Bliss

by Lauren Myracle

Lauren Myracle brings her keen understanding of teen dynamics to a hypnotic horror story of twisted friendship. When Bliss's hippie parents leave the commune and dump her at the home of her aloof grandmother in a posh Atlanta neighborhood, it's like being set down on an alien planet. The only guide naive Bliss has to her new environment is what she's seen on The Andy Griffith Show. But Mayberry is poor preparation for Crestview Academy, an elite school where the tensions of the present and the dark secrets of the past threaten to simmer into violence. Openhearted Bliss desperately wants new friends, making her the perfect prey of a troubled girl whose obsession with a long-ago death puts Bliss, and anyone she's kind to, in mortal danger. Lauren Myracle has taken the ubiquitous friendship novel to a new, dark place.

• ISBN10: 0810970716
• ISBN13: 9780810970717
• Publish Date: 1 September 2008
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 9 December 2011
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Abrams
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 444
• Language: English

Reviews

[celinenyx]

Yes my friends, the rumours are true. The ending of Bliss sucks.

The book begins when in 1969 Bliss Inthemorningdew is sent to her grandma to live with her, because her hippie parents are going to Canada. Bliss is not used to "normal" life, and she is sometimes completely oblivious to things that are normal to other teenagers. She is an outcast at school, and even more when she starts to hear voices near the school building. There is a story about a girl that committed suicide there. Could the two be connected?

After reading Shine, I wasn't surprised to see that this book has more going on than just a paranormal plot. On the background there is the ever-present racism that was normal in the South at that time. "Black people should know their place" and other similar statements. This was one of the things I really liked about the book; Bliss struggles against these prejudices, but can't defy them openly without being shunned by society herself. Her confusion was realistic and very well described.

Then we come to the paranormal part of the story. It is quite good. And it is quite creepy, if you're not used to general spookiness in books. It also helps that Mr Myracle has chosen for the trail of Charles Manson as a backdrop.

The thing is, when you keep building pressure like in this book, you're expecting some big kind of release. Imagine, you stand on the shore and see a tsunami rising, coming closer, almost washing you away. Then, all of a sudden, *blip* the wave disappears, but your neighbour has a car accident. It isn't that the car accident isn't tragic, but well, it does feel like an anti-climax.

The ending of this book is one of the biggest anti-climaxes I have ever seen. It isn't necessary a bad ending, but it sure as hell doesn't fit. It's not satisfying in any way, it doesn't tie up any plotlines. It's just plain odd.

I would almost recommend this book, so we can all scratch our heads in confusion together. If you have nothing better to do, you can give it a try.