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A review by manadabomb
Bonfire by Krysten Ritter
4.0
It's amazing how quick you can finish a book when you are just flying and hanging around airports. I started this the night before and finished up once I got to my vacation destination.
I didn't read the blurb about this book, just heard that it was a good debut novel from one of my favorite actors. I was actually surprised to see it set in Indiana, Barrens, Indiana, to be specific. Really though, I think this is any small town, Indiana, including my own. Thankfully, when the big factories left my town, we didn't have a plastic come in and poison the water.
Abby Williams is an environmental lawyer in Chicago (I think Chicago is where all small town Indiana kids run to first) who fled Barrens once she graduated. She ends up coming back once she has a bit of proof that Optimal plastic company is poisoning the town. Abby had a rough childhood and adolescence - to put it mildly - and she has some demons to fight along with the plastics company. Kaycee Mitchell used to be her best friend but turned into the very definition of Mean Girl. Kaycee had her group of means girls, Misha being the meanest, and boys. In High School, we learn of The Game. Girls are photographed in compromising positions and blackmailed to not have the photos circulated around school. This was before social media, so it was all paper then.
Kaycee and her clan ended up very sick in school and it was initially blamed on the Optimal company, but it turned out that the girls made it all up. Shortly after that was let out of the bag, Kaycee disappeared.
Abby is not only uncovering deep secrets of the company, she's figuring out her own history and what happened to Kaycee. This turned into a deep, dark, twisted rabbit hole of perversions and greed. I was actually surprised at the actual secret of Optimal. And disgusted by it.
I didn't read the blurb about this book, just heard that it was a good debut novel from one of my favorite actors. I was actually surprised to see it set in Indiana, Barrens, Indiana, to be specific. Really though, I think this is any small town, Indiana, including my own. Thankfully, when the big factories left my town, we didn't have a plastic come in and poison the water.
Abby Williams is an environmental lawyer in Chicago (I think Chicago is where all small town Indiana kids run to first) who fled Barrens once she graduated. She ends up coming back once she has a bit of proof that Optimal plastic company is poisoning the town. Abby had a rough childhood and adolescence - to put it mildly - and she has some demons to fight along with the plastics company. Kaycee Mitchell used to be her best friend but turned into the very definition of Mean Girl. Kaycee had her group of means girls, Misha being the meanest, and boys. In High School, we learn of The Game. Girls are photographed in compromising positions and blackmailed to not have the photos circulated around school. This was before social media, so it was all paper then.
Kaycee and her clan ended up very sick in school and it was initially blamed on the Optimal company, but it turned out that the girls made it all up. Shortly after that was let out of the bag, Kaycee disappeared.
Abby is not only uncovering deep secrets of the company, she's figuring out her own history and what happened to Kaycee. This turned into a deep, dark, twisted rabbit hole of perversions and greed. I was actually surprised at the actual secret of Optimal. And disgusted by it.