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lovelymisanthrope's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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
I bought a copy of this book from the library bookstore.
"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.
"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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Body horror, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Pregnancy
fanboyriot's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Read For:
Small Town
Creepy Vibes
Family Secrets
Mommy Issues
Supernatural Elements
Margot grew up with her mom reminding her it was them against the world; they didn’t need anyone else. Growing up in an emotionally unstable and abusive household she looks for other family only to find her grandmother's number. Looking for answers and a link to the comforting family she craved she sneaks away to visit a grandmother she had never met. The small town isn’t what she expected and the answers she gets are far from comforting. Maybe it would have been better if she never went to begin with.
This book still has me questioning what I just read. I have so many questions about the last few chapters. I read this in a buddy read and we both seemed to have the same questions only to get to the end and never learn the answers to them.
I really did enjoy this book though. The writing style of the majority of this book was so good, that it was intriguing and entertaining. The author did such an amazing job with the setting of this book, bringing in the creepy vibes of a small town and unknown family secrets that left me wanting to read the next chapter. However, it kinda lost me with most of the supernatural elements, I think the idea could have been better if it wasn't such an open-ended/rushed ending. I’ve noticed this with this author's work before so maybe it's just her writing style or something.
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ (4/5)
Release Date: 07, July 2020
POV: First Person
Spice: n/a
Rep: Lesbian (MC)
Content Warnings
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
eeriekeri's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Horrifying, claustrophobic.
The supernatural, the gore. It's nothing compared to the choking feeling that suffuses every conversation between mother and daughter.
The supernatural, the gore. It's nothing compared to the choking feeling that suffuses every conversation between mother and daughter.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Child death, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Murder, Vomit, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, and Blood
Minor: Pregnancy and Abortion
allisonsmith120's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Child death, and Pregnancy
Minor: Abortion
bethebluebook's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Murder, Gaslighting, Vomit, and Blood
grrrlbrarian's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I almost hit DNF about halfway through and kind of wish I had. Margot as a narrator is so melodramatic about everything, it made it difficult to care about anything in the story. The audiobook narrator was also giving it 100% on the emotional scale at all times, which again just felt like too much. I enjoyed the premise and the building tension through the story, as well as the lush and sometimes disturbing descriptions. The ending just felt like it belonged to a different story, there were too many loose ends and questions still remaining for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Blood, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Murder, Body horror, Death, and Vomit
Moderate: Pregnancy, Violence, Gun violence, and Abandonment
Minor: Abortion and Confinement
mischabkits's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Really good story, amazing emotion. The only reason I wouldn’t give it 5 stars is because there were times that I found it difficult to understand what I was reading. Loved it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Murder
Moderate: Grief, Vomit, Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Cursing, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Abortion
directorpurry's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Gun violence, Murder, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Child abuse
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Abortion
mapscitiesandsongs's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
“But you’re stronger than me, Margot. You are. You bore what I never could.” And the thing is, I know she means it like praise. Like pride. But it isn’t to me. Because yes, I bore this. I fixed it, but there’s a voice in my head, one I’ve never really heard before, and it says, I shouldn’t have had to.”
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 Tess and her family get killed. I just felt nothing. Tess and Eli were just there but didn't really play a role in the end. It also quite bothered me how Rory Power actually alludes to things that don't ever matter. Like Margot's sexuality and the relationship that could have happened. It's like the author wanted to go down that route but in the end just didn't care and all that's left is a loose thread. Same with the relationship between Eli and Tess. What was the point? It I also thought that Tess was actually alive when Officer Connors talkd about there being three bodies. Another thing that felt quite strange was the pacing. The beginning and the end were quite fast-paced but the story just slowed down in the middle.
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
Content Warnings
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
i_cant_ive_got_rehersal's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Gun violence, Blood, and Body horror
Minor: Abortion