The Shot (Naima Brown, Macmillan)

Kristy Shaw wants to win back her first true love, Max. Desperately. She will go to any lengths, including unwittingly signing up to appear on the new reality TV show The Shot. There, Kristy gets a Total Body Transformation, an extreme plastic surgery to change everything about herself. The only catch? She has 30 days to woo Max or the surgery will be reversed. Mara Bolt is the show’s creator and will stop at nothing to ensure it succeeds. The Shot is Naima Brown’s debut novel. It is divided into three parts, moving between Kristy’s and Mara’s perspectives. While it starts slowly, the second part is arguably the strongest, and the story picks up with a fiery ferocity, becoming a gripping page-turner as readers root for Kristy’s success. Unfortunately, as the book reaches its crescendo, the plot spirals into unnecessary absurdity. Sometimes less is more, and the far-fetched plot is too jarring, pulling the reader out of the narrative. The Shot portrays the conflict between body image and identity. It is about the balancing act between who we are and who we wish we could be and begs the reader to reflect on how far they would go if given a shot at starting over.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Bohdi Byles is a freelance reviewer with a background in bookselling, publishing and writing. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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Category: Reviews