Burn for Burn by Jenny Han, Siobhan Vivan
Series: Burn for Burn #1
Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers on September 18, 2012
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Pages: 368
Source: BEA
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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 rumours, 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.

What I Thought…

• Last year one of my favorite shows was Revenge. That show was Amazing! I love the idea of revenge even though I know that in real life it’s not as cool. I had been looking forward to this book since I heard about it and I was lucky enough to receive a copy at BEA.
• Burn for Burn is all about the characters and their motivations. There are three main characters (Kat, Lillia and Mary) and a lot of minor characters.
• Out of the three main characters Lillia is my favorite. I liked her personality and her back and forth feelings on what they were doing. She stood out the most for me.
• I liked Kat and Mary about the same. Mary was a little mousy but she gained strength towards the end of the book. She was more shy and quiet so her personality didn’t show as much. I really liked Kat’s spunk and can-do attitude but she was a little to crazy on the revenge scale. She was hell bent on making people pay.
• Their motivations for wanting revenge were pretty sound. I was afraid they would be completely ridiculous or lame, but they weren’t. All three of them got the wrong end of the stick.
• There were several minor characters, most of whom you were set up not to like. Rennie was the girl that you love to hate. For lack of better words she is a full on bitch. She is exactly what everyone thinks of when they think of “mean girls.” She was so well written.  I could picture her in my head.
• I don’t want to say who, but I was pleased that one of the characters redeemed themselves towards the end (mostly).
• I know this is a small grievance but a couple of times they use the word espadrilles (a flat shoe with a cloth upper, a rope sole, and sometimes lacing that ties around the ankle (dictionary.com)) and I really wished they would have just said sandal or really just any word that is commonly recognized.
• There is something a bit unexpected in Burn for Burn. Not enough to change my opinion or anything but it was definitely a surprise. It definitely makes me wonder where the series is heading in the future.

Notable Quotes

“I’m sick of waiting for Karma. Karma can suck it.”

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