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A review by coddiwomplesandcoffee
Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado
5.0
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!