Shine by Lauren Myracle

I recently finished Shine by Lauren Myracle. Shine is about teenagers living in an intolerant town in the South. In the beginning of the book, the reader is shown an article in a newspaper about a hate crime against a gay boy, who was beaten and left for dead outside of a gas station with a gas pump nozzle shoved down his throat, and a hateful message scrawled across his chest. The protagonist in Shine is a lonely, former friend of the boy,  Patrick. This girl, had shut everyone out of her life, including her family and her best friend. So when Patrick was nearly killed, she felt lonelier than ever.

In Shine, I can't help but notice how different this town is, and the protagonist's school is from mine. For  example, at my school, topics such as gay marriage are openly discussed, and I would say nearly everyone is respectful of  others sexuality. However in the protagonist 's school and community, gay people are treated and talked about like aliens. Such as when the protagonist overheard  two women  gossiping at church about how Patrick shouldn't be in the children's wing of the  hospital because he would try to make  them gay.  I found this odd for a few different reasons. The first being that these women were extremely ignorant, and the second, even if Patrick was a serial killer, HE WAS IN A COMA!!!!!!So compared to my city, and community., this town seems really  ignorant and  perhaps scared. Scared, maybe because there is something that they don't know, and are not used to, which can be  scary for some people. But on the other hand, I find these people, well, stupid. Like I-want-to-smack-you-in-the-face-because-you're-being- so-stupid. But unfortunately I can't because you are in. a book. But that doesn't mean there aren't people like that in the world. So I guess I want to smack those people too.  But you can't go around smacking people in the face, so you just sit on your couch at home and watch them talk about how gay marriage will lead to marriage with animals, and the. You yell at the TV and I''m off topic.

 What I'm trying to say is, Shine is a work of fiction,  but  it isn't unrealistic. It is a  perfect example of all the ignorance and stupidity in our country and in the world. Shine has a plot that pulls you into the book while also making you think about your own community, and comparing it to the one in Shine. I have found that I am very happy to live in a city that is very open, and full of people who just don't care.