A review by sambortle
Nothing Burns As Bright As You by Ashley Woodfolk

emotional reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

“Whoever came up with that phrase must have forgotten what it’s like to be a teenager. 
What it’s like to feel foreign in your own family, your own head, 
your own body, 
your own life.” 
 
“I was armed and ready to be overtaken by the ocean of you. There was only one problem: prepration for a coming storm won’t save anyone in a fire.” 
 
From acclaimed author Ashley Woodfolk comes NOTHING BURNS AS BRIGHT AS YOU — a contemporary YA novel in verse that is as searing as it is breathtaking. In equal measure heartbreaking and reflective, NOTHING BURNS captures the complexities of female friendship, the intensity of first relationships, the grief of heartbreak, and the fine line between obsession and love in a way that only poetry truly can. 
 
Told in second person narration, NOTHING BURNS follows two unnamed queer Black teen girls through a mixed timeline alternating between one single, cumulative day — the day of The Fire — and a whirling montage of the years leading up to it. As the novel tracks the history of their relationship, the reader is given a front-row seat to its intensity, enormity, and uncertainty. Reading NOTHING BURNS feels like being dropped back into your first true heartbreak as Woodfolk’s main character describes the confusion of losing your footing — and yourself — within a relationship. I would be as quick to recommend this book to a teen experiencing a breakup as I would to their parent as a visceral reminder of what it actually felt like the first time your heart was ripped from your chest. 
 
While NOTHING BURNS does verge on the abstract at a few points, Woodfolk’s skills truly shine as she anchors the story in vivid, concrete places that act as touchstones for her narrative — most notably, the bridge that opens and closes the novel. Told stunningly with taught and lyrical language, NOTHING BURNS is a white-knuckle read from its opening line to its culmination. You won’t want to miss this one, and trust me when I say — do NOT skip the author’s note. 
 
Thank you to @versifybooks and @this_is_edelweiss for the eARC. 
 
CW: drug and alcohol use, fire 
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