Reviews with content warning for Fire/Fire injury - Nothing Burns As Bright As You

This book is very intense. I thought it would be a quick read to boost my page count a bit, but I regret reading it so fast. I wish I’d taken my time, because being caught in this whirlwind was emotionally heavy. But it was compelling! There’s something so intoxicating to me about friends getting into (and out of) relationships because there’s just so much history! And this book does a good job handling that. The characters were very teenagery without the writing seeming super teenagery.

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stacy_27_'s review against another edition

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reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This relationship was incredibly toxic and very Jackie and Shauna coded.

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mel_muses's review against another edition

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4.5

A stunning book that stands to remind us that most things — most people — aren't forever, but they are just as important for who we are in that moment. I needed this reminder, and what a beautiful way to express it. Although this was a quick read, it still took me a bit to connect with it and I was full of questions as I read. These characters aren't meant to be "likable," but I stand by the fact that this made their story of falling in and out of love even more real. I can't wait to read more by Ashley Woodfolk.

Trigger Warnings: substance use, toxic relationships, arson/pyromania, police, absent parents, racism, homophobia, depictions of depression

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midnightmarauder's review

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dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Nothing Burns As Bright As You follows an unnamed teenage narrator who the reader follows through her intense homoerotic friendship with another girl.

Fire is used as a symbol throughout the novel. It is mainly used to represent the intensity of the relationship between the protagonist and her best friend/girlfriend. They have a strong bond, so strong that they do everything together and are a bit codependent on one another. This intensity is shown to be both good and bad, but mostly the latter. The protagonist's girlfriend is shown to be withdrawn and standoffish to her for most of the book. She is unsure of what she wants out of their relationship and makes it known, much to the protagonist's dismay. But, as the protagonist falls back and tries to give her what she wants, it only angers the girlfriend and makes her jealous and possessive. Even though the girlfriend's fiery disposition attempts to push the protagonist away, the protagonist only comes closer and closer to her, causing her to get burned constantly.

Another way that fire is used as a symbol in the novel is in the literal sense. The girls start two different fires in the book: one behind their school, and one in an abandoned house. The fervency of these fires and the status of their relationship when they are set are also parallel to each other. The school's fire was set during the beginning of their relationship when the girls were their happiest, and burned for only a short amount of time before being extinguished. The fire in the abandoned building, however, burned for quite a long time and was much more intense, during a point of great tension between the two girls.

Finally, preceding each chapter is a subchapter that lists "x Days Before the Fire", counting all the way down until "After the Fire". The "fire" mentioned in those subchapters are another word for

the girls' ultimate "break-up"

. Following the destruction of the abandoned house, the protagonist's girlfriend decides that she

wants to end things between them

. This devastates the protagonist and she describes her pain:

"The tears come as tempests, falling quick and heavy like a summer hailstorm. And it is still so dark that I want to start a fire. But what difference would it make? Nothing burns as bright as you."

This line signifies just how much the she meant to the protagonist, despite all of the toxicity that came with their relationship.

I really liked this book. As a lesbian myself, it reminded me a lot of when I was younger and felt a strong codependency with my own best friend, with who I had a slight homoerotic friendship with as well. The pain that comes with such a relationship, especially one that was unrequited (like mine) is something so difficult to be able to express in words, let alone for someone else to understand. Ashley Woodfolk does an amazing job at capturing what it's like to be a young, same-sex attracted girl and how that can lead some into relationships that aren't always good.

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thenovelmaura's review against another edition

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reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Mixed feelings on this one; the poetry was beautiful but I struggled to connect with the unnamed main characters. I also felt a lot more comfortable with the book once I realized the author was intentionally describing a toxic relationship/hyper-intense first love (until then, I was concerned that this relationship was being idealized) and it took me awhile to get to that point. I don't recommend reading this one via the audiobook, even though the narrator was lovely! It made the time jumps way more confusing and I think the novel-in-verse style would have been more effective in a visual format.

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erinwolf1997's review

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emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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peggy_racham's review against another edition

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5.0

"Little girls' bodies are war zones with no allies. And women are made of whatever survives."

I highlited like half this book. Something about the queer joy but also the inner shame and confusion, feels very close to home.

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lexa's review against another edition

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5.0

Poetic. Traumatic. Beautiful.

Fantastic audiobook narration. This story was so beautiful to listen to, but at the same time left me feeling gutted.

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