Review: Exposed By Kimberly Marcus

Hardcover, 288 pages

Published February 22nd 2011 by Random House Books for Young Readers (first published February 7th 2011 )

In the dim light of the darkroom, I'm alone, but not for long.As white turns to gray, Kate is with me.The background of the dance studio blurred, so the focus is all on herlegs extended in a perfect soaring split.The straight line to my squiggle,my forever-best friend. 

Sixteen-year-old Liz Grayson is photogirl—sharp, focused and ready to take the world by storm with her camera. But Liz's entire life is called into question when her brother is accused of a crime—and the accuser is Liz's own best friend. As the aftershocks from that accusation rip through Liz's world, everything she thought she knew about photography, family, friendship and herself, shifts out of focus. And for the first time in her life, Liz finds herself unable to trust her own point of view. Told in stunning, searingly raw free verse,  Exposed is Kimberly Marcus's gut-wrenching, riveting debut and will appeal to fans of Ellen Hopkins, Laurie Halse Anderson and Virginia Euwer Wolff.

          My Thoughts: 


     "Exposed" is Kimberly's debut book and I must say she did a good job for this being her first book. In "Exposed" her writing was a bit different from any other book I've read. Each page was like a different scene. It made it so so easy to read and so easy to get into. I never once felt like putting the book down. And I sincerely felt sooo bad for her main character Liz. She takes you through Liz's dilemmas. And you can't help to wish for the best outcome for her.

     Have you ever had a BFF that you couldn't see your life without? I do, in fact I've been friends with my BFF for 21 years. And we've had our ups and downs. We've been through so many stages in our lives together. So to see my life without her would be tragic! So in "Exposed" Liz has a best friend named Kate. And like best friends do, they hang out together. They have their little traditions, such as Saturday night sleepovers. That was until one night, one tiny fight that changed both of their lives forever. Sounds dramatic but that's really how life works. One small action can define your whole future.

      Basically one fight changed everything. Liz went upstairs to her bedroom and Kate stood downstairs. Both angry, they went to bed. But when Liz woke up, she didn't find Kate. Looking for Kate in school to try and work out their differences, she was given the cold shoulder. Things between them now has change. And Liz didn't know how to handle it, but if she thought that was hard to handle. Imagine her reaction when her brother was accused rape. Not only was he accused of rape, but the person accusing him of rape was her very own BFF (or ex-bff) Kate. That's when her life started spiraling out of focus. She started losing her eye for good pictures, her family was buckling under pressure and she didn't know who to believe. Her brother whom she adores and loves dearly or her BFF whom she knows has never lied to her. Life for her went from bad to worst. What else can go wrong?

     I really enjoyed this book A LOT. It was written so different and it was such a fast paced read. Kimberly drew you into Liz's world of deception and pain. I know that I was crossing my fingers for her. She wasn't a bad kid. But she was losing grip quickly and that was a scary concept. I recommend this book, as long as you're okay with the whole rape accusation. I give this book a 5 stars and a definite Good Choice for Reading!

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