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There are currently 16 member reviews
for Shine Shine Shine
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Lydia M. (Lakeview, Oregon)
Worth the extra effort...
I stumbled and stalled initially...asking myself..:What is going on here?" I am not "getting" this..put the book down, pick it back up..then out of the blue..it became clear..a story with explosive clarity. A first novel by this author takes on a subject written about many times...love. This is a book worth the effort, it explores and reveals love as experienced by a mother and wife in a way I have never read before. I was left with no question of the lengths one will go to find their way to what they call home. In a book that at first seems confusing...clarity is the end result. A must read...I look forward to this authors continued writings...
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Laura G. (Buffalo, NY)
A Book filled with Quirky Characters
Shine, Shine, Shine is a fascinating book filled with the unusual. The author uses description to help endear the reader to each of the quirky characters. It was intriguing the way the chapters went from present day to past, giving the reader explanation as to how things came to be as they are. I found it hard to put down because I wanted to see how it all played out.
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Lori L. (La Porte, IN)
Shine, Shine, Shine
Sunny is a woman I would love to know. On the surface she appears to have it all together, but underneath (her wig) she is just as big a mess as the rest of us. This novel deftly and humorously explores the difference between the face we choose to put on for the world and the richer, lunar landscape of the interior self.
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Elizabeth M. (Syracuse, New York)
Shine Shine Shine by Lydia Netzer
When I started thinking about how to review Shine Shine Shine by Lydia Netzer I was sort of stumped because in many ways, it defies description. This is a love story about a woman whose husband goes into space. But it is also a story about unlikely childhood friends who develop a love based on the fact that they are the only one the other could imagine letting into their difficult lives. It is also the story of the differences between the expectations that mothers have of what will make their children happy and the reality of what does make them happy. And it is also a science fiction story about the first steps towards colonization of the moon and a social commentary on the false fronts that many people feel they need to put up to interact with society. And still I feel like I must be leaving out some important theme.
Although it took me a little while to become emotionally involved in this story of Sunny, a girl who is born bald, and Maxon, a boy who is a genius but has difficulty interacting with humans, once I got hooked into the story I felt both emotionally involved in the characters lives as well as intellectually engaged with some of the larger themes the author was seeking to bring into her story.
The only criticism I would have of this book is that the last couple of chapters feel a bit rushed. After the rest of the book has taken time to slowly create detailed portraits of the characters, the conclusion lacked some authenticity that made it seem a bit disconnected from the rest of the story.
I would recommend this book to people who like unconventional romances, people who are interested in issues surrounding the treatment and experience of Autism spectrum disorders and people who are interested in stories about the connections between mother's and daughters.
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Jan Z. (Jefferson, SD)
Shine Shine Shine by Lydia Netzer
The power of this debut novel Shine Shine Shine by Lydia Netzer comes from, ultimately, the unique and often startling voice of the author.
The story takes place at some point in the future, Maxon the husband (autistic and genius) is on his way to the moon to place a colony of robots there to start building a place for humans. His departure sends Sunny, his wife, into a tailspin of sorts, and she is forced to look at what she has done and not done with her life. Her mother, Emma, who is a strong presence through-out the story, is dying from cancer, and Sunny has to come to terms with this event in her life, as well as the absent Maxon.
All this drama could be just any average book, but this one is entirely saved by the way Netzer manages to adjust the mood, dialogue, emotions and situations while keeping the drama reined in just enough to keep hold of the story and yet let it go where it needs.
I loved this book, and am anxiously waiting for Netzer's next.
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Patty S. (Towson, MD)
It's Complicated...
I was half of the way through with this book before I got to the point where I was able to appreciate its beauty. Until that point, I really didn't get it. Unfortunately, if I was just reading it for pleasure and hadn't agreed to review it, I probably wouldn't have finished it and that would have been too bad because the ending was worth the effort. Netzer's characters are interesting and I enjoyed being able to get into the mind and hearts of Maxon and Sunny. Their strangenesses were celebrated and this gave the book a lot of depth.
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Karen M. (Park Falls, WI)
Shine, Shine, Shine by Lydia Netzer
It took me quite a few pages to 'connect' with the characters in this book....the astronaut husband, the bald pregnant wife and their autistic son and also the dying mother BUT after I became involved it became an interesting and unique read.
I do think the author tried to include too many life-changing events. I also do not know who to recommend this book to as I think it will be one of those books that you either love or hate.
