*photo courtesy of Goodreads*
Title:
The Girl in the Park
Author:
Mariah Fredericks
Genre:
Young Adult
Mystery/Social Issues
Publisher:
Random House
Children’s Books
Format:
NetGalley Digital
Galley
Release Date: April 24, 2012
When Wendy Geller’s body is found in Central
Park the night after 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 (Summary courtesy NetGalley).
The Girl in the Park
is a quick, interesting read, pulled directly from today’s headlines. This
could be the story of any girl, anywhere. It is also a story that shows how
gossip, innuendo and assumptions can affect everyone.
Wendy Geller has a reputation as a party girl. She isn’t
well liked at her elite private school, Alcott Academy
Mariah Fredericks manages to write a taut mystery, while
also telling the story of girl that no one seemed to understand. She weaves all
this together with a lesson in how gossip, and everything that goes along with
it, can destroy a life. Fredericks
definitely knows how to tell a story and keep it interesting. I was constantly
trying to guess who the real murderer was. Every time Rain moved on to a new
suspect, I was right there with her, agreeing with every assessment she made
and convincing myself that this time she had to be right. Fredericks is a clever enough writer that you
can’t help but agree with Rain’s thought process. She is also quite effective at keeping the
story moving, rather than going off on unnecessary tangents, which would have
been very easy to do with this story.
I did find there to be a lack of characterization in the
story. Even the main character, Rain, and the dead girl, Wendy, were not
fleshed out well. It was difficult to understand Rain’s motivation in
discovering Wendy’s killer when she had not been friends with Wendy for quite
some time. I really felt that if Fredericks
had spent some additional time allowing the reader to get to know her
characters, those character’s motivations would have been a bit clearer. That’s
not to say that the lack of characterization takes away from the story, I just
like to really get to know the characters in the books I am reading.
Overall, The Girl in
the Park is a good read. It is definitely worth a look, especially if you
are a fan of a good mystery.
My grade for The Girl in the Park by Mariah Fredericks:
My grade for The Girl in the Park by Mariah Fredericks:
I've been really interested in reading this book. Great review! Despite the character flaws, I think I will still check it out as I do love a good mystery!
ReplyDeleteI have this one for review. I thought that the premise sounded interesting and am trying to make room to read it. Thanks for the informative review.
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