Fire with Fire

August 15, 2013
Revenge might be a dish best served cold but not when it's as unappetizing and bloated as this sequel to Burn for Burn (2012). At first, in the aftermath of the homecoming debacle, Kat, Lillia and Mary think they're done with revenge. But then they regroup and focus their efforts on one person: star quarterback Reeve, who broke his leg after Lillia drugged him at the dance and who used to bully the still-fragile Mary. There are signs that Reeve has a crush on Lillia, so the girls decide she will get close to Reeve and then break his heart. This has the bonus of hurting Rennie, Kat's nemesis and Lillia's new frenemy. The movement of Lillia to the forefront of the novel and the slow growth of her feelings for Reeve are compelling, but Kat's relegation to the sidelines and the strange supernatural powers that Mary discovers make the book feel uneven. When the truth about Mary is finally revealed, it's just a distraction from the more interesting plot points--and feels totally unnecessary. Clocking in at over 500 pages, this attempt by Han and Vivian to craft a Carrie-meets-John Tucker Must Die novel falls very flat. (Fiction. 15-18)

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October 1, 2013

Gr 10 Up-Picking up a few days after the events of Burn for Burn (S & S, 2012), this sequel deals with the fallout from a revenge plan that didn't go as smoothly as it should have. Lillia finds herself iced out of her social circle by her former BFF, Rennie, when star football player Reeve shows an interest in her. Reeve's attention provides Lillia, Kat, and Mary, who formed a secret alliance in the first novel, another opportunity to exact revenge. This time, Lillia will make Reeve fall in love with her and then break his heart the way he broke Mary's. Lillia wants nothing to do with Reeve, but goes along with the plan for her friend and soon finds herself developing true feelings for him. Mary knows better than to still care for Reeve, but knowing better doesn't stop it from happening. Meanwhile, her aunt, with whom she lives, starts acting stranger and stranger, and Mary's memories of her haunted past start trickling back. The narration rotates among the three main girls. Each one has a distinct voice, making it easy to follow the engaging story. There are more questions than there are answers about the multiple plot threads left dangling at the end. Fans of the first book have been waiting eagerly for this installment; those new to the series are encouraged to go back to Burn for Burn to catch up.-Brandy Danner, Perkins School for the Blind, Watertown, MA

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2013
Grades 9-12 Actions and consequences. That's what the second novel in the Burn for Burn series is all about. When we last saw Lillia, Kat, and Mary, they were enacting revenge on Reeve at the homecoming dancebut their efforts go awry, leaving Reeve with a broken ankle and dashed football-scholarship dreams. Now tensions are running high between popular-girl Rennie and both Lillia and Kat. Then there's Mary, whose supernatural powers, hinted at at the end of the first book, are amped up here, as she struggles to keep her freaky outbursts at bay. The Reeve-revenge plot twists once more, when Lillia attempts to make him fall for her, then leaves him hanging in an effort to help Mary overcome her Reeve-tainted past. But feelings aren't so easy to fake, and Lillia could be setting off an emotional maelstrom. The plot threads here hang together better than in Burn for Burn (2012), and the novel ends with a literal bang. What's next? Well, Mary's going to be on a tear, that's for sureand readers won't want to miss it.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)