Thursday, March 27, 2008

Shark Girl, by Kelly Bingham


When Jane loses her arm in a freak shark attack, she must learn to cope with her loss and new life. Convinced that she'll never be able to draw again, she seeks new meaning in her life, while coping with the unwanted attention her loss brings her. As much as she hates the sentiment that she'll rise above it all, she eventually does.

A mixture of free verse, dialogs, correspondence, and miscellaneous media, Bingham has attempted to capture the process of healing. It's a valiant effort and not a badly written first novel, but I found it a bit repetitive. As interesting as the premise was, there just was not much that could be done with the story. There is a satisfying dramatic arc, but Bingham is trying so hard to avoid a feel-good ending (while still reaching some sort of satisfying conclusion) that the story stagnates.

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