Burn our Bodies Down by Rory Power

Available July 7, 2020

If you read Wilder Girls, you’ll definitely want to pick up Rory Power’s latest, Burn Our Bodies Down. Seventeen year-old Margot is frustrated with her life. Her mother is distant and emotionally unavailable. They are always broke. Her past is a complete mystery that her mother refuses to reveal any details about. When she discovers an old bible of her mother’s with a mysterious note inside, she knows she must take any scrap of information and act on it. After discovering her grandmother lives not too far away, she hitchhikes to the family farm intent on learning her family’s history. All of those hopes go up in flames, literally, when she discovers the fields around her grandmother’s farm on fire. What is found in the flames will bring up old tragedies, unlock clues to the family’s tightly held secrets, and set Margot on a horrifying journey of self-discovery.

This is a dark and creepy story filled with odd occurrences, small town gossip, and neighborly feuds that are all happening alongside forced civility and barely tolerable politeness. Margot is understandably very frustrated throughout this entire novel. No one will answer any of her questions with a straightforward answer. No one will believe her that she has zero understanding of her family’s history or knowledge of any past events. Her hopes of finding answers about her mother’s behavior are completely dashed when her grandmother is just as closed-mouthed and cryptic as her mother.

This is one of the very tense and odd-feeling novels that just doesn’t feel right at any time. There’s that underlying feeling of uneasiness that makes you want to read faster and faster because you just have to know what’s coming next. I really enjoyed it and while I don’t think it lives up to Power’s first book, it’s still a solid horror story perfect for a YA audience.

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Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own.

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