Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
The Bronx is my favorite NYC borough, I had to read it and I was not disappointed!
4 stars. I’ve never seen a single episode of Stranger Things and a lot of the reviews say that this is way too much like that show so now I’m interested. This was really freakin’ awesome and definitely made me want to finally watch that series.
The writing was really good and I loved the plot and how dark it was. The horror aspects worked and I loved the characters. Raquel was great and I liked her development. Her crush on Charlize was sweet. This isn’t a romance but what little was there was so adorable. The Echo game was interesting and I thought the underground world was so cool though I wanted more of it. While this had some really heavy moments it was still such a fun and gripping read. It was a very impressive debut and I will definitely be keeping Tirado on my radar.
The writing was really good and I loved the plot and how dark it was. The horror aspects worked and I loved the characters. Raquel was great and I liked her development. Her crush on Charlize was sweet. This isn’t a romance but what little was there was so adorable. The Echo game was interesting and I thought the underground world was so cool though I wanted more of it. While this had some really heavy moments it was still such a fun and gripping read. It was a very impressive debut and I will definitely be keeping Tirado on my radar.
Did audio format.
I didn’t really live this book. Just wasn’t for me. But objectively , it was solid so it gets 3 stars.
Thought it was fantasy. It’s not. Well, it is in so much that it’s paranormal I guess.
Narrator really made me feel like the kids were really young though, so my mind struggled to remember they were teens in highschool.
I liked the real world history woven in it. And I like the girl being Afro Latina.
I didn’t really live this book. Just wasn’t for me. But objectively , it was solid so it gets 3 stars.
Thought it was fantasy. It’s not. Well, it is in so much that it’s paranormal I guess.
Narrator really made me feel like the kids were really young though, so my mind struggled to remember they were teens in highschool.
I liked the real world history woven in it. And I like the girl being Afro Latina.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review.
I do want to say, that I am a slow reader, so I did not finish the book before this review. I have around 75% of the book left to read, which I will be getting from my library. I enjoyed this book so much that I did purchase it for my library.
In Burn Down, Rise Up, the reader is completely taken by the story on the first page of the book. Within the first chapter or so we learn that people have been disappearing at a rate where it is suspected that there is a serial killer in the Bronx. However, it can't be confirmed because no bodies have been found of the missing people.
We follow Raquel, who is a sixteen-year-old who lives in the Bronx. Raquel's world is rocked because her mom was attacked by a patient and is now being quarantined with a strange illness. She now has to live with her father. Raquel has somewhat of a strained relationship with her father, but there are interesting bits and pieces throughout the novel that we learn of Raquel's past and the Bronx's past through him. The information we learn from him is extremely important to the plot of the book. Raquel starts to hang out with Charlize, who is a childhood friend because Charlize's cousin becomes one of the missing. It's up to them to find him and save Raquel's mom from the strange illness overtaking her body.
Honestly, I WISH I could read fast because this book is one that I could not put down. It really grabs your attention from the very beginning and becomes more intriguing throughout. It is very timely because there is some discussion of police and racism. Also, learning about the Bronx's past is absolutely fascinating and heart-wrenching at the same time. I really loved all of the characters, and felt a lot of emotion about what they were going through (honestly, laughed, cried, and gasped.) I can not wait to get it from my library and read the rest of the book..
I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves Stranger Things (there are A LOT of Stranger Things vibes throughout), horror, or history intertwined with sci-fi feels.
(I'm only rating this book 4 stars because I haven't gotten to finish it)
I do want to say, that I am a slow reader, so I did not finish the book before this review. I have around 75% of the book left to read, which I will be getting from my library. I enjoyed this book so much that I did purchase it for my library.
In Burn Down, Rise Up, the reader is completely taken by the story on the first page of the book. Within the first chapter or so we learn that people have been disappearing at a rate where it is suspected that there is a serial killer in the Bronx. However, it can't be confirmed because no bodies have been found of the missing people.
We follow Raquel, who is a sixteen-year-old who lives in the Bronx. Raquel's world is rocked because her mom was attacked by a patient and is now being quarantined with a strange illness. She now has to live with her father. Raquel has somewhat of a strained relationship with her father, but there are interesting bits and pieces throughout the novel that we learn of Raquel's past and the Bronx's past through him. The information we learn from him is extremely important to the plot of the book. Raquel starts to hang out with Charlize, who is a childhood friend because Charlize's cousin becomes one of the missing. It's up to them to find him and save Raquel's mom from the strange illness overtaking her body.
Honestly, I WISH I could read fast because this book is one that I could not put down. It really grabs your attention from the very beginning and becomes more intriguing throughout. It is very timely because there is some discussion of police and racism. Also, learning about the Bronx's past is absolutely fascinating and heart-wrenching at the same time. I really loved all of the characters, and felt a lot of emotion about what they were going through (honestly, laughed, cried, and gasped.) I can not wait to get it from my library and read the rest of the book..
I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves Stranger Things (there are A LOT of Stranger Things vibes throughout), horror, or history intertwined with sci-fi feels.
(I'm only rating this book 4 stars because I haven't gotten to finish it)
adventurous
dark
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
DNF @ 8% because I'm feeling a book slump and don't want to read YA right now. This story wasn't gripping me, so decided to skip it. I'll maybe read Tirado's adult fiction book first instead.
I absolutely adored this book. Once again I love my job because I always find interesting books crossing my desk and this one was so intriguing! I read it in a few hours partly because it was so good and partly because I started it at 10pm and by the time I was feeling sleepy I had to know how it ended or I couldn’t sleep! (Also I don’t think I would recommend doing this as I did have some very strange dreams after consuming the book and immediately going to bed hahaha)
I really enjoyed the world Tirado sets up and the nature of the echo game. I grew up in the era of bloody mary chants at sleepovers and creepypasta internet, so the premise of having a urban legend/game actually work immediately hooked me. I was really curious too to see if the story would feel difficult to follow with the world jumping. Instead the narrative felt, to me at least, pleasantly linear. It felt a little like we were walking the journey of the book as the characters followed the echo journey and I really enjoyed that. Especially for a YA book I think it’s a great use of scifi type world building that still feels accessible for people who may have a hard time keeping multiple plot lines straight.
Honestly though my favourite aspect of the story was the use of the echo game to discuss the history of a place. I won’t go into detail because I don’t want to spoil anything, but I love how the echo worked within the city context and I love the lessons learned in the process of playing the game. I’ve already recommended this book to coworkers and friends, and if you have a scifi loving teen I would absolutely run this one by them!
I really enjoyed the world Tirado sets up and the nature of the echo game. I grew up in the era of bloody mary chants at sleepovers and creepypasta internet, so the premise of having a urban legend/game actually work immediately hooked me. I was really curious too to see if the story would feel difficult to follow with the world jumping. Instead the narrative felt, to me at least, pleasantly linear. It felt a little like we were walking the journey of the book as the characters followed the echo journey and I really enjoyed that. Especially for a YA book I think it’s a great use of scifi type world building that still feels accessible for people who may have a hard time keeping multiple plot lines straight.
Honestly though my favourite aspect of the story was the use of the echo game to discuss the history of a place. I won’t go into detail because I don’t want to spoil anything, but I love how the echo worked within the city context and I love the lessons learned in the process of playing the game. I’ve already recommended this book to coworkers and friends, and if you have a scifi loving teen I would absolutely run this one by them!