive.
I am not sure this book is for everyone; I'm not sure every reader will "get" the message and grasp the genius storytelling behind SHINE SHINE SHINE, but I honestly can't wait to see what's next from Lydia Netzer.