Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Shutter by Faria Stolarz - OPTIONAL

Stolarz, Faria Laurie Shutter, 337 pages. Hyperion, 2016. $17.99 Language: PG-13 (34 swears, 0 ‘f’) mature content: PG (light kissing) Violence: PG-13 (Thematic violence and killing) 

Day Connor has always lived in a household where the main goal is to strive every day to make a difference in the world. Feeling passionless has never stopped her from following in her parents intrepid footsteps, but a chance encounter with escaped juvenile murder suspect Julian changes her perspective on life. She suddenly feels the drive to fight to find the truth in Julian’s peculiar case and whether or not he truly is the murderer the authorities claim.   

Shutter is a book that disappointed me in that it takes a very inventive topic and makes it completely bland and unmemorable. It’s a low key family drama hiding as a halfhearted murder mystery- but the family drama falls short on all counts. The depth is just not evident in the topics discussed nor in the characters themselves. I was even hard pressed to remember the main character’s given name and had to check before writing this, which reveals a lot. Overall, this book is clean and suitable for young readers but lacking in that undefinable quality that makes a story stand out. 

MS, HS – OPTIONAL. Reviewer: Jewels, 12th grade

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