Burn for Burn

July 30, 2012
Set on fictional Jar Island, this first collaboration between Han (We’ll Always Have Summer) and Vivian (The List) follows three teenage girls bonded by a chilling quest for revenge. Popular Lillia is angry with her friend Alex, who spent the night with her 14-year-old sister after a party; tough girl Kat wants to sting her former friend Rennie, who has been spreading lies about her for years; and Mary, newly back on the island, is obsessed with the school quarterback, who humiliated her five years ago. Although they aren’t friends, the girls promise to work together in all three acts of revenge. Each girl narrates, flashing back to memories of betrayal and describing their pranks, which escalate from distributing Alex’s private writing to drugging another target. First in a planned trilogy, this fast-moving book offers an atmospheric setting and enough drama to captivate readers as they decide whether revenge is ever justified. The authors leave many unanswered questions, including the nature of a supernatural subplot that distracts somewhat from the book’s focus on retribution, guilt, and status. Ages 14–up. Agent: Emily Van Beek, Folio Literary Management.

February 1, 2013

Gr 7 Up-Popular cheerleader Lillia, traumatized Mary, and bad girl Kat make an alliance to get revenge on two bullies and a guy they think took advantage of Lillia's younger sister. The novel (S & S, 2012) takes place on small Jar Island, and the conspirators skulk around to keep their plan secret. The antagonists are at three-dimensional characters. Rennie, head cheerleader, is a bully and a snob, and is infatuated with the quarterback who isn't interested her. Alex is in love with Lillia, but she sees him as a friend. Reeve traumatized Mary years before. He's intriguing but a cipher. The protagonists are as difficult to like as the antagonists. Mary turns out to have supernatural powers, which seems tacked on to the plot. Lillia is duplicitous throughout as the victims are her friends only days before the conspiracy is hatched. Remorse seems scarce even when they learn that their first victim was innocent. Leaving room for a sequel, plot threads dangle at the abrupt ending. The three narrators-Madeleine Maby, Joy Osmanski, and Rebekkah Ross-ably voice the revenge seekers. They all sound believable and have just the right amount of angst and drama for the girls they're representing. Production values are fine, though Mary's segments are a bit tinny. For fans of "Gossip Girls" and books about mean girls behaving badly.-C.A Fehmel, St. Louis County Library, MO

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