Susan's Reviews > Things That Shimmer

This is not the first Debbi Lakritz book I have read, but I would definitely say it's the best. And I'm not simply expressing that opinion because I've known her for years and she sent me a free copy.

Having seen early drafts of it as a WIP, I have been waiting for years to read this book, but it far exceeded my expectations. Debbi portrays Melanie as a complex and realistic thirteen-year-old to whom any modern seventh grader can relate. Yet she throws some little 1973 gems into the story: curly telephone cords that don't stretch quite far enough, change for pay phones, clock faces with "hands inching their way around the numbers," three broadcast television networks, Walter Cronkite, the eighteen-and-a-half minutes of erased tape, weekly Top 40 hits lists, etc. I hope modern MG readers can appreciate the "historical" flavor as much as those of us who can remember exactly where we were when we learned about the Watergate break-in and cover-up and Rosemary Woods's manneristic contortions.

I have read too many books in the genre where the reader (at least an adult reader) doesn't need to read more than the first chapter to recognize a so-called "friend" as unworthy of trust or admiration, but it takes the main character 200+ pages to discover the perfidy. One continually wants to yell "What's wrong with you? How can you be so stupid?" in disgust as one reads, so what a relief that Debbi managed to avoid that trap here. Melanie realizes early enough that she may have misjudged another girl (no spoilers) and struggles with some of the choices she has to make. Although in a crucial scene, one wants to shout, "No, Melanie, don't do it! Don't do it!" one can totally believe that yup, Melanie does it. It even took me several chapters to realize that the book is written in first person present tense (I think "Thou Shalt Not Employ Past Tense Verbs or Third Person Pronouns" must be the 11th Commandment of YA authors) and by the time I noticed that, it didn't bother me after all. I didn't realize how much of the story came from her own life, and the resolution, which had a little bit of wishful thinking, did not come off as at all contrived.

I wish to thank the author for the ARC. Things that Shimmer will remain in my thoughts for longer than most books do, and I would recommend it to any young reader.