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lovelymisanthrope's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
"Burn Our Bodies Down" follows Margot. For as far back as Margot can remember, it has been just her and her mother against the world. As much as she loves her mother, Margot wants more, she wants a family she can share her life with. Unfortunately, her mother is very tight-lipped about where they came from and who their family is. When Margot finally gets a clue about her family, it is too elusive to pass up. Margot ventures to the small town where her grandmother lives, but everything is not as picturesque as Margot imagined.
Just like with "Wilder Girls", this book was strange, sci-fi-y, and relied on some body horror to shock the reader. With that said, I thought it was very captivating, and I did not want to put it down.
Margot's desperation for a family and understanding where she came from was devastating and highly relatable. I think most young people grow curious about who they are, and a big part of that can be who their family was/is. Margot's mother refuses to share anything with her, which only makes the family secrets all the more alluring. This is definitely a very stereotypical YA trope, and I do not think this book did it in any special way, but it was still enjoyable to read.
The "mystery" about what was going on was a unique take, and although aspects of it I anticipated early on, I thought it was difficult to see the whole picture right away.
This was a pretty fast-paced thriller, as is most YA thrillers. Because it was so fast paced, it was easy to devour in one sitting, and it was fairly engaging from start to finish.
I definitely will continue to read from Rory Power in the future.
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Body horror, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Pregnancy
fanboyriot's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Gaslighting, Mental illness, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Confinement, Gore, Medical content, Murder, Abandonment, Body horror, Cursing, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Abortion, Child death, Gun violence, Pregnancy, and Infertility
allisonsmith120's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Child death, and Pregnancy
Minor: Abortion
mapscitiesandsongs's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Wow, what a book. I have a hard time collecting my thoughts and actually reviewing this book. On one hand I enjoyed my reading experience. The atmosphere was just great and the story was intriguing. The portrayal of emotional abuse and gaslighting was just spectacular. That was the strongest part of the book. It was really hard to keep reading and I had to put the book down a few times. On the other hand, there were a few things that weren't that good. The characters were just mediocre. I really didn't care about any of them. So when
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Pregnancy
Minor: Abortion and Vomit
kingorgan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Murder, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Death
paracosim's review
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Violence, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Confinement, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, and Murder
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gun violence, and Medical content
violet_pages's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Grief, Gun violence, and Violence
Minor: Abortion and Vomit
sunsetcity's review
- 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? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Murder, Pregnancy, Violence, and Toxic relationship
whimsylindsey's review
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, and Murder
thesincoucher's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
- Difficult, toxic mom-daughter relationship handled with care and understanding which doesn't mean forgiveness.
- The main characters is a lesbian and that's very present in the page without needing Margot to be in a relationship. I don't see that much done well and this was A+.
- The whole plot of this is a mystery you are fed bit by bit, which sometimes makes me question if I care enough to keep reading but I really did want to know what was happening. Power is just that good.
- The American landscape - as a European I'm always a bit bewildered when they describe those amounts of empty space and I think they make such nice background for horror stories.
- I love horror and I think this one was done so well in the sense that it was creepy and unsettling.
I feel I didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to because 1) the pandemic makes it very difficult with books that are not action-packed, and this is slow-paced and 2) I don't know why but I thought this was going to be fast-paced? which is completely on me.
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Abortion and Murder