REVIEW: Burn For Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian

Name: Burn For Burn

Author: Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Release Date: September 18, 2012 (US)

Pages: 368, Hardcover

Source: Publisher via Netgalley

Rating: 4 Teacups

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.

[summary taken from Goodreads]

Jen's Review

Don't kill me guys, but I haven't ever read anything by Jenny OR Siobhan. However, I still jumped at the chance to read their co-written novel, since they are like the queens of contemporary. Now, I had no idea what their writing style was like, so I wasn't really hesitant about anything; meaning, I went into this book not expecting anything at all. I just dove in and read. Fortunately, Burn For Burn turned out to be an awesome contemporary novel with a slight supernatural twist, and very few flaws.

Burn For Burn is unlike any contemporary I have ever read. Most of the time, you get the story of a girl who is having problems with boys, high school, family, etc. But in Burn For Burn, we get three girls with all three of those problems. What's more, this story is all about revenge. Getting back at boys who hurt them, and even an ex-best friend. The plot is very fun, entertaining, and on-the-edge-of-your-seat exciting! The plot is quite intricate: we get flashbacks of the girls' histories, as well as current day happenings. Since the story is told from three different girls' prespectives, the story itself is more intriguing to read about.

Besides the plot, the characters were also something I highly adored. Their personalities were all so different and it was great being able to get a peek at each girls' thoughts and feelings every other chapter. We have Lillia, an Asian girl (ASIAN GIRLS, FTW) who is rich and cares deeply of her younger sister, Nadia. Next we have Kat, a bad-ass punky girl who isn't afraid of a lot of things. Lastly we have Mary, a self-conscious girl who recently moved back to Jar Island. Their growing friendship was sweet and I couldn't have asked for better.

There were a couple things that were off for me, though. First, it was confusing at times as to when the chapter started off, and you weren't sure who's point of view it is from. There is no 'Lillian' or 'Kat' at the top of each chapter (or at least in the ARC format there isn't), and you kind of had to figure it out. Usually it's obvious, but there are just a myriad of characters and it took me a couple of pages to wrap my head around it. Another flaw I considered was the supernatural twist. Now, I'm definitely not sure if it will be brought up again in the following installments, but I think it was totally unnecessary.

But other than that, Burn For Burn is an entertaining read that fans of Jenny or Siobhan won't want to miss out on. The ending KIND OF leaves the reader on a cliffhanger, and I definitely want to know what happens next to the three girls of Jar Island. 

4 Teacups for Burn For Burn!

*Thanks to Simon & Schuster for providing me with an eARC to review!*