Review: Dark Song

Dark Song
Gail Giles
2010; Little, Brown; ISBN 978-0-316-06886-4 (hardcover)

Summary: Ames has a great life.  Her dad is rich and gives her anything she wants.  She has an adorable little sister and a great best friend.  The only fly in the ointment is her rocky relationship with her mom.  That's what keeps Ames' life from being some disgustingly sweet story.  But then, Ames' near-fairy tale life becomes a horror story.  Her father is fired, losing all their money.  Before she knows it, Ames is with her family in Texas, cleaning an old drug house to live in.  She's angry and resentful, and the only person who seems to understand is Marc.  Dark, obsessive Marc, who offers to kill her parents so it can be just the two of them.  Ames faces a choice: what will she decide?

Inspired by media coverage about girls helping their boyfriends murder her parents, this new novel from Gail Giles is a timely one.  As high-flyers come back to Earth thanks to the recession, teens who have been given everything have to learn to adjust.  In Ames's family, the good times hid the fact that none of them--except perhaps Ames's little sister--have the coping skills to face hardship without being destructive towards those they love.  As Ames slowly learns those skills to deal with this new life, she becomes isolated from her friends and family by Marc.  It's only when he suggest killing her parents that Ames receives the wake-up call she needs.  Giles's fans will cheer for Dark Song.