Wednesday, November 9, 2011

The Girl In The Park - Mariah Fredericks

The Girl in the Park

The Girl In The Park by Mariah Fredericks
224 pages 
Expected publication: April 24th 2012 by Random House Children's Books


*This is a Net Galley review book. I received no compensation for the review. The opinions expressed are my own.* 

When Wendy Geller's body is found in Central Park after the night of 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. Written in a voice at once immediate, riveting, and utterly convincing, Mariah Fredericks' mystery brilliantly exposes the cracks in this exclusive New York City world and the teenagers that move within it.


I chose to review this book because it reminded me of a chilling true story of a young woman's body being found in Central Park. The true story was haunting.  Mariah Fredericks has written a fictional story that is equally haunting. I could not put this book down. 
Wendy is the girl who will do anything to be popular. She will, (and does), pay any price to have it appear that somebody cares about her. The truly sad thing about this, is the fact that there are so many girls in real life like her. 
Reading this book took me back to my high school days. I remembered kids who were as needy as Wendy. I remember the kids who were so cruel that they bullied everyone they could to make themselves look better. I remember the kids caught in between the two - those who chose sides and those who didn't.  I would love to say things have changed for the better after so many years have gone by. Unfortunately, they have not changed all that much as evidenced by this book, all the cyber-bullying and just plain bullying we read about everyday. I could easily relate to Rain, Wendy and the rest of the students because they represented kids I went to school with. That they represent kids in high school today I have no doubt. 
The Girl in the Park will haunt you. It is chilling in the way that "friends" will turn on each other in a heartbeat and it is equally chilling in the silence that can hide bullying. I do not want to give away the ending to this book so I am not going to delve too much into what happens. It is very disturbing and I would call it a must read. Actually I would call it, "a must read with teens I care about and discuss it with them book."  It is a book not easily read and forgotten. I give this book 5 stars.


Mariah has written several other books:


Crunch Time  The True Meaning of Cleavage Head Games Love (In the Cards, #1) Fame (In the Cards, #2) Life (In the Cards, #3) The Smart Girl's Guide to Tarot

I know I am going to be checking out all these books. Mariah is a wonderful  YA writer who reminds me of reading Judy Blume when I was young. 


More information on Mariah Fredericks can be found on her website: http://www.mariahfredericks.com/

On Good Reads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/259431.Mariah_Fredericks

Comments Always Welcome!

1 comment:

LisaILJ said...

I just finished this one myself. I didn't love it as much as you did, but I agree in that I think there are things that are going to stick with me from it.

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