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feiii's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
female rage in the form of a teens fiction!!! my heart hurts a little knowing the closure anna received in the story will never be the perfect ending. i enjoyed insertion of scottish witch-hunts which i recall researching during uni days!
“We are the granddaughters of the witches you burned”
“We are the granddaughters of the witches you burned”
cloudpurple's review against another edition
5.0
I’m not sure how to review this book. All parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, teachers and young people (and everyone else) should read it.
It was extremely well written and powerful but terrifying as well. Bates states “that everything that happens to Anna is based on the real-life experiences of students I have worked with in schools or young people who have contacted me online”
The book seems to depict a hopeless future for young people and the use of social media without any accountability to each other or wider society, and the comparison of how young women are treated 400 years ago and today is powerful and interesting but also feels hopeless like it’s never going to change.
However there is hope - Bates says in the author’s note “I want you to know change is coming...I meet young people across the country who are taking action, determined to make change”
This gives me hope
It was extremely well written and powerful but terrifying as well. Bates states “that everything that happens to Anna is based on the real-life experiences of students I have worked with in schools or young people who have contacted me online”
The book seems to depict a hopeless future for young people and the use of social media without any accountability to each other or wider society, and the comparison of how young women are treated 400 years ago and today is powerful and interesting but also feels hopeless like it’s never going to change.
However there is hope - Bates says in the author’s note “I want you to know change is coming...I meet young people across the country who are taking action, determined to make change”
This gives me hope
minipeat's review against another edition
2.0
Speak + The Witch of Blackbird Pond. This book is good, but so in your face that you can't see the forest for the trees. I skipped 99% of the flashbacks, but even if I went back to read them I don't think it would contribute anything to the story. This would make a great adult novel with rotating POVs and editing.
It's hard to judge as a fiction book because so many of the issues in it are taking place in real life, and I do think the author's message is very important. However, I did not enjoy the characters at all and found the plot very convenient (hello, did no one think to call the police in the first place? especially a mom who works for the NHS and probably has experience with r*pe cases?). I guess I was frustrated by everyone being so ignorant, but in reality some families do not have the resources they need to deal with these situations.
Overall I was disappointed as an adult reader, but I am not the target audience. Ultimately I think having a mid-tier book out there talking about sensitive issues is better than none at all. My opinion is still up for debate.
It's hard to judge as a fiction book because so many of the issues in it are taking place in real life, and I do think the author's message is very important. However, I did not enjoy the characters at all and found the plot very convenient (hello, did no one think to call the police in the first place? especially a mom who works for the NHS and probably has experience with r*pe cases?). I guess I was frustrated by everyone being so ignorant, but in reality some families do not have the resources they need to deal with these situations.
Overall I was disappointed as an adult reader, but I am not the target audience. Ultimately I think having a mid-tier book out there talking about sensitive issues is better than none at all. My opinion is still up for debate.
bitterglitch's review against another edition
4.0
After a certain point I couldn't put this down. What a painful story.
yorticia33's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
➡️ (3.75 stars rounded up to 4 stars...)
Anna's life is in shambles. Her father is dead and some nude pictures of hers wound up online. To escape the torment of these two events, Anna and her mother move to Scotland and change their last name. Unfortunately, the internet is both worldwide and forever, so Anna is unable to fully escape her online shame. Hounded by grief and uncertainty in her new environs, Anna is assigned a local history research project that leads her to the sordid story of Maggie, a young woman who became pregnant out of wed-lock and later was "found" to be a witch. Fascinated with the similarities between Maggie's plight and her own, Anna digs deeper into Maggie's story as she tries to deal with, and escape, her own troubles.
For me, this was a troubling book to read, and it cemented my concerns over social media and how dangerous it can be for youth. Once something goes on the internet, it's there forever, and I think that teenagers need to not just know that, but feel it in their bones. If they can't remember, the world won't let them forget. I think The Burning is a strong YA debut for Laura Bates, and I appreciate that her story is actually trying to give insight to the reader about a topic that matters today. Any book can tell a story, but not all stories help you take something back to your real life. Maybe after reading it, a few bright kids will avoid getting burned, and will consider whether they want that special picture or that caustic joke to follow them the rest of their days.
➡️ (3.75 stars rounded up to 4 stars...)
Anna's life is in shambles. Her father is dead and some nude pictures of hers wound up online. To escape the torment of these two events, Anna and her mother move to Scotland and change their last name. Unfortunately, the internet is both worldwide and forever, so Anna is unable to fully escape her online shame. Hounded by grief and uncertainty in her new environs, Anna is assigned a local history research project that leads her to the sordid story of Maggie, a young woman who became pregnant out of wed-lock and later was "found" to be a witch. Fascinated with the similarities between Maggie's plight and her own, Anna digs deeper into Maggie's story as she tries to deal with, and escape, her own troubles.
For me, this was a troubling book to read, and it cemented my concerns over social media and how dangerous it can be for youth. Once something goes on the internet, it's there forever, and I think that teenagers need to not just know that, but feel it in their bones. If they can't remember, the world won't let them forget. I think The Burning is a strong YA debut for Laura Bates, and I appreciate that her story is actually trying to give insight to the reader about a topic that matters today. Any book can tell a story, but not all stories help you take something back to your real life. Maybe after reading it, a few bright kids will avoid getting burned, and will consider whether they want that special picture or that caustic joke to follow them the rest of their days.
fablesandwren's review against another edition
5.0
This book was so powerful. For someone who was bullied a lot in high school, and only had a handful of friends stick by me through it all, this brought me to absolute tears. Women support women. You never know the full story. This is feminism at its finest. I implore you to read this and learn.
Triggers : bullying, online bullying, non-consensual photo-sharing, grieving for a passed loved one.
Triggers : bullying, online bullying, non-consensual photo-sharing, grieving for a passed loved one.
ourmagicclem's review against another edition
4.0
"You can call me a prude and you can call me a whore, but really you’re just calling me a girl. I am a girl. But those other things are yours. They’re in your minds, not mine."
Alright so this book is complicated. I liked it even if not everything works. It’s the story of Anna, a teenage girl who just moved to Scotland with her mother to start over after a nude of her was posted online without her consent. Things are going well at first, nobody knows, she starts to make friends… but of course, it’s impossible to outrun your past, the pictures reappears and the bullying starts again.
I think the book does a great job at showing how brutal revenge porn and bullying can be. Seeing all of this from the perspective of Anna makes it all the more horrible to read, especially since it’s obvious she is still really affected by what happened at her old school.
I also liked that the most important relationship in the story are the ones she has with other women, namely her mother and her two new friends Cat and Lish. She does have a love interest in Robin but that relationship is far less important. In a story about sexism, focusing on female friendship seems like the right choice.
And then, there is the whole Maggie thing. I understand why it’s there, the parallel between the witch hunt of the past and the witch hunt Anna is experiencing, very different and yet born out of the same mindset, different experiences and consequences but all about misogyny and punishing women for daring to not be the perfect women, for daring to have sex, to use their body in ways men don’t like, to speak up against the men who abuse them. Burned at the literal and metaphorical stake for their perceived wrongdoing while the men get away with abusing their power. That being said, I don’t think the way it was done was the best. The supernatural aspect didn’t feel at home with the story. Especially since she is doing tradition research about it anyway, I feel there was a way to do it that would have fit better with the story.
But overall, I liked it. I think it handles the subject really well. I would really recommend it.
Alright so this book is complicated. I liked it even if not everything works. It’s the story of Anna, a teenage girl who just moved to Scotland with her mother to start over after a nude of her was posted online without her consent. Things are going well at first, nobody knows, she starts to make friends… but of course, it’s impossible to outrun your past, the pictures reappears and the bullying starts again.
I think the book does a great job at showing how brutal revenge porn and bullying can be. Seeing all of this from the perspective of Anna makes it all the more horrible to read, especially since it’s obvious she is still really affected by what happened at her old school.
I also liked that the most important relationship in the story are the ones she has with other women, namely her mother and her two new friends Cat and Lish. She does have a love interest in Robin but that relationship is far less important. In a story about sexism, focusing on female friendship seems like the right choice.
And then, there is the whole Maggie thing. I understand why it’s there, the parallel between the witch hunt of the past and the witch hunt Anna is experiencing, very different and yet born out of the same mindset, different experiences and consequences but all about misogyny and punishing women for daring to not be the perfect women, for daring to have sex, to use their body in ways men don’t like, to speak up against the men who abuse them. Burned at the literal and metaphorical stake for their perceived wrongdoing while the men get away with abusing their power. That being said, I don’t think the way it was done was the best. The supernatural aspect didn’t feel at home with the story. Especially since she is doing tradition research about it anyway, I feel there was a way to do it that would have fit better with the story.
But overall, I liked it. I think it handles the subject really well. I would really recommend it.
clarabell70's review against another edition
5.0
I am not the target audience for this book but it had me in tears and so angry for the impact social media has on bullying in schools
My first two years at secondary school were horrible but if social media had existed it would have been so much worse.
How little has changed since the witch trials in the way women are policed and judged for every action and yet men (before anyone chimes in I know not all fu**ing men) do not seem to be held to the same standards.
My first two years at secondary school were horrible but if social media had existed it would have been so much worse.
How little has changed since the witch trials in the way women are policed and judged for every action and yet men (before anyone chimes in I know not all fu**ing men) do not seem to be held to the same standards.