In GIRL ON THE VERGE, Kan's mother offers to take care of Shelly, who eagerly becomes Kan's new best friend, but also arrives with a mountain of secrets.
What intrigued me: Wanted to read more from Pintip Dunn.
Young Voice and Creepy Vibes
GIRL ON THE VERGE needed a while to get me interested. I didn't quite know what to expect, I thought this would be some kind of angsty contemporary. But once Shelly arrives and weasels the way into the reader's (and Kan's) heart, you'll immediately know something is wrong. There's a strange air of uncomfortable mystery around her that you can feel oozing from the pages the entire time. Dunn definitely knows how to orchestrate a mystery and make you feel uneasy.
Aside from Shelly and her secrets, a large portion of the novel is spent gushing over love interest Ethan. He's your typical high school cool kid with the twist that he unapologetically enjoys traditionally feminine things. I really enjoyed seeing a character like that, though the romance aspect didn't do much for me, which is highly, highly subjective. Generally, GIRL ON THE VERGE is one of those reads that exist at the lower end of YA, a little over upper MG in my opinion, which is definitely not a bad thing, just something you have to take into consideration when reading this. I certainly didn't expect a fairly younger than YA-sounding voice in a thriller story, so GIRL ON THE VERGE definitely caught me off guard. Had I known from the beginning, I probably would've liked this a lot more, but this is subjective.
#Ownvoices Excellence
I was immediately impressed with the way Dunn managed to put that unique diaspora feeling of not feeling like you belong in either worlds into words; this definitely warrants a recommendation alone. I've seldom seen authors go there and explore this feeling in as much detail, honesty, and eloquence as Dunn does. Especially if you're Thai diaspora, or Thai-American, this hopefully might mean even more to you, you need to get your hands on this book.
GIRL ON THE VERGE definitely does a lot for diaspora readers in terms of validating and normalizing their experience, which I am immensely grateful for. The amount of strength, sheer talent, and determination it must have taken to put these feelings into words renders me speechless. GIRL ON THE VERGE perfectly illustrates to me what #ownvoices really is and what it means. For that alone, this deserves a glowing recommendation. Even if the other aspects don't really sound like something you'd be interested in, GIRL ON THE VERGE deserves all the support for its radiant and heartfelt portrayal of what it means to be diaspora.
Rating:
★★★★★
Overall: Do I Recommend?
If you're diaspora, or even Thai diaspora, this is an absolute must-read. Doesn't matter what your reading preferences are, I've seldom seen an author provide such poignant and moving representation for diaspora readers in terms of feeling like you don't belong. Definitely recommend this to your diaspora friends.Additional Info
Published: June 27th 2017Pages: 256
Publisher: Kensington
Genre: YA / Thriller
ISBN: 9781496703606
Synopsis:
Synopsis:
"In her small Kansas town, at her predominantly white school, Kanchana doesn’t look like anyone else. But at home, her Thai grandmother chides her for being too westernized. Only through the clothing Kan designs in secret can she find a way to fuse both cultures into something distinctly her own.
When her mother agrees to provide a home for a teenage girl named Shelly, Kan sees a chance to prove herself useful. Making Shelly feel comfortable is easy at first—her new friend is eager to please, embraces the family’s Thai traditions, and clearly looks up to Kan. Perhaps too much. Shelly seems to want everything Kanchana has, even the blond, blue-eyed boy she has a crush on. As Kan’s growing discomfort compels her to investigate Shelly’s past, she’s shocked to find how much it intersects with her own—and just how far Shelly will go to belong…"
(Source: Goodreads)
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