Burn for Burn (Burn for Burn Trilogy, The)

‘Burn for Burn’ turned out to be a very quick read. Though, it took me one third of the book to really get into the story. There are a lot of characters and it was difficult to keep them straight in my head. I almost started scribbling notes. Almost. I got a strong juvenile tone from the narrative and found myself missing the sophistication from other Jenny Han novels.

There is a somewhat distinct voice between the alternations in points of view (between our three protagonists, Kat, Lillia and Mary) - but it did add to my confusion and it wasn't until halfway through the book that I fell into the rhythm of the narrative. I'm not a big fan of multiple perspectives, and though the individual flashbacks and perspectives helped the plot along, it was a little disorientating - especially with such short chapters.

Lillia had strong echoes of Laura Jean - the Asian heritage, the rich, prissy façade, and the bratty little sister. It was a little difficult not to compare these two characters.

Mary and Kat were not too discernible from each other, if it weren't for their names as chapter titles, or constant reference to a slutty past, or life as a fat girl, I wouldn't know who was talking... there is the hint of a paranormal element which I found intriguing - though the final scene felt cliché - like a nod to Stephen King's ‘Carrie.’

There was a lot of teen drinking in this - way too much for me to be comfortable with. No way I, or any of my classmates, consumed this amount of alcohol in high school. Also, I'm picking up a date rape story line that was briefly mentioned and then forgotten about entirely. That had my jaw dropping open. Then angry. Then frustration at the stupidity of the young girls. And why was this event left by the wayside – it’s not like it’s not important or anything.

I will say the actual plot and story arcs of the tree main characters were very interesting. I was totally captivated with the little twists and turns - though the book ended abruptly as soon as things got interesting, and I was wondering where the pay-off was. I didn't get any resolution, so if you’re going to read this make sure you have the sequel on hand.

It was a fun read, I laughed out loud in several parts, and there is an element of physical comedy that I found delightful. But the bitchy girl element feels very “primary school.” This series is like a mash up of ‘First Wives Club’ and ‘Mean Girls.’ Though I found the writing style a tad droll and immature, ‘Burn for Burn’ was still entertaining. It ended on a high (literally) and a cliff hanger, and I definitely want to check out the second book in the series ‘Fire with Fire.’

Now that I'm familiar with all the characters and many elements have been introduced into the storyline, ‘Fire with Fire’ has been set up for some juicy happenings - let's hope these girls deliver. Pretty cool, I’d give it a thumbs up and happily recommend this to lovers of YA, skewing towards the younger end of the spectrum.

What I loved the most about Burn for Burn was the fact that it didn’t shy away from real, honest to god revenge. Revenge for these girls isn’t just spreading a rumor or flattening the tires of a car, in this book, revenge is a cruel and evil knife.

Mary, Kat, and Lillia have all been wronged in way or another. Kat, bothered with this, decides to take a stand, and recruits Lillia, the queen bee, and Mary, the invisible girl to help get back at those who have wronged them.

I really enjoyed reading this book in 3 POVs. Each girl has a distinct personally and you could always know who was narrating. Out of the 3 POVs, my favorite one has to be Lillia, just because I really understood her motivations about participating in the revenge scheme, and overall she was such a nice character. While Mary & Kat went all out with their revenge, you could sometimes feel Lillia thinking about what the consequences of her acts were. I could somehow relate to her even more because of this.

The writing in this book is also so fluid. Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian write so well together. You never know when one writer stops and the other begins. It was wonderful.

I will not deny that this book has its faults. My goodness this book was so painfully teenage that it sometimes made me cringe. Hook-ups, bullying, alcohol, drugs, football games, cheerleaders, etc etc. This book is a medley of teenage dramas and clichés. But you can’t help but be absorbed in all this teenage angst!
He drawls, “Rennie, honey?”
“Yes, Reevie baby?” Rennie flips her hair around.
“You know you’re my wifey, right?”
Eww.
“Of course.”
“And a wifey has to make sure her man is taken care of,” he continues.

The worst (and best part) of this book has definitely got to be the ending. The ending is literally where everything comes crashing down (for better or worse) and where there will be the most horrifying cliffhanger to ever happen. It comes out of the blue and you have no idea it’s coming until it’s already there. It’ll leave you dazed and confused and desperately wanting to read the next book ASAP.

Overall, a well-crafted book about revenge. It's very absorbing and you'll want to read the next one as soon as you finish!

Wayyy too much going on here. This could have been a really sweet coming of age story about friendship, and it even began that way, but took an ugly turn about 1/4 of the way through. The girls set their sights on revenge for past wrongs and everything goes downhill from there.

SPOILER ALERT.

With each page they appear more and more petty/immature/annoying. The deeper into their plans they sink, the more superficial these characters become. Maybe the point is to psychoanalyze the journey of revenge (doubtful) - but unless it's written really well and real issues are explored, I just don't have any interest in that kind of story. It isn't believable.

Speaking of...Then there's the supernatural thing. It's like the authors just thought, "Hey, let's just throw that in there and see if it floats." It didn't. I'm sure it will be central to the next books, but there really just don't need to be next books.

I'm done with this series.

I had high hopes for the series because I love Jenny Han’s writing so much. I came to find that I was flying through because I just wanted it to be over. It was an extremely easy read. I like Lillia’s character most. It seems to me that the involvement of magic will occur eventually. I will read the next to books to find out how it ends. Hope the series will turn around. I gave the story 3/5 stars. This wont stop me from reading more Jenny Han her contemporarys are bae! This to me was not a contemporary it was just a coming of age story with a twist maybe.?.

[...]

My daughter's friend liked it.

She loved the first book that she read from this author so i figured I would get more of the books. She cant seem to put it down. Good stuff for her.

Burn for Burn was definitely an intriguing read. The whole idea of teenage girls taking punishment of their peers into their own hands was great. Didn't we all want to get back at someone in high school?

Immediately I found myself attracted to the character of Kat; she's the bad chick in school that everyone fears but has a reason for her actions and appearance. In the very beginning, it was difficult keeping track of each character but the short lengths of the chapters made it easy to get back on track. And on that note, each chapter ended on a suspenseful note that made me want to continue reading! Each character had flashbacks or recounted stories that gave them personality and sparked my interest. Sometimes the voices were a bit similar, but Lillia's strong presence throughout the novel often made it clear who was speaking. Lillia's story seemed more fleshed out (especially since she was friends with the three students the girls were pranking) which made for a likable character throughout.

The piece also covers some fairly dark topics--things that most Young Adult authors normally stay away from. Both authors handled the situations very well and each girl's story was believable--Lillia's was truly heartbreaking. Since teenagers do indeed experience bullying and physical attacks, it's important to show young readers that these things happen and I believe that the authors wrote these situations with grace while still conveying a sense of reality.

The last forty pages sped by for me because the girls had only gotten revenge on only one person thus far and I wanted to know how they would finish the job. The girls definitely pull off their missions but we're left wondering what will happen to Reeve and Reenie (leaving room for a sequel) Overall, I found this piece interesting and I'm excited to reading the sequel in hopes of finding more background about Kat and Mary and of course to find out what happens next!

The book came in time and great packaging.

This was my niece 3rd book I bought and she loved this one that she couldn't put it down.

great

This story was heartbreaking for me. It was a slow burn and totally tricked me into thinking that what I wanted to happen was going to happen. I am forever upset about this. I do not recommend unless you want to cry your eyes out and feel very upset at the authors. It was well written but I felt that parts of it were pretty stupidly written. ‼️Do not read unless you want to be sad and upset‼️