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gloryreadstoomuchh's review against another edition
3.0
this book was very odd to say the least.
the basic premise of this book is that the mom and daughter, margot, have a tough relationship, the mom refuses to tell her about her extended family, so margot runs away. when she gets to her grandmas town she starts to figure out some weird secrets
-there was a fire the day she arrived and someone died in it
-that very day the water in her grandmas kitchen ran a little bit pink
-her mother had a twin sister katherine, that she killed
-she killed her bc her sister was crazy and there was something wrong with her
-the grandma can somehow impregnate people without there being any father
margot also makes two friends, eli and tess, and tess ends ups pregnant but there is no father, the grandma then kills tess’ whole family and her grandma tried to bury her alive and then when margot gets out she finds her grandma again and she dies in a a fire (i was a bit confused about that part, i don’t think margot set the fire but she left her grandma to die for sure).
overall this book was okay, nothing special at all, i would also say this has more paranormal elements then just mystery but hey
the basic premise of this book is that the mom and daughter, margot, have a tough relationship, the mom refuses to tell her about her extended family, so margot runs away. when she gets to her grandmas town she starts to figure out some weird secrets
-there was a fire the day she arrived and someone died in it
-that very day the water in her grandmas kitchen ran a little bit pink
-her mother had a twin sister katherine, that she killed
-she killed her bc her sister was crazy and there was something wrong with her
-the grandma can somehow impregnate people without there being any father
margot also makes two friends, eli and tess, and tess ends ups pregnant but there is no father, the grandma then kills tess’ whole family and her grandma tried to bury her alive and then when margot gets out she finds her grandma again and she dies in a a fire (i was a bit confused about that part, i don’t think margot set the fire but she left her grandma to die for sure).
overall this book was okay, nothing special at all, i would also say this has more paranormal elements then just mystery but hey
kim_j_dare's review against another edition
3.0
If you enjoy a heavy dose of creepy and disturbing, you’ll find plenty to like in Rory Powers’ new novel. Margot and her emotionally-absent mother have a very dysfunctional relationship, and when Margot stumbles across information about the grandmother that her mother has kept a secret, she thinks she will finally get an opportunity to be part of a larger family. She travels to the town in which her mother grew up, and quickly gets enmeshed in her grandmother’s twisty corn maze of secrets and lies. There are moments in which the creepiness crosses over into almost silly in its farfetchedness. And the diary entries that Margot discovers are extremely convenient. That being said, there’s a good bit to enjoy here.
Thanks to Random House Children’s Books and Net Galley for the digital ARC.
Thanks to Random House Children’s Books and Net Galley for the digital ARC.
readingwmiles's review against another edition
4.0
3.5, super fun. liked this a lot more than wilder girls. sad and spooky with a perfect fall atmosphere. also i didn’t guess the twists so love that!!
emldavis001's review against another edition
2.0
The story was good, but I felt like it was 100 pages too long. It felt like it dragged.
ashction's review against another edition
5.0
Wow, this book is so! fricking! good!
I didn't have the pleasure of being able to read Power's debut, Wilder Girls, mostly because I couldn't stomach the body horror in the first two chapters and figured it would only get worse from there. So, when I requested Burn Our Bodies Down (and actually received it! Thanks Netgalley and Random House!), I was hoping it would be more tame. For those of you who, like me, can't handle intense body horror, definitely give Burn Our Bodies a try!
Burn Our Bodies follows Margot Nielson, the daughter of Josephine Nielson, as a girl who has been walking on eggshells all her life. Margot has always wanted to know about the family her mother never talks about - they must exist, right? - and after a chance discovery that finally gives her the link to a grandmother she's never known and an escape from Jo's selfish, burning, barbed-wire love and care, she takes it and leaves to find herself in Phalene. But even when she arrives, all is not as it seems, because there's a fresh fire on the Nielson farm and a dead girl who looks an awful lot like Margot that leads to the unraveling of a family mystery that will leave you breathless and desperate to turn every page.
The Nielson family is super toxic, so if that's a trigger for you, please be warned. I'd list other content warnings, but Rory Power does it best on her website, so please consult her before reading this book if you have any concerns.
Once I started this story, I couldn't put it down. I read a quarter of it in one sitting, and the other three-quarters of it last night, because once I started it back up, I couldn't put it down until I knew the truth. Power's writing here is phenomenal; she does such a great job of using simple. short sentences and Margot to really push the story along. The twist was a bit unexpected, and it was a fun journey trying to piece together the fragments of the past that left Jo to want to leave Phalene a long time ago. The twist itself is unique; I personally haven't seen anything like that before, so I thought it was really cool. There's really nothing about this novel I don't like! Everything feels tight, and the story completely ties up in a way that is both appropriate and without any loose, unsatisfying ends.
If you wanted to read Wilder Girls but couldn't, definitely give Burn Our Bodies Down a try. It's so powerful both as a story and as a mediation on family, motherhood, and the bonds of the past. I completely recommend!
I received this book from Netgalley and Random House in exchange for an honest review.
I didn't have the pleasure of being able to read Power's debut, Wilder Girls, mostly because I couldn't stomach the body horror in the first two chapters and figured it would only get worse from there. So, when I requested Burn Our Bodies Down (and actually received it! Thanks Netgalley and Random House!), I was hoping it would be more tame. For those of you who, like me, can't handle intense body horror, definitely give Burn Our Bodies a try!
Burn Our Bodies follows Margot Nielson, the daughter of Josephine Nielson, as a girl who has been walking on eggshells all her life. Margot has always wanted to know about the family her mother never talks about - they must exist, right? - and after a chance discovery that finally gives her the link to a grandmother she's never known and an escape from Jo's selfish, burning, barbed-wire love and care, she takes it and leaves to find herself in Phalene. But even when she arrives, all is not as it seems, because there's a fresh fire on the Nielson farm and a dead girl who looks an awful lot like Margot that leads to the unraveling of a family mystery that will leave you breathless and desperate to turn every page.
The Nielson family is super toxic, so if that's a trigger for you, please be warned. I'd list other content warnings, but Rory Power does it best on her website, so please consult her before reading this book if you have any concerns.
Once I started this story, I couldn't put it down. I read a quarter of it in one sitting, and the other three-quarters of it last night, because once I started it back up, I couldn't put it down until I knew the truth. Power's writing here is phenomenal; she does such a great job of using simple. short sentences and Margot to really push the story along. The twist was a bit unexpected, and it was a fun journey trying to piece together the fragments of the past that left Jo to want to leave Phalene a long time ago. The twist itself is unique; I personally haven't seen anything like that before, so I thought it was really cool. There's really nothing about this novel I don't like! Everything feels tight, and the story completely ties up in a way that is both appropriate and without any loose, unsatisfying ends.
If you wanted to read Wilder Girls but couldn't, definitely give Burn Our Bodies Down a try. It's so powerful both as a story and as a mediation on family, motherhood, and the bonds of the past. I completely recommend!
I received this book from Netgalley and Random House in exchange for an honest review.
stellisquo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
jozilynn's review against another edition
5.0
I read this in one afternoon. It doesn't read like a traditional thriller and I had honestly forgotten it was one until about halfway through. But I let it take me in for the ride. It was a very strange story, I had a feeling what things were going to be once I was about 75% through the book but I still wanted to read every ounce of it. Was a good escape for a day.
hannahgrub's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-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
4.5
tartle_frogster's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-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
catbag's review against another edition
4.0
I am not my mother. I will not let a lie live inside me. I will carve it out, no matter what.Burn Our Bodies Down is about what it means to be a daughter in a family that doesn't always do right by you, and to decide whether to stay in a tangled web that will continue to wound or to walk away and find a new paradigm. It's a novel very much focused on this one theme and about Margot untangling the web of lies she grew up entangled in. The mystery and intrigue made the pages fly by. Every word, character, and plot point felt designed around this family and what Margot will decide to do. I enjoyed it, and I think it's a good read for anyone who has a complicated relationship with the idea of family.
It's not love, to give your wounds to someone else.