I Support Shine

Way back in March, I reviewed Shine by Lauren Myracle, and wrote about how much I loved it, and that made chords of sympathy strike harder when I heard about the NBA fiasco. If you're unfamiliar with that, here's a quick recap: SHINE was nominated for the National Book Award, but it turned out there was a miscommunication and they meant CHIME, and Lauren Myracle was asked to withdraw.

Like I said, I loved SHINE so it didn't surprise me in the least when it was nominated, but even when it was un-nominating and the ensuing uproar occurred, my opinion of it didn't change in the least. Because you know what? An award doesn't make a book better or worse. It's a beautiful story, and while I'm thrilled for all the lovely authors whose books won, all that matters to me is that I know SHINE is an amazing book and Lauren Myracle is an amazing author.

I support SHINE. The National Book Foundation didn't choose it, and that's okay. It's their decision, and the mistake they made was a horrible one, but nothing has changed. The book has not been invalidated, and I encourage all of you - every one of you reading this post - to pick it up if you haven't already.

Support SHINE.