Review - BURN FOR BURN

TITLE: BURN FOR BURN

AUTHOR: Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian
SERIES: Burn for Burn Trilogy

SYNOPSIS:
BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY... THEY GET EVEN.

Lillia has never had any problems dealing with boys who like her. Not until this summer, when one went too far. No way will she let the same thing happen to her little sister.

Kat is tired of the rumors the insults, the cruel jokes. It all goes back to one person– her ex-best friend– and she's ready to make her pay.

Four years ago, Mary left Jar Island because of a boy. But she's not the same girl anymore. And she's ready to prove it to him.

Three very different girls who want the same thing: sweet, sweet revenge. And they won't stop until they each had a taste.

LINKS: Jenny Han's Website | Siobhan Vivian's Website | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

REVIEW: Burn for Burn is about three different girls who want to get even with the people that hurt them.  They soon figure out that if they want to successfully get revenge on the person who betrayed them, they would have to work together. The story takes place on Jar Island, an island that is made up of locals and tourists. The story is told in three different voices, Lillia, Kat, and Mary, the three main characters. Lillia wants to ensure her younger sister’s safety from a friend whom she trusted. Kat wants to get back at her old best friend for dropping their friendship and spreading nasty rumors about her. Mary wants to get back at a boy who traumatized her enough that she moved off the island, the place where she was born. Alone they are helpless, together they are unstoppable.

       Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian did a wonderful job crafting the characters. Each one has a different back story and it was easy to sympathize with them most of the time. Lillia is the rich one, the only one who was not born on the island. Originally her family came here during the summer, until they decided to move there for good. She is popular, a cheerleader, and a goody-two shoes, but all she really wants is to protect her little sister from getting hurt. Kat is the outcast. Ever since her ex-best friend climbed to the top of the social ladder and started spreading rumors about her, Kat has been the loser. She doesn’t have a great home life either. Her mother died when she was young, leaving her dad and stoner brother to take care of her. Yet, she can hold her head high and get into trouble. But Mary has it worse. She left her parents on mainland to live with her aunt, in order to try to give the boy who made fun of her, when she thought they were friends, the one who made her leave the island four years ago, what he deserves. Mary is the shy one.

        I liked how all three characters had their own individual voices. After the first few chapters, I probably could tell you who was talking without seeing their name in the chapter title. Another thing I liked about the characters was that they all had different, complex back stories.  The cover suited the book perfectly, after getting to know the characters more, you can easily tell who is who. The title was even better. It was a catchy title and held the concept of revenge. For every burn the girls got, they would give a burn back, a burn for burn, at least for the most part.

        Something I did not like about the book was up until the end, I thought it was realistic fiction, it could have really happened. And then something happens in the last three chapters that make it seem a bit of paranormal. Which one is it really? One other thing that I kind of disliked was the revenge the girls got. They weren’t as severe as they should have been, or they were too severe. They got a lot of revenge on a guy who didn’t really deserve it, while I thought another person should have gotten a worse punishment. But the thing I dislike the most was the cliffhanger at the end. It left me wondering if I missed anything. I was like “that’s it?” Turns out I was partially correct. That was the end of BURN FOR BURN but only the beginning of a trilogy that I will continue to read.

RATING: REALLY ICY



RECOMMENDATION: I would recommend this book for fans of ABC's hit drama Revenge. This book is like the show in a way except less sinister, and the revenge is on a teenage level - no one dies.