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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Racism, Blood, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Violence, Police brutality, Cannibalism
Minor: Outing
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A solid and creepy adventure of a read. Although dealing with high stakes and dark things both real and supernatural, there's a lot of heart and even hope. The book also plants a seed of interest and learning about a hard period of the Bronx's history, as well as the good being done there now.
My only nitpicks are that it felt like aspects of the plot could have been more tidy. And I'm not totally sold on how the budding romance was delivered during such intense events (though perhaps building on it more in the beginning would have helped?). Bonus points for it being Sapphic though, I hadn't realized that going in!
Overall, I think teens who read horror would enjoy this a lot, and I certainly had a good time as an adult reader!
My only nitpicks are that it felt like aspects of the plot could have been more tidy. And I'm not totally sold on how the budding romance was delivered during such intense events (though perhaps building on it more in the beginning would have helped?). Bonus points for it being Sapphic though, I hadn't realized that going in!
Overall, I think teens who read horror would enjoy this a lot, and I certainly had a good time as an adult reader!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Blood
Moderate: Racism, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Police brutality, Cannibalism
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
informative
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Blood
Moderate: Police brutality, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Classism
ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
This book, described in one word, was twisty.
Burn Down, Rise Up is a suspenseful thriller with a supernatural edge. Think Stranger Things but scarier and horror filled. I was kept at the edge of my seat, never knowing where the story was heading and constantly surprised by the endless twists and turns.
The build up of suspense and atmosphere was done really well here. There was ambience and aesthetic which made the Bronx come to life, making the setting of the Echo become more harrowing and spooky. This was really what made the book shine and a definite strength of the Author's. I loved the way the world was created and how you were instantly transported to the Burn Down, Rise Up version of the upside down.
From the very start the thriller aspect was prominent. The start was a little bit jumpy if I'm being honest as it begins with an action scene that you're kind of thrown into. After the prologue, it becomes slightly slower in pace and the story is further built up. All of a sudden, everything sort of unravels itself and you're left wondering "where is this book going to go next?"
World building and pacing aside, the characters were also really cool to read about and I found myself liking each and every one of them. I liked Raquel even though she did a lot of questionable things to her best friend and to her crush, Charlize. Charlize was a good love interest but as romance wasn't the main focus of the novel, I was glad their relationship was a slow-burn.
I think ones of the major subplots that underlined this book was friendships. Raquel and Aaron have been friends for ages and Raquel has been acutely aware of Aaron's love life, his feelings and his emotions not just towards her but towards other people as a whole. So even though Raquel broke his heart in a way, I liked how their friendship endured despite their previous perils.
The one negative about this book though was, as I mentioned before, the jumpiness at times. It wasn't just occasionally in the writing pace, it also was in relation to a lot of character motivations and events. I'm really going to try avoiding spoilers here but there was a part in the book where Raquel decided the reason behind so much of the gore of the Echo was to do with one particular horror that had to be stopped. This conclusion I believe was drawn from rediscovering historical events in a flashback sort of way however, I wanted to see how the main character made these connections and decided her actions moving forward.
All in all, this book was suspenseful, twisty and a page turner with notes of supernaturalism and historical fiction. I really liked how these elements blended together into one to create a book so focused on the Bronx and the history of the area. I definitely learned a lot of things I never known before thanks to this book and how even through the worst of times, people and community endure.
ACTUAL RATING: 3.6 STARS
This book, described in one word, was twisty.
Burn Down, Rise Up is a suspenseful thriller with a supernatural edge. Think Stranger Things but scarier and horror filled. I was kept at the edge of my seat, never knowing where the story was heading and constantly surprised by the endless twists and turns.
The build up of suspense and atmosphere was done really well here. There was ambience and aesthetic which made the Bronx come to life, making the setting of the Echo become more harrowing and spooky. This was really what made the book shine and a definite strength of the Author's. I loved the way the world was created and how you were instantly transported to the Burn Down, Rise Up version of the upside down.
From the very start the thriller aspect was prominent. The start was a little bit jumpy if I'm being honest as it begins with an action scene that you're kind of thrown into. After the prologue, it becomes slightly slower in pace and the story is further built up. All of a sudden, everything sort of unravels itself and you're left wondering "where is this book going to go next?"
World building and pacing aside, the characters were also really cool to read about and I found myself liking each and every one of them. I liked Raquel even though she did a lot of questionable things to her best friend and to her crush, Charlize. Charlize was a good love interest but as romance wasn't the main focus of the novel, I was glad their relationship was a slow-burn.
I think ones of the major subplots that underlined this book was friendships. Raquel and Aaron have been friends for ages and Raquel has been acutely aware of Aaron's love life, his feelings and his emotions not just towards her but towards other people as a whole. So even though Raquel broke his heart in a way, I liked how their friendship endured despite their previous perils.
The one negative about this book though was, as I mentioned before, the jumpiness at times. It wasn't just occasionally in the writing pace, it also was in relation to a lot of character motivations and events. I'm really going to try avoiding spoilers here but there was a part in the book where Raquel decided the reason behind so much of the gore of the Echo was to do with one particular horror that had to be stopped. This conclusion I believe was drawn from rediscovering historical events in a flashback sort of way however, I wanted to see how the main character made these connections and decided her actions moving forward.
All in all, this book was suspenseful, twisty and a page turner with notes of supernaturalism and historical fiction. I really liked how these elements blended together into one to create a book so focused on the Bronx and the history of the area. I definitely learned a lot of things I never known before thanks to this book and how even through the worst of times, people and community endure.
ACTUAL RATING: 3.6 STARS
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
The creepiness is real, oh my goodness i should not have started reading it at night and then had to finish to hope it was not as scary by the end. But woah yeah Horror anyone?
4.5
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No