Date published-November 6, 2014
Source-Publisher
Dorothy is a new comer to Highland Park , where all the cool kids congregate
Muchkinland (a.k.a. Dunkin Donuts). There, she meets Joey, the resident ‘bad
boy’ who everyone fears and stays away from. But Dorothy is not deterred by his
bad rep, for she sees a wounded person, from the pain of abuse and battling his
own demons. Both have an instant connection and their love is not just tested
by peer pressure, but of Joey’s home life and a devastating encounter threatens
to tear them apart.
The story is told
through a dual perspective, with Joey’s voice as gritty and heartbreaking as
anything I’ve ever read. There is a slight variation to “The Wizard of Oz”, but
I hardly found any of it in the book. Dorothy’s sweetness balances out Joey’s
sharp prose. Some of you might have heard about Selene’s other novels, including
“Saved by the Music” and “The Girl Next Door”, a novel that is also
heartbreaking. However, you take that novel and ratchet up a billion volts, and
that’s enough to not only break hearts but haunt them as well. I re-read the
novel twice, which I was not able to put down. The writing is a sucker punch to
the very heart and maybe some readers might not have the heart to continue.
That will serve as a challenge since the story itself will grip the reader
until the last page.
Selene Castrovilla is
indeed a writer worth watching for (the blurb from Jacqueline Woodson on the
cover). And “Melt” is a story that is worthy of comparison to Ellen Hopkins. I
cannot highly recommend this novel enough.
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