Review of 'Spin' by Catherine McKenzie. Faith Brynie, book editor.

Review of Spin by Catherine McKenzie. [Toronto: Harper Collins Canada, 2009].

Last year, novelist Catherine McKenzie sent me a manuscript and asked for a critique of what became her now-published novel Spin. From page 1, I knew she had a winner. “This is how I lose my dream job,” says protagonist Kate Sandford in the first line. Who could resist reading on? I couldn’t. I had to find out what happened.

And plenty happened. Working her way through one misstep after another, aspiring music reviewer Kate ends up going not-so-undercover, following a teen movie icon into rehab. Kate’s mission? To write an insider’s exposé for a celebrity-bashing tabloid.

She achieves that goal—sort of—but there’s more to the story. While probing the lives of the rich and famous, Kate takes a hard look her own life and comes to some significant realizations.

I loved Kate in the original manuscript, and in my critique I suggested some revisions that McKenzie took to heart. Her rewrites further strengthened her plot, while adding even greater depth to the characterization of Kate. What emerged was a quirky, charming, sympathetic protagonist who battles her way through a series of escalating dilemmas. Kate doesn’t always make the right choices, and she’s plagued with self-doubt, but she keeps on plugging. In a word, she’s irrepressible.

Ordinarily, I’m not much of a chick lit fan, but in Spin, McKenzie has delivered a page-turner too engaging to put down. The reader identifies with Kate, who struggles to pursue her dream and conquer her demons—all of which she accomplishes in this tightly crafted tale. But the story delivers on other levels, too. For one thing, Kate is funny. Her internal monologues had me laughing out loud more times than I can count.

McKenzie is a writer to watch, and Spin is a must-read. I’m proud of the part I played in its development.

link to Spin: http://www.amazon.ca/Spin-Catherine-Mckenzie/dp/1554687586/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266779217&sr=1-2

FAITH HICKMAN BRYNIE specializes in science and health, especially for children and young adults. She has a Ph.D. in science curriculum and instruction, and she is an experienced editor of science activity books, trade books for middle school and high school, and textbooks K-12. She has worked for major publishers as writer, substantive editor, developmental editor, copyeditor, and fact checker. She excels at communicating complex ideas clearly and simply.

She loves fiction, and has written three novels, all published by Geneses under a pseudonym. She has won several contests and awards for her short fiction, which has been published in such magazines as Thema, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Midnight Zoo, Aberrations, Over My Dead Body!, Haunts, and others. She critiques mainstream, science fiction, horror, and mystery manuscripts, helping authors develop their characters, plot, dialogue, voice, and style. She also does developmental editing and copyediting of fiction manuscripts.

Editing (copyediting and developmental)
Rewriting, ghostwriting
Nonfiction: creative nonfiction, scholarly publications, children, juvenile, young adult
Science, health, medicine: biology, life science, physical science, science instruction, teaching science
Elementary education & secondary education: curriculum, instruction, textbooks, workbooks, learning assessments, testing, test writing
Fiction: Mystery; science fiction; literary; contemporary/mainstream; detective/crime; children/juvenile/young adult

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