Review: The Girl In The Park by Mariah Fredericks

Title: The Girl In The Park
Author: Mariah Fredericks
Source: NetGalley
Buy: Amazon ~*~ Barnes & Noble
Caution: May contain spoilers

When Wendy Geller's body is found in Central Park after the night of a rager, newspaper headlines scream,"Death in the Park: Party Girl Found Strangled." But shy Rain, once Wendy's best friend, knows there was more to Wendy than just "party girl." As she struggles to separate the friend she knew from the tangle of gossip and headlines, Rain becomes determined to discover the truth about the murder. Written in a voice at once immediate, riveting, and utterly convincing, Mariah Frederick's mystery brilliantly exposes the cracks in this exclusive New York City world and the teenagers that move within it.
~synopsis from Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Rain wants to know what really happened to her friend Wendy that night in the park. There’s so much buzz and false reports going around. And as true as it is about Wendy having a bad girl side, Rain just doesn’t believe that this was the act of a stranger that happened upon her in the park. She knows it’s somebody Wendy knew. Although they were and weren’t best friends, Rain remembers the good in Wendy, even though nobody else knows it.

I have to say, Rain’s determination is something you have to love and want to aspire to have. Her good girl nature could nearly hold her back in her quest to the truth, but she pulls through with sneaky devices. She tricks information out of the people trying to protect Nico, the guy that Wendy was obsessively after in school. Nico’s friends are surrounding him, saying things to have his back, trying to keep this not so good guy safe. Rain knows another side of him and doesn’t believe him when he says he wasn’t with Wendy that night.

Wendy was the quintessential boyfriend stealer. She purposefully went after the boys of the girls who wouldn’t give her the time of day. You want to hate Wendy because of her attitude and actions, but at the same time you feel what Rain feels: that pain of losing somebody. Then you really think about it--this is a girl who was crying out for attention, and she got it in the worst way.

As clues emerge, it points one way, then another. You think it’s over when it’s not even close. And when your reach the end… you have no idea what hits you. I’m completely serious. The way it all went down had me shocked, and it was the last thing I expected.

Mariah Fredericks is an amazing author. I had read her novel The True Meaning of Cleavage years ago and thought it was a great one. When I saw her name on this book on NetGalley, I had to request it. Upon starting the story, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But she blew me away. It was just so powerful and chilling. I loved Rain. She was one of the absolute best first person character I’ve viewed a story through. She wasn’t perfect or popular. She was just real. And I loved that.

My Rating:

Exceptional: Stay up until at least 1 AM

~Jessica