Book Review: Exposed by Kimberly Marcus

Title: Exposed

Author: Kimberly Marcus

# Of Pages: 272

Publisher: Random House Books

Publication Date: February 22, 2011

Level: Young Adult

Rating: 5 Hearts

Synopsis

(From Amazon.com)

“In the dim light of the darkroom, I’m alone, but not for long.

As white turns to gray, Kate is with me.

The background of the dance studio blurred, so the focus is all on her

Legs extended in a perfect soaring split.

The straight line to my squiggle,

My forever-best friend”

Sixteen-year-old Liz is Photogirl- sharp, focused and confident in what she sees through her camera lens. Confident that she and Kate will be best friends forever.

But everything changes in one blurry night. Suddenly Kate is avoiding her, and people are looking the other way when she passes in the halls. As the aftershocks from a startling accusation rip through Liz’s world, everything she’s thought she knew about photography, family, friendship and herself shifts out of focus. What happens when the picture you see no longer makes sense? What do you do when you may lose everything you love most? Told in stunning, searingly raw free verse.

My Verdict

This is definitely on my list of top in-verse novels that I have read so far.  It does contain some tough subject matter, especially for the younger audience. I don’t want to go into detail because that would spoil the twist. I really liked the authors writing style. The verses were short and sweet, just how I like them.

I felt like I was able to connect with the main character, Liz, very easily through her love for photography. I’m no photogirl but I do love taking pictures, and I’m actually taking darkroom photography this semester. I also felt like all her thoughts and emotions were spot on for someone going through her situation. It bugged me at some points because it seemed like no one else in Liz’s life could understand her point of view or where she was coming from a lot of the time, and I just felt like, considering the circumstances, they should have been more understanding.

This is the authors first YA novel, and all I can say is that I hope she writes more, preferably in verse =)