Audio Review: Spin by Lamar Giles

Now that I have a super long commute, I listen to a lot of audio books. I recently listened to Spin by Lamar Giles, which The Teen is currently reading. Here’s what I thought.

Publisher’s Book Description

Sixteen-year-old Paris Secord’s (aka DJ ParSec) career–and life–has come to an untimely end, and the local music scene is reeling. No one is feeling the pain more than her shunned pre-fame best friend, Kya, and Paris’s chief groupie, Fuse. But suspicion trumps grief, and since each suspects the other of Paris’s murder, they’re locked in a high-stakes game of public accusations and sabotage.

Everyone in the ParSec Nation (DJ ParSec’s local media base)–including the killer–is content to watch it play out, until Kya and Fuse discover a secret: Paris was on the verge of major deal that would’ve catapulted her to superstar status on a national level, leaving her old life (and old friends) behind. With the new info comes new motives. New suspects. And a fandom that shows its deadly side. As Kya and Fuse come closer to the twisted truth, the killer’s no longer amused. But murdering Paris was simple enough, so getting rid of her nobody-friends shouldn’t be an issue…

Karen’s Thoughts

This was a really intriguing mystery with a great example of female friendship. The opening grabs your immediate attention and it just keeps you hooked page after page. I loved how the formal rivals for ParSec’s affection became friends as they worked together to clear their name. There’s also a lot of fascinating discussion about music, family, school, identity and the power of social media. So many rich details in between the mystery to reflect on.

Also, bonus points, there is a strong female character engaged in STEM which is essential to the story and there are several strong yet vulnerable and self-aware female characters from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds that just add some additional layers to this story. It’s a mystery, but the character development is on point.

The audio was engaging and well narrated. I was invested and wanted to know who did what, but I enjoyed spending time with the characters along the way.

Highly recommended.

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