SHINE by Lauren Myracle

She is a miracle.  She has written a book that gives intimate portraits of life for teens in a distressed small town. It's a community where the industry has departed and meth is the preferred way of dealing with depression. The main character, Cat, had a traumatic experience three years ago and rather than telling about it, she has withdrawn from her friends. Especially painful was withdrawing from her best friend Patrick, unable to let him know her shameful secret.
As the book starts, Patrick has been a victim of a hate crime. He's in a coma. The fact that he was gay has been known in the community for a long time, but no one seemed especially vindictive towards him. Cat tries to make up for the time she abandoned him by trying to find out who did this. ]Among the suspects are: the meth dealer Wally; the group her brother Christian hangs around with: Beef, Tommy ( who she hates for a very good reason), Dupree, and Bailee-Ann; and perhaps some college boys passing through that Patrick pissed off by not selling them beer. She needs to do this because the sheriff will only to pretend to investigate. She is warned to drop it by almost everyone.
My synopsis sells the book short. I don't post many books because they don't live up to a great YA mystery. This one does.
Go to this website to see why the National book award committee screwed up by nominating her for a National book award.
http://www.salon.com/2011/10/18/the_national_book_award_nominee_that_wasnt/