Title:
Burn for Burn.
Series:
Burn for Burn.
Author:
Jenny Han - Siobhan Vivian.
Genre:
YA, Contemporary, Paranormal.
Published by:
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2012.
Pages:
368 pages.
Why this book:
Pretty Little Liars meets Carrie meets John Tucker Must Die.
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Synopsis:
Postcard-perfect Jar Island is home to charming tourist shops, pristine beaches, amazing oceanfront homes—and three girls secretly plotting revenge.
KAT is sick and tired of being bullied by her former best friend.
LILLIA has always looked out for her little sister, so when she discovers that one of her guy friends has been secretly hooking up with her, she’s going to put a stop to it.
MARY is perpetually haunted by a traumatic event from years past, and the boy who’s responsible has yet to get what’s coming to him.
None of the girls can act on their revenge fantasies alone without being suspected. But together…anything is possible.
With an alliance in place, there will be no more “I wish I’d said…” or “If I could go back and do things differently...” These girls will show Jar Island that revenge is a dish best enjoyed together.
KAT is sick and tired of being bullied by her former best friend.
LILLIA has always looked out for her little sister, so when she discovers that one of her guy friends has been secretly hooking up with her, she’s going to put a stop to it.
MARY is perpetually haunted by a traumatic event from years past, and the boy who’s responsible has yet to get what’s coming to him.
None of the girls can act on their revenge fantasies alone without being suspected. But together…anything is possible.
With an alliance in place, there will be no more “I wish I’d said…” or “If I could go back and do things differently...” These girls will show Jar Island that revenge is a dish best enjoyed together.
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My Review:
"This is Karma, I'm a bitch. Can you think of anyone who deserves a bitch slap?"
'Burn for Burn' is told by three different points of views. First there's Mary, who returns to Jar Island after getting over her tough childhood filled with bullying and body-shaming from one of the popular boys in the island. Then we have Lilia, the pretty and rich girl who has it all but who has also experienced an unfortunate accident that made her more aware of boys around her and now she won't let the same thing happen to her little sister, Nadia. Lastly there's Kat, who is mistreated by the popular group in her high school and she decides that she has to do something to make Rennie, her ex-bestfriend and the leader of the clan pay for what she did to her. The girls were brought by fate together and they planned how they want to take revenge on the three people that hurt them most; Alex, Rennie and Reeve. Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian's 'Burn for Burn' is a light story about sweet, sweet revenge and how not to stop until getting it.
Don't you just hate it when a book shows so much potential at first and then fails to impress you? This is exactly what this book has done to me. It was wrong on so many levels but that doesn't mean I absolutely hated it. The first -and most- thing I really disliked about 'Burn for Burn' is the writing style, I expected way more from Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian specially that is my first time reading their works, it honestly feels like it was written by a twelve-year-old. I don't know if it was a technique from the authors to make this book reliable to Young Adult readers since almost all of us are in High School/College or if it's just Han and Siobhan's writing style in general. It was cheesy and I wanted to put the book down many times. I honestly found it disrespectful to other authors that someone (in this case, two) can write such a badly-executed book and get away with it (*cough* do you hear me E. L. james? *cough*). I also didn't like how week the character building is, none of the girls made me feel sorry for her or got me invested in her story and why she wants revenge, that's another point they forgot to focus on. One more thing I didn't like is how cheesy the plot is, the idea of the book is very interesting but the plot is just mockable and ridiculous and once again if felt like something a twelve-year-old might do. Their "revenge" didn't feel like revenge at all, it was simply some badly pulled-off corny pranks and at the end it got too extreme. So it's either a prank ('John Tucker Must Die' sort of prank) or a felony (the kind of felony 'A' would would commit in 'Pretty Little Liars'). Bottom of the line, the whole thing was lame.
Now let's move to what I liked; it was an extremely light read and I finished it in one sitting even though it's 300+ pages (I'm a slow reader, so finishing something really fast is an achievement). I like how it showcased topics such as rape, virgin-shaming, slut-shaming, body-shaming, bulling, abuse and drug use in a loose way (because after all, it is a YA book) and still managed to make us remember those scenes so that's a smart move and they must take credit for it. It was interesting to read from the three point of views of Kat, Lilia and Mary. Even though the authors weren't successful to dig deep into their personalities, it was fun to get to know each one of the girls' past and their take on what happened. And last but not least, the ending was very interesting, midway reading I made up my mind about ditching the rest of the trilogy but the end was intense and tempting. I might one day pick the last two books and see what happens. A true cliffhanger.
The characters:
- Mary: Mary is a shy girl who was bullied when she was young by a popular boy in her school whom she had feelings for. She left the island and now back to prove to everyone that she's different. She lacks confidence and I connected with her the most because I had a very similar experience to what she's been through. It ruined my life but I managed to get over it and I hope she does too in the next books.
- Kat: Kat is the punk outcast who swears, drinks, does drugs and hangs out with bad people. It doesn't necessarily make her a bad person, I actually liked Kat the most because she had that boldness and straightforwardness the other two girls lacked. She had a tough past just like Mary but she doesn't let it get the best of her. Plus she's the one who came up with the revenge plan.
- Lilia: Lilia is beautiful, rich, popular and loved but that doesn't mean she has a perfect life. Not until something happened to her and now she wants to protect her little sister from it. I loved how protective and found she is of Nadia but other than that, there's not much to tell.
Overall, it's a light read, perfect for the fans of Pretty Little Liars, Carrie and John Tucker Must Die. It shows various elements and explores revenge, friendship and family beautifully. It has a paranormal twist to it and it makes you want to know more.
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Pros:
Showcasing vices: presenting topics such as rape, abuse, bullying, virgin-shaming and drug use lightly.
Three perspectives: various points of views for the readers to get to know the characters better.
Cliffhanger: the ending makes you want to read more from this trilogy.
Showcasing vices: presenting topics such as rape, abuse, bullying, virgin-shaming and drug use lightly.
Three perspectives: various points of views for the readers to get to know the characters better.
Cliffhanger: the ending makes you want to read more from this trilogy.
Cons:
Horrible writing style: it looks like it's written by a twelve-year-old, honestly.
One-dimensional characters: none of them is interesting and the character building is week.
Simple plot: Their "revenge" is nothing but failed pranks and actual felonies.
Horrible writing style: it looks like it's written by a twelve-year-old, honestly.
One-dimensional characters: none of them is interesting and the character building is week.
Simple plot: Their "revenge" is nothing but failed pranks and actual felonies.
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Quotes:
"This is Karma. I'm a bitch. Can you think of anyone who deserves a bitch slap? If so meet at Judy Blue Eyes, 2am. If not, sit back and enjoy the show."
"Maybe I wasn't worth remembering"
"I can't handle it, you and me not being friends. You mean a lot to me. Always have. Always will."
"I always hoped, somewhere deep down inside, that I mattered to him. That, despite everything, there was something real between us. That he cared about me. That he was sorry for what he did. I know now, I know for sure, that I was wrong. He's never going to apologize to me, or acknowledge what he did. And there's no reason for me to stay."
"And it feels like fate or magic- the girls coming into my life, right when I needed them most."
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Rating:
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Dreamcast:
My dreamcast if they'll make a 'Burn for Burn' book-to-movie adaptation is:
Chloe Grace Moretz as Mary Zane:
Chloe Grace Moretz as Mary Zane:
Mary suffers from a harsh childhood but tries her best to get over it. Visual-wise, I think Chloe is perfect to play Mary and I believe she'll portray her character skilfully.
Arden Cho as Lilia Cho:
Arden Cho plays a high school student with supernatural powers named Kira Yukimura in 'Teen Wolf' and I trust her acting enough to think that she would portray Lilia well. Her looks are on point too.
Zoey Deutch as Kat DeBrassio:
Kat is bold, straightforward and sometimes even scary and I can't think of anyone better than Zoey Deutch to play her role. Their looks match perfectly as well.
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