THE BURNING follows Anna as she leaves school in England and begins a new life in Scotland. While she makes friends and falls into a routine in her new home, it doesn't take long for the rumors that ran her out of her old school to resurface and threaten her life in Scotland, too. Social media, of course, makes it worse than one can imagine. Throughout the novel, I loved Anna's inner dialogues and the loyalty of her new friends in Scotland, though I found the interaction between Anna's journey and a Scottish woman accused of witchcraft in the 1500s to be a forced parallel. I felt that the reader could have found the relationship between the two clear without such strong supernatural overtones. In general, THE BURNING addresses an incredibly important issue for teens, especially girls, today. Though I found the uselessness of the teachers in Anna's school and the other adults in the narrative to be as utterly infuriating as the unfairness in the witch trial flashbacks, I think Anna handles herself with grace and strength, which is just what the doctor ordered for a story like this.

Excellent story of cyber bullying, slut shaming, and the painful ways teenagers treat each other. When Anna looses her beloved father to cancer, she begins a relationship with a boy who ends up being horrible to her. As Anna and her mom move to get a fresh start her problems follow her. Brilliant writing makes this a book that every teenager should read. I would gladly give this book more than 5 stars if possible. Highly recommend.

This book is spectacular, it deals with the unknowingly common abuse girls face in high school, the slut shaming, the cyber bullying, the ostracising of young women by society.

There are two time lines throughout this book, the present tense Anna who is attempting to start over in a new school for reasons unknown at the beginning of the story. And the tale of Maggie from 400 years ago, a young woman who had a baby out of wedlock and who was later accused of witchcraft.

Both girls are shamed for 'their behaviour' even when it is the behaviours and attitudes of others who has put them in the position they're in. Sound familiar? This, sadly, happens on a daily basis. Boys are admired when they spill the details whilst girls are shamed and considered immodest.

I really enjoyed the intermingling of the two time lines, the comfort Anna found in researching Maggie's story and the self belief and confidence she found along the way.

This is an important story, the ending was strong and empowering. I would consider this also a book that is essential for parents of teens to read as well, the story told from Anna's perspective really emphasises the damage and misery one action can cause. The snowball effect of destruction is shown in a very true and realistic way.

As a debut YA author, I am impressed with Laura Bates' brilliant writing.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

*3.5 stars. 

“We are the granddaughters of the witches you burned. And we are not putting up with it anymore.”

This book focuses on a teenager named Anna who moved with her mom to a different country to escape her muddy past. Her past comes back to haunt her as well as unexpected visions of a woman just like her. 

The subject matter of this book is extremely important, and focuses largely on misogyny and bullying. The parts about being a woman and really “owning” that and not letting anyone take that away from you or make it seem like a shameful thing was super powerful and important and I valued those bits a lot. 

There are elements of magical realism as Anna connects spiritually with a woman who was accused of witchcraft that lived in the same town as her. That part was pretty interesting and it was jarring to hear about the punishments she endured just for being a woman. 

Overall, this was a nice debut with a lot of good insight on the pressures of being a young woman, especially in this social media era.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview this ARC of The Burning by Laura Bates.

Unfortunately this is a DNF for me.  I made it to about 40%.  It started with promise for me.  A mother and daughter starting fresh after losing their husband and father.  It is clear that they are hiding a secret and running from something.  In the meantime, daughter is learning about the Scottish witch hunts, which she can apply to her own life.  

Good stuff, but it was just not hitting home.  It was like eating a soup that you really like, only to find it super thin and weak.

Why? Why? I was so ready to love this book! It started so good and slowly turned into something strange, messy and URO (unidentified reading object)!
Another interesting plot turned into something complicated, messy, okay WTH I just read kind of story!

I waited to read something brave, heart throbbing, soul searching, provocative and powerful story! But what I get is a spiral of girl’s self-hatred and depression with awkward, nonsense dialogues embellished with supernatural elements and not so heart wrenching but artificial ending pissed me off.  

I think the problem about the story is author’s choice to juggle with too many issues at the same time. We had already sexual assault, body and slut shaming on our plate but she add more issues to the pile such as abortion, pregnancy, more shaming and yes you just dropped your plate because you cannot handle entire horrifying issues at the same story that a regular human being can handle.

And does this kind of moving and heartbreaking story really need supernatural elements to attract readers’ attention. Nope! I don’t think so.

I don’t want to be cruel and give two stars to this story because I got the intention of the author to write something meaningful and epic for the victims of abuse, rape and violence. I just didn’t like her approach and her way to tell the story. A simple, pure, emotional, genuine, honest, realistic and objective approach to this kind of sensitive issues are always more preferable for me.

So let’s round up our 2.5 stars to 3 for the promising beginning of the book and picking up another challenging reading.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire to share this ARC COPY with me in exchange my honest review. I wish I could love it more.

This is a book that touches on bullying and slut shaming in our society and holds that important message, though I am not sure the book knows what it wants to be apart from that. Granted I am reading an ARC so there maybe things that will be touched up before going to press. 

Overall it was a good read with a few weird interactions that came off a bit forced and preachy. And I say preachy as a super intersectional feminist. I love the work the author has done on the Everyday Sexism Project and want these things out in the open and dismantled. This book just didn't do it all the way for me, but younger readers, or those new to fighting the patriarchy may get into this a little more than me.

"Anna and her mother picked up their whole life to start fresh after rumors about Anna ruined her life. She thinks that she can have a fresh start until the rumors start again. As she works to hide her secrets she connects with the tale of a local girl who was accused of witchcraft centuries earlier."

I absolutely loved this book. The main character, Anna, has just gone through the trauma of losing her father and another trauma involving social media that she cannot escape. I loved the comparison of the modern day issues of slut-shaming in high schools and on social media with the witchcraft trials. Not only was it incredibly spot on, it was also interesting as a reader with a interest in history. I think this book is more real to the lives of high school, and even middle school, girls than we would like to admit. Anna is a great and realistic character in the way she deals with the issue at hand and seeing how her character grew and developed in this book was a real treat. I also loved the authenticity of Anna’s friendships she makes when moving to Scotland.

I had been looking forward to reading this book.  I was disappointed.  The storyline could have been interesting, but the writing turned me off

After the death of her father, Anna and her mother have packed up their entire lives and moved from their home in England to a small seaside town in Scotland. It's obvious that they are struggling and that there is more happening that just the loss of her father, but it's not until classmates start whispering and rumors start swirling that we begin to figure out what really caused Anna and her mother to leave. To escape, Anna begins focusing on  a school history project, trying to figure out what happened to a local girl named Maggie who was accused of witchcraft in the 1600s. 

Laura Bates, author of <I>Every Day Sexism</I>, first fiction title is an incredible one. I couldn't stop reading. Through the stories of both Anna and Maggie, Laura explores the dangers of unchecked misogyny, sexism, and the physical and emotional harm that these issues inflict on women today. The parallel story lines weave together well and I just had to keep reading so that I could discover both Anna's secret and Maggie's fate.

I really enjoyed this.  It was easy to read, engaging, and well characterised. It says a lot of important things, too.

An incredibly relevant book for issues that teenagers face today, The Burning is very well written. It tackles issues such as abortion, witchcraft, slut-shaming, hypocrisy, and misogyny and it handles them well. As a former teenage girl who now works with teenage girls, this book and the characters within really resonated with me.

The Burning by Laura Bates is a fast=paced novel that tackles timely issues facing teens and society today. Anna Clark has a secret and is making a fresh start in a new country, a new school, with new friends. The chapters keep the reader intrigued with questions like what happened in the past, why did they move so quickly, what happens at the new school, who told Cat's secret, who is Maggie, how will Anna survive when things start happening again, etc. A school project and found objects put another twist on the story that tie the past to our present. Some things like blaming the victim are only now starting to change. Rumors, social media. mystery, and friendship all play a part in this captivating tale. Would have been interesting to learn how the genealogy traced to current day. Book includes helpful links and book group questions for further discussion.

I absolutely loved this book. Thank you to Net Galley for the early copy. What a socially relevant, beautiful, and wholly compelling book. Can I give it one million stars, instead of a measly five? I felt all the feelings while reading it and just wish I could read it all over again. Genius. Thank you, Laura Bates, for taking the time to craft such a stunning book! Read it!

This book was a fabulous look I to the life of teens today and how one small act can suddenly spiral out of control. While Anna is the unfortunate victim of horrendous cyber bullying, she stumbles into  the story of a young girl from the 1600's who was burned for an unplanned pregnancy.  Such a fabulous read!