Review—Girl on the Verge by Pintip Dunn {+Giveaway!}

I loved Pintip Dunn’s book The Darkest Lie, and I’m so excited to be a part of Xpresso Book Tours’ blog tour for her new book, Girl on the Verge!
In the books I’ve read from her, Pintip Dunn has mastered the complicated mother-daughter relationship dynamic. In Girl on the Verge, though, she’s refined her psychological thriller skill, coupling complicated relationships with complicated feelings, people, and identities.
Kanchana has always felt different and out of place at her mostly white school—she doesn’t look like her friends, she feels like she doesn’t quite fit in, and that’s complicated by the fact that her Thai grandmother tells her she’s too westernized and not Thai enough. Kan has talent though, which she’s forced to hide from her grandmother who serves as the strong mother figure not only due to the loss of Kan’s father but also due to the absence of her mother, a continuously busy surgeon.
Kan’s world faces even more conflict when her mother takes in a teenage girl who has a
complicated past that, as Kan soon discovers, has more to do with her than she could ever imagine. After so many years of feeling like the outsider, Kan feels appreciated and important as she attempts to help Shelly settle in to her new home.
But Shelly brings secrets—and so much more—with her, and it turns out to be more problematic for Kan than comforting, as she had originally hoped, to finally have something like a sister.
As Kan begins to look into Shelly’s history, Shelly maneuvers her way closer to Kan, and more and more into her life in seemingly benevolent ways. But Kan grows suspicious of Shelly’s motives, and just who, really, Shelly is.
The tagline for the book asks, “How far would you go to belong?”, and Dunn reveals the answer from the viewpoints of the two girls. Through the story, Dunn raises questions of trust, identity, and familial, cultural loyalty, and guilt, and the outcome is reminiscent of the 90s thriller Single White Female. Just how far, in the end, will Kan and Shelly both go to find truths?
Book details:
Girl on the Verge by Pintip Dunn
Published by: Kensington
Publication date: June 27th 2017
Genres: Thriller, Young Adult
Synopsis:

From the author of The Darkest Lie comes a compelling, provocative story for fans of I Was Here and Vanishing Girls, about a high school senior straddling two worlds, unsure how she fits in either—and the journey of self-discovery that leads her to surprising truths.

In her small Kansas town, at her predominantly white school, Kanchana doesn’t look like anyone else. But at home, her Thai grandmother chides her for being too westernized. Only through the clothing Kan designs in secret can she find a way to fuse both cultures into something distinctly her own.

When her mother agrees to provide a home for a teenage girl named Shelly, Kan sees a chance to prove herself useful. Making Shelly feel comfortable is easy at first—her new friend is eager to please, embraces the family’s Thai traditions, and clearly looks up to Kan. Perhaps too much. Shelly seems to want everything Kanchana has, even the blond, blue-eyed boy she has a crush on. As Kan’s growing discomfort compels her to investigate Shelly’s past, she’s shocked to find how much it intersects with her own—and just how far Shelly will go to belong…

Find it on Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo
About Pintip Dunn:

Pintip Dunn is a New York Times bestselling author of YA fiction. She graduated from Harvard University, magna cum laude, with an A.B. in English Literature and Language. She received her J.D. at Yale Law School, where she was an editor of the YALE LAW JOURNAL.

Pintip is represented by literary agent Beth Miller of Writers House. Her debut novel, FORGET TOMORROW, won the RWA RITA® for Best First Book. Her other novels include THE DARKEST LIE, REMEMBER YESTERDAY, and the novella BEFORE TOMORROW.

She lives with her husband and children in Maryland. You can learn more about Pintip and her books at www.pintipdunn.com

Giveaway:
Tour-wide giveaway (INTL)

3 thoughts on “Review—Girl on the Verge by Pintip Dunn {+Giveaway!}

  1. Pingback: Review—Girl on the Verge by Pintip Dunn { Giveaway!} — Wandering Bark Books | O LADO ESCURO DA LUA

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