I finished this one a few nights ago and I'm still processing how I felt about it. I can see why people really love this story and the concept is cool, but it just didn't "wow" me. If you like a lot of introspection and question after question after question with a creepy vibe, you'll really enjoy this one. It just wasn't a great fit for me, just a middle of the road read.

This book got off to a slow start. I wasn't able to get into it until after the first 20% but after it, the story was an intense roller coaster. It was incredibly entertaining. I felt for Margot, both her mother and her grandmother are terrible people. I like that we get to understand why they are the way they are, but it doesn't excuse them from their actions as I feel that a lot of books do. I like that Margot didn't quite forgive her mother for being terrible but at the end they were working towards working together right.

Thank you to Netgalley and Delacorte Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way changes my opinion of the book.

When I read Wilder Girls last year, I was very disappointed with it. I went in with high expectations, which were not met, and ended up giving it a 2 star rating. Powers world building, however, was superb in that book and that alone made me decide that when her next book came out, I would give it another chance. I did like this book more than Wilder Girls. There were still a few issues with it, but I would be much more likely to recommend this.

Burn Our Bodies Down follows Margot, who wants to get know the family that her mother has spent her whole life hiding from her. When she finds a clue to that family, Margot goes to her mother's hometown to reunite with her long-lost grandmother and uncover family secrets.

To begin with, the pacing was MUCH better! Wilder Girls took me over a month to slog through because I was so bored. By comparison, this had faster pacing and a more coherent plot. I didn't feel as lost with where the story was going and how it was going to resolve. That said, I did pretty accurately guess what the "secret" was going to be (minus one very strange aspect). So if you've read a lot of YA books in a similar vein, you may find yourself in the same situation. The twist she puts on the secret was unique, however.

Margot was a much more interesting character to follow this time around. She's focused on the one goal which is made very clear, she's headstrong and stubborn and resourceful. Her relationship with her mother and grandmother is like watching a complex chess match, which I enjoyed. You see Margot thinking out her moves to get to her end goal. I liked seeing the "strategy" part of the book.

There is a large "creep" factor to this book, like there was with Wilder Girls, so if that was what drew you into the last book, you're likely to enjoy this, too. Powers once again demonstrates that she is a talented writer and chooses her descriptions with purpose and care. That is easily my favorite part of her books, that you feel sucked into it and like you can picture every crevice and nook of the worlds she creates.

My main complaint with this is that I know people are going to hail it as amazing LGBT+ rep and it just isn't. Once again, we get a character who kind of winks and nods at the rep and nothing concrete happens. Margot identifies herself as a lesbian, but NOTHING happens with it, even an acknowledged attraction. The "love interest" or friend character, Tess, is played as a "maybe we're attracted to each other....actually, nope. We're not." I complained about Hetty when people called Wilder Girls "sapphic horror", but at least Hetty got a kiss. This is just paying lip service. There is nothing to make this actual representation.

My last issue is that Tess, as a character, is not fleshed out at all and seems more of a plot convenience. She exists when the plot needs her to and disappears when it doesn't. Same with Eli, who is a VERY minor "friend" character. I'm not entirely sure they were needed and the book may have been cleaner for not including at least Eli.

Overall, I liked this book much more than Wilder Girls, but the issues I had with it keeps me from giving it higher than a 3. I enjoyed it. I would probably read it again. It made me more likely to check out Powers next books in hopes she continues to improve. But it's not a new favorite of mine.

Wilder Girls was a surprising read last year even though horror isn’t really my thing, so I was excited for the author’s next book. It was certainly unsettling as the cover depicts and was quite a build-up, just one that I wasn’t particularly into. Burn Our Bodies Down depicted a slow unveiling of a mystery that shouldn’t be solved.

For her entire life, it’s always been Margot and her mom. They have a tension-filled relationship, since her mother refuses to answer any questions of their family and her own past. One day, Margot takes matters into her own hands, tracking down her grandma in a town that everyone seems to have forgotten. But when she gets to Phalene, nothing is as it seems…

Again, horror isn’t really my genre, but I appreciated the slow burn of this book. Secrets are slowly uncovered at a pace that is just right; this book is also fairly short, but nothing felt rushed.

The side characters were intriguing; Margot’s mom and her grandma clearly have many sides to them. (I did find the gaslighting incredibly unsettling though, but that’s the point.) Meanwhile, Tess welcomes Margot into Phalene with open arms. She and Eli add some heart to the bareness of this town.

I also enjoyed the writing. Power’s prose is short and succinct, while also evoking sympathy and emotion. All Margot wants is history, and the ache she feels for family is haunting. This leads to the revealing of so much generational pain, one that only seeks to repeat itself.

Honestly, though, I just felt like nothing really happened in the first two-thirds of the book, which was a bit disappointing. I also thought the climax didn’t really feel like much of a pay-off. When I finished the book, I just felt left hanging, thinking, what did I just read?

Overall, I did enjoy this book! Aspects of it just personally were not for me. Fans of horror and suspense will love Power’s sophomore novel; it’s as unsettling as horror should be, an eerie tone that will stay with you long after you finish the story.

I’d like to start out by thanking Rory Power for providing a full list of content warnings for this book on her website. I would highly advise you to read them before reading the book.

Description from Delacourte Press:

“ Ever since Margot was born, it’s been just her and her mother. No answers to Margot’s questions about what came before. No history to hold on to. No relative to speak of. Just the two of them, stuck in their run-down apartment, struggling to get along.

But that’s not enough for Margot. She wants family. She wants a past. And she just found the key she needs to get it: A photograph, pointing her to a town called Phalene. Pointing her home. Only, when Margot gets there, it’s not what she bargained for.

Margot’s mother left for a reason. But was it to hide her past? Or was it to protect Margot from what’s still there?

The only thing Margot knows for sure is there’s poison in their family tree, and their roots are dug so deeply into Phalene that now that she’s there, she might never escape.”

This was my first book by Power, but my daughter raves about Wilder Girls so much that I’ll be reading that soon.

Power is an incredible writer, and paints a very accurate depiction of abuse and neglect.

The pacing of this book is incredible, making it incredibly hard to put down. There’s just this sense of...dread, or impending doom, Im not sure what the right term is, but it keeps the reader on the edge.

YA readers of all ages will excitedly gobble up this dark tale.

Solid 5 star read.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Delacourte Press for giving me a free copy in exchange for my honest review. My opinions are my own.*

As a fan of mystery and thrillers, I was so excited to receive this book. I had read Wilder Girls and liked it, but this is my favorite between the two.

I thought the beginning was a bit slow as we get introduce to Margot and her mother Jo. But once we get into the thick of things, and Margot goes to find her family, the plot starts to pick up. There was so many twists and turns that I didn't even expect anything by the ending. I thought I knew what was going on, but Rory keeps things mysterious until the final reveal.

Overall, I thought this was a great thriller - I didn't know which way was up or down and every time I thought I knew what was going to happen next, BOOM - twist. The people were very morally grey and I think that also really heightened the intensity of each moment. We never truly know their intention with each backhanded comment and action. I will be recommending this book to any thriller fans.

This is my first reading experience with this author.  I'd heard good things about her first book, Wilder Girls, so I jumped at the opportunity to read her newest release.

The reader is immediately thrust into Margot's life - neglected and emotionally abused by her mother and without a support system.  She's basically on her own, and it's easy to sympathize with her.  The author's writing style is descriptive without overloading the reader with details - which is always a plus for me.  She paints a bleak picture of the small town setting where Margot finds her family, and the moment she arrives, you know something's off kilter.  

Other than one very odd discovery and Margot's increasing feelings of unease, not much happens in the first half of the book.  Once things get going, the pace picks up and things become very....bizarre.  I'd picked up on several hints, but hoped the plot would take a different direction.  

This is an original plot, and although I'm usually a fan of the weird and strange, this grim story was mostly a miss for me.  Looking at other reviews, I'm in the minority on this one, and it won't keep me from reading future books by this author.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was liking the book but not loving it for the first 80% or so. Then some very interesting plot twists were so unexpected the book moved up to a solid 4 stars.

I don’t like giving big recaps in reviews as I want the books to tell their own stories. This is one where you don’t want to know where things end up. Margot is a lonely child with an odd relationship with her mother. Her mother never talks about her family history. Craving a family and connection Margot finds her grandmother and goes to meet her. If you want to learn more read the book. It’s worth it.

That was it?

I know I'm in the minority here, but this fell a bit flat for me. The writing was not my style: very vague and a bit poetic. I also guessed part of what was going on about 20% into the story; however, the reveal left something to be desired. I guess I was hoping for a why for everything that was happening in this book, and I didn't really get an explanation.
I will say that I liked that the book was weird and very original.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Burn Our Bodies Down is a spine-chilling and unique story. I enjoyed the writing style and I truly appreciated the well-developed characters. I also enjoyed the way the author represented the family dynamics in this story, which made me really understand each character’s actions, no matter how eccentric they may have seem to me at first. However, I don’t know how I feel about all the bizarre happenings in this story. Some things worked for me and some didn’t. At one point I started having flashbacks to the Children of the Corn movie and I definitely felt the Stephan King’s vibe, which I guess is not a bad thing if you are King’s fan.

Overall, this was a strong 3 stars book for me that will find many fans in the horror/thriller category.

Thank you NetGalley, Delacorte Press, and the author for providing me with an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

“Keep a fire burning; a fire is what saves you. The first, the last, the heart of them all.”

Margot’s relationship with her mother, Jo, has been strained for as long as she can remember. Jo’s actions tend to lie in her own best interest, seemingly without any thought for her daughter and often leaving Margot to fend for herself. Whenever Margot asks her mother what her father was like or if her grandparents are still alive, Jo retreats further into herself. One sticky summer afternoon, Margot stumbles upon an artifact from her mother’s past that opens the door to a world of dangerous secrets. Margot runs away, but she’ll soon discover that her mother’s been running for much longer.

Rory Power writes in such a way that even if you’ve never been to Nebraska in the summertime, you’ll feel like you can say you have after reading Burn Our Bodies Down. This doesn’t seem like an obvious horror novel—there aren’t any traditional monsters or excessive gore or anything else one may associate with the horror genre. The subtlety is partially what drives the absolute horror of it; from the first chapter, it’s easy to pick up on the feeling that nothing is quite right, just enough off-center that you should be prepared for something terrible with every turn of the page. Margot doesn’t stop digging until the entire uncanny truth is ripped from the depths of her grandmother’s farm and everyone finally understands what has happened. Themes of mother-daughter tension and what you inherit run bone deep in this novel. The sympathetic characters, unbearable tension, and razor sharp descriptions all work to culminate in a perfectly unsettling work of horror.

Margot and her mother have a tough relationship. And Margot wants to know more about the rest of her family if there is one, and her mother won't share at all. So when Margot takes off to find out on her own, we can guess that she's going to get the proverbial more than she bargained for. Rory Power creates such dynamic characters. They are deep and full-bodied from page 1. They are creepy and flawed and learning-as-they-go and you empathize with them. It was exciting to let myself be taken in by the underlying sinister tone of the book and I couldn't even guess, didn't want to guess, at where the story would take us.

I haven't yet read Wilder Girls, (although the cover was so stunning that I did purchase it!) so Burn Our Bodies Down is my first Rory Power book. It was quite slow to start, and a little difficult to follow, almost like a stream of consciousness rather than a structured narrative. Margot and her mother have never gotten along, and it has always been only the 2 of them. When Margot discovers a link to her mother's past, she leaves her life behind to find out where she came from. From the minute Margot arrives in Phalene, this story goes off the rails. I knew something weird was going on, but I never would have guessed exactly how weird. The pacing definitely picks up in the latter half of the book, but it still felt a little drawn out to me. This story is a wild, crazy ride, and while it might not be for everyone, I think fans will be very excited to have this book in their hands.
3.5 stars

I was provided a review copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Thanks to Delacorte and Netgalley

Burn Our Bodies Down is the second book by Rory Power and it's sure to be a hit as it's an outstanding YA thriller (with more than a touch of horror) that's about family--but not the good kind, and I love that Power explores that and does it so well. The setting--desolate town and the horror it hides--isn't new, but Power ramps up the intensity with top notch imagery and great writing. I really enjoyed this and recommended for fans of psychological horror /thriller novels.

I really commend authors who come up with ideas that are just so twisty, original, and unexpected, and Rory Power has done it in Burn Our Bodies Down.

The story started off simple enough with a crazy mother/daughter dynamic and a girl who wants to learn more about her family history, but keeps hitting a brick wall when she tries to pry details from her mother. So, she does what any teenager would do, right? She runs away to her grandmother (who she just recently found existed) and all types of weirdness ensue. When she arrives in the town of Phalene, she finds that her grandmother's field is on fire, and stranger yet, a girl who looks just like her perishes in the fire. While staying with her grandmother (who certainly acts like she's hiding something), Margot begins to dig deep into the roots of her family tree and uncovers the real reasons behind why her mother has kept so many secrets...and wow...I'll stop here...The story gets pretty intensely dark pretty quickly, but it takes quite a bit to get to that point.

The majority of the book (maybe the first 75%) is a slow build up with lots of little plot elements and "clues" being dropped, but I just found it kinda mindless as I flipped the pages after the initial discovery of Margot's doppelganger in the burning field. However, once I hit that last 25% or so and everything started to come together, I was enthralled. The imaginative explanation to all the family secrecy was so unexpected. It did seem a little outlandish, even for the context of the story, but I did find it to be an interesting angle.

3.5/5 rounded up to 4/5 for Goodreads - I couldn't help but to compare this to Wilder Girls. In the same vein, I just wanted more from this book. Some of the plot events were very original, but somewhat unbelievable, even within these fictional pages. Rory Power really does have a way with prose though, and there is just something about her writing that pulls you in and won't let go. The character dynamics and relationships were really very well done, and the atmosphere of suspense was ever present. I can't really say there's a ton I didn't like about the book, but I also wasn't overly wowed by it either. If you are a fan of darker YA reads and don't mind some heavy, twisty, thriller elements, you should totally grab this one and give it a try.

I really enjoyed this dark and twisty read! Rory Power intrigued me with WILDER GIRLS last year and I think this is an even better novel, well-plotted and totally all-encompassing.

Thank you Delacorte Press and Random House Children’s for an ARC of this captivating book! The eeriness of Burn our Bodies Down ropes you in from page 1. Once I started reading, I couldn’t stop. The twists and turns kept me wanting more, and when I finished, I didn’t know what to do with myself.

I went in pretty blindly but knowing that anything Rory Power touches is gold. This book surprised me in many ways and kept me guessing the whole time.

This was not the book for me. I called it a small-town family mystery before I started it, but that’s not quite right. It’s a farmhouse family mindfreak. Except without the excitement and longing to know that comes with a typical mindfreak. I’m not going to say the ending didn’t make sense, because it was explained, but it also didn’t seem to matter to the story at all?

Usually if there isn’t much of a plot I would like character development. I didn’t really see much of either. This book is set over the course of about three days, in which Margot goes to her mother’s hometown to figure out what happened in her mom’s past. Because her mom refused to say a word about it her whole life. The day she gets there, she finds something really disturbing and just is okay with it and continues to suck up to the grandma whose land it happened on while knowing her grandma is blatantly keeping secrets from her.

The whole book had themes of codependency and really toxic family values, which get remedied in the end. It’s not inherently bad to have those themes in a book, but seeing a main character pick being wanted over being safe multiple times is kind of upsetting. And there were some good lessons regarding that - “you don’t have to stay somewhere just because you’re wanted” is an almost exact line from the book. Just sucks that it took til 78% into the book for her to learn that.

The writing was easy enough to read; the imagery for the setting was definitely there. The book gave me a dusty summertime feeling. I’m glad there was lesbian representation in the main character, Margot. The mystery’s resolution was wildly boring and I don’t understand the audience for this book.

Content warnings for gore and gun stuff

We are one of the most complex things on the planet, so why do we build boxes and force ourselves to fit them when it comes to media? No one is just one thing, we are all an amalgamation of our choices, and desires, fears, and anxieties. Tropes are built around common patterns, but sometimes when they're everywhere you turn, we get into the rut idea that we need to conform to those tropes to be successful.

Recently, however, I have had the great pleasure to be on a streak of reading trope-breaking stories. More specifically, books centered on incredibly complicated, usually anger-driven women. Women fueled by spite and survival instinct, who don't have a lot of time to be the sugar-sweet innocents they might be expected to be. They break boundaries in their own worlds, and show readers that it's okay - even necessary - to break boundaries for ourselves. Breaking is part of the building that shows us who we are.

Rory Power's Burn Our Bodies Down is a veritable tapestry of complicated, troubling, self-serving, fiercely protective women. To read it is to be immediately swept into a Gothic, sprawling family drama all brought to its boiling point in Margot, a young woman on the hunt for answers about her roots. For as long as she could remember, it's always just been Margot and her mother. Their relationship is love wrapped in thorns, dependence, and fear. Margot's mother is secretive about her past and forceful in her belief that her and Margot are all they need to survive. Fed up with the lack of answers, spurred on by an explosive fight and a clue from a pawn shop, Margot goes hunting for the family she never knew and finds far more secrets than she bargained for.

An atmosphere that slowly weaves its tendrils around you the further you go into the haunting town of Phalene, inexplicable tones of Wicker Man and Children of the Corn all blended in with a bit of We Have Always Lived in the Castle make for an unforgettable read steered along by an equally unforgettable narrator in Margot. Rory Power's sophomore offering showcases her strengths beautifully. Burn Our Bodies Down is an intense examination of family, connection, and finding meaning in identity told through an unconventional labyrinth of one woman's mind as she simultaneously learns and unlearns everything she thought she knew. The only constant is uncertainty, and fire.

Keep the fire burning, it's the only thing keeping us all alive.

Margot's family has a secret, a secret so deep that not even Margot knows it, but she's going to find it, even if it means leaving home to do it. Margot travels to her mom's hometown, Phalene, and to the house where the grandmother lives that she's never met and doesn't know. As soon as she arrives, her family's farm is burning and a girl is dead. The thing is that this is the second fire this farm has suffered, the first happening right before her mother left home for good. So, why did her mom leave home never to return? Are the two fires connected? And who does the dead girl belong to? Margot is going to find out.

I love mystery/thriller books, as well as YA novels. I thought that overall, this book was pretty good. I enjoyed most of the writing and the author's style of writing. I did feel like the book lacked direction and plot development at times and more could have gone into action to move the story along. I didn't like how the reader found the answers to solve the mystery (through someone's diary) and wished that that information would have been revealed with more excitement. This book lacked the a-ha moment for me, which was disappointing.

I would recommend this book to young adult readers who enjoyed series such as Twilight.