Review: Burn For Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian

Release Date: September 11, 2012
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Rating: YA 14+
Genre/s: Contemporary
Pages: 368

BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY...THEY GET EVEN.

Lillia has never had any problems dealing with boys who like her. Not until this summer, when one went too far. No way will she let the same thing happen to her little sister.Kat is tired of the rumours, the insults, the cruel jokes. It all goes back to one person– her ex-best friend– and she's ready to make her pay.


Four years ago, Mary left Jar Island because of a boy. But she's not the same girl anymore. And she's ready to prove it to him.

Three very different girls who want the same thing: sweet, sweet revenge. And they won't stop until they each had a taste.

**A review copy was provided by S&S (thank you!!!)**

"If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us shall we not revenge?"
-William Shakespeare

What an exciting, gripping, scary book! This just shows you how truly cruel and nasty teenage girls can be (well, some of them anyway). Awesome and slightly creepy characters, a thrilling plot, and enough excitement and drama to keep me guessing and hooked till the very end, Burn For Burn was a vengeful, dramatic, and totally nail-biting read. I loved this so hard!

At first I was a little bit wary because of all the narrator changes, but I soon got the hang of it and I actually really liked seeing how each character was feeling and what they were thinking. The characters were, well, surprisingly likable! Being a revenge novel and all that, I thought they would all be a little mean and frightening, but for the most part, these were just girls who'd been mistreated, misjudged, and were sick of it. They wanted revenge. And to be honest, after reading what all they'd been through, I can't really blame them.

Some people say that the best revenge is showing that person who wronged you that you are fine, and they don't affect you in any way. In other words, forgive and forget. And I would agree with that---to an extent. Maybe it's the fact that I too, am a teenage girl, but I was rooting for Mary, Lillia and Kat till the very end (when I felt that maybe, just maybe they had gone a tad too far...). I felt the pain and anger that they felt, and I completely empathized with the need they felt to bring upon justice!

The acts of revenge actually aren't that bad and big as I thought they were going to be, but then again, these girls are just teenagers. Which maybe explains why they were so rash with their actions? 

So, up until around the middle, I was really enjoying the book. It was kind of what I expected it to be--a scaryass, creepy, different Contemporary novel. And then, out of the blue, there was a supernatural element. I didn't get it at first! It was really weird and actually kind of cool--and I think I mean that in a good way. If there is a sequel, which, after the cliff-hanger of an ending we were left with, there BETTER be, then I hope that it will be fully explained, because from what I read, it was really cool!

An exciting, engrossing mix between Pretty Little Liars and Gossip Girl, Burn For Burn was a read that will stay with me for a very long time. Totally captivating and really thrilling!

If you like this, try:

The Gathering Dark by Christine Johnson

Through to You by Emily Hainsworth

Fury by Elizabeth Miles