Margot's life is not great. Her mother tells her nothing about her past and demands Margot always keep a candle burning no matter what. Why? Margot doesn't know, but she's determined to find out.

When she goes to look for answers, her mother shuts her down completely. But is that going to stop her? Absolutely not. And that leads her to finding a phone number for a grandmother she's never met and sneaking out in the early morning to make her way to Phalene where she lives.

What shes finds is not what she expected and it scares the shit out of her. Something is going on in Phalene and her grandmother is hiding something big from her. There's a dead girl who looks exactly like Margot, corn fields that look all wrong, and strange things keep happening inside her grandmother's house that Margot doesn't like.

This book is creeeeepy! It's atmospheric af and gives you just enough information to keep you reading until it's 4 AM and you're scared to go to bed because WTF IS WITH THE CORN?! Margot is also quite gay for a girl she meets in Phalene and their adventures together are some of my favorite parts of the story.

I also just really like Margot as a character. Even when she's scared, she's willing to fight back against her grandmother to find out exactly what she's keeping from her. Bravery and courage is fighting even when you're scared and that is Margot to a tee.

If you liked Wilder Girls or like a spooky, creepy story set in the Midwest, you need to read Burn Our Bodies Down. Rory Power is quickly becoming a must-read author for me. I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Burn Our Bodies Down comes out July 7, 2020.

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the free eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This haunting sophomore novel provides new spins on Rory Power’s signature body horror and environmentally conscious themes. I was hooked from the very first page, and could not be more grateful to have experienced Phalene as an early reader.

The cycles of abuse that Margot experiences feel so personal and real—her headspace is so clearly delineated through the novel that I truly think I got to inhabit her mind for a brief while. Her responses to the events of the novel also influenced her perception of herself and her family, so despite the fact that the book is entirely in her perspective, it avoided repetition. This contributed to my enjoyment of the novel, as I dislike narrative repetition if avoidable. My favorite books are the ones where I can understand each character’s choices, and what makes them tick. Ergo, Burn Our Bodies Down is one of my new favorites.

This book is also special because of the relationships between its characters, even as we see Margot trying to learn who she is. Her family relationships, especially the rocky one between her and her mom, as well as the new friendships she forms, felt so real to me. I could perfectly imagine life in her apartment: candle lit, fridge semi-filled, too much waiting in the summer heat. And Margot’s never-ending hunger for what she thinks of as a “real family,” with love sweet like cotton candy. I can’t pretend to understand her specific situation, but Power wrote with such clarity and compassion that I truly felt for Margot.

And let’s not forget the horror! Oh my goodness, I was not expecting the reveals. Everything builds up to the conclusion in a way that had me marveling at the foreshadowing. The body horror builds over the course of the story in a different way than in Wilder Girls, but I loved Power’s descriptions just as much. She has a very careful way about her words, and I was sucked into the visuals of Margot’s family and Phalene immediately.

I’m giving Burn Our Bodies Down 5/5 stars, and I’m so glad it soared above my expectations as one of my most anticipated novels of 2020. Buy it, y’all!

You want to know the truth, and the whole truth of what REALLY happened in Phalene? You wouldn’t believe me, even if I did tell you. This is a MUST read YA thriller.

Starting on a quest to find her family after finding a phone number and name, Margot thinks discovering her family’s origins will answer questions about her family’s past.

Strange things happen on the farm. How strange will things get before Margot decides it’s gone too far?

Power keeps the story moving, filling it with twists and turns til the very end. Every chapter leaves on a cliff hanger, forcing you to keep reading. And what an ending! Keep the flame burning.

Rory Power has a gift. She has the gift of storytelling. Her books have a way of sucking you in and compelling you to keep reading. Burn Our Bodies Down certainly was no exception. It had everything: a great cast of characters, a good story, and enough elements of surprise to keep the reader guessing until the very end. Whatever I thought I was going to get when I started this book, by the end I realized I was getting something completely different.

And I was fine with that.

Margot is a fierce main character who never hesitated to get what she wanted. Her wants became the readers wants, and the reader will definitely want to find out the answers to Margot’s family mystery just as much as Margot herself wants. Honestly, this book is fantastic, and I cannot wait for it to come out into the world for others to enjoy as well!

I loved Rory Powers precious book Wilder Girls, and I was so excited when I saw she came out with a new book! I knew I had to read and wow she did not disappoint! I absolutely loved this book amd recomend it to everyone.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with this amazing book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. This book was something else. I went into it pretty blindly and it was so good I’m basically speechless.

This story is about a girl named Margot who lives with her mother. Right off the bat you can tell they have a very rocky relationship and there’s a lot of secrets that Margots mother is keeping from her. The story quickly unfolds and Margot goes off to search for her grandmother, who lives about 3 hours away. The day Margot gets to phalene, there is a fire on her grandmothers farm. When Margot sees the fire, she spots a girl in the field. The girl is dead but she looks exactly like Margot. They have the same face.

This book was soooooo good and especially after about 50% I was on the edge of my seat the whole time! So many twists and turns at the end. The writing style was spectacular! I can’t wait to read more from this author in the future! I definitely recommend this to everyone.

Sometimes when I request a NetGalley arc to review, I chose solely on the cover, the author, the book title etc without reading the publishers blurb. Burn Our Bodies Down, (actually chosen for the title in this case) is a twisty, gothic-y, horror-ish story and it was only when I was halfway through did I realize it was categorized as a YA. Novel. Who knew they could be so good? Wish they were around when I was a teenager. My life would certainly have turned out differently.....with these kind of role models.

When I saw that Rory Power had a new book coming out, I was absolutely thrilled! Wilder Girls was a favorite in all of its bizarre glory and I was hoping for the same in Burn Our Bodies Down. I got what I wished for because it is utterly fantastic. The same eerie ominous atmosphere permeates throughout the book and kept me turning pages until the dramatic conclusion. I was still thinking about Burn Our Bodies Down this morning when I woke up. I have a feeling it’s going to stay with me for a while.

Margot, the main character is well-crafted, she is an abused and neglected girl whose mother has lied to her entire life. When she decides to seek out extended family, some awful truths emerge in one of the most bizarre towns imaginable with an even more bizarre family. Ms. Power does such an exceptional job writing the dysfunctional relationship between Margot and her mother, Jo. The storyline itself is perfectly paced, just enough to develop an overwhelming sense of unease that was pervasive pretty much right from the beginning but really ramps up when Margot arrives in the town of Phalene and meets her ‘family’. To say I enjoyed Burn Our Bodies Down is an understatement, this will be one that I’m going to be recommending to everyone. Although it’s considered young adult, I think it can be enjoyed by all ages.

A big thank you to Delacorte Press, Rory Power, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of Burn Our Bodies Down in exchange for my honest review.

This follow-up to last year’s stunning (truly incapacitating) “Wilder Girls” is reason to celebrate: not just the book itself, which is great, but the proof that Rory Power appears to have a fully, diverse, limitless career before her. It makes me giddy to think of all the stories she may have inside, that she may write down, that she may share. But that’s for later. For now: “Burn Our Bodies Down.” It’s an enthralling tale of secrets, lies, family, destiny and the free will & strength to raise a middle finger to that destiny. Margot is a character for the ages, timeless as she is; she’s also very much a character of today, someone so stuck in her own head she might actually be living two lives simultaneously, one in the physical world and one locked away in her overcalculating brain. Like all of us. I won’t give any plot points away. I’ll just say it’s at once thrilling, introspective, surprising, maddening, tender, and vicious AF. It’s a gorgeous read, not because it’s beautiful, but because despite everything, Margot is. Beautiful. And awful. And deadly. And loving. And confused. And heroic. Now I’m rambling, so I’ll stop and just say: read it.

Burn Our Bodies Down was a wonderfully mysterious book that I was unable to put down! It's not your typical "jump scare" horror novel... Its subtle creepiness is really what made my skin crawl while reading it. Something about the atmosphere had me unsettled and intrigued at the same time. I don't want to reveal any spoilers, but let's just say that Burn Our Bodies Down is unlike anything I've ever read, making it a very refreshing addition to the young adult genre.

To start, Rory Power did an excellent job at crafting a complex main character that readers were really able to understand and root for. Margot had a truly beautiful character arc-- All of her emotions were so raw and vividly written that I felt like I was experiencing them along with her. Throughout the book, as Margot struggles to unearth the mysterious secrets of her family, I found myself wanting to know the truth as much as she did. When you can relate to a character on such a personal level, it really goes to show how amazing an author's storytelling is!

Another thing I loved about this book-- its portrayal of domestic abuse and gaslighting was astonishingly real. It broke my heart to see how the neglect and abuse Margot grew up with shaped her whole life. It was painful to watch how her mother's cruelty and gaslighting made Margot question every aspect of her life and feel guilt over things that were in no way her fault. Margot's mother constantly made everything about her own needs and framed her actions to make herself appear as the victim, resulting in a very toxic upbringing for Margot. 

One last thing I want to comment on about this book is its sheer originality. Lately, I've felt myself straying away from the YA genre, as I've noticed a common pattern when it comes to plots, characters, and overall theme. Most of the YA books I've read within the past year just sort of blur together-- There's no stimulating originality to distinguish one from another. But Burn Our Bodies down makes a bold exception. Again, I won't spoil it, but I'm not kidding when I say I've never read anything like it! This book seriously gives me hope for the future of the YA genre.

Overall, Burn Our Bodies down was an utterly fantastic read. Disturbing, heart-stopping, and mesmerizing, it is a book that you definitely won't want to miss. 

Thank you to the author, the publishers, and NetGalley for the review copy!

I couldn't get into Wilder Girls. And I managed to finish this I probably could have finished this in one sitting. It's a really easy read. Im just not sold on it. I felt like it fell flat and it was boring. Not one likeable character and the plot was weird.

*3.0

Thank you to Net Galley for an ARC of this in exchange for an honest review!

Let me start out by saying I did not read Wilder Girls so this was my first experience with a Rory Power book. This book was very strange and I'm not sure I really understand the explanation of what was going on behind all of the events in the book.

I really enjoyed the raw explanation of the relationship with Margot and her mother. Margot's perspective was honest and vulnerable. I did sometimes get frustrated with the character of Margot's mother but I think that's the point. Margot, to me, ended up being quite the strong female character and I appreciated her journey to get there.

Overall, this was unlike any book I've ever read so this is hard to rate and review, in my opinion, but I feel like this could appeal to a large audience.

I received a digital arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Family Secrets longing to be solved, a small corn farm that holds the answers. 17 yeard old Margot desires to know who she is and where her family comes from, but will she like what she finds?

While it did take me a little bit to get into this book as I feel it does have a slow build once I reached a certain point I was hooked and could not stop until the mystery of Nielsen girls was solved! Burn Our Bodies Down has several twists and turns, however I do wish there were a few more. In addition, I do wish there was more character development and resolution for some of the supporting characters.

This book differs from Wilder Girls, Power's debut YA novel by it being slightly more tamer in action and depiction. BOBD is also told from one perspective so it is very easy to follow

I was very excited to receive an eARC of this novel after reading Wilder Girls recently. With only two novels Rory Power has already become one of my favorite authors. Burn Our Bodies Down perfectly lived up to my expectations and exceeded them. The family dynamics and horror elements kept me on the edge of my seat and provided a very enjoyable read.

Wow, this book is so! fricking! good!

I didn't have the pleasure of being able to read Power's debut, Wilder Girls, mostly because I couldn't stomach the body horror in the first two chapters and figured it would only get worse from there. So, when I requested Burn Our Bodies Down (and actually received it! Thanks Netgalley and Random House!), I was hoping it would be more tame. For those of you who, like me, can't handle intense body horror, definitely give Burn Our Bodies a try!

Burn Our Bodies follows Margot Nielson, the daughter of Josephine Nielson, as a girl who has been walking on eggshells all her life. Margot has always wanted to know about the family her mother never talks about - they must exist, right? - and after a chance discovery that finally gives her the link to a grandmother she's never known and an escape from Jo's selfish, burning, barbed-wire love and care, she takes it and leaves to find herself in Phalene. But even when she arrives, all is not as it seems, because there's a fresh fire on the Nielson farm and a dead girl who looks an awful lot like Margot that leads to the unraveling of a family mystery that will leave you breathless and desperate to turn every page.

The Nielson family is super toxic, so if that's a trigger for you, please be warned. I'd list other content warnings, but Rory Power does it best on her website, so please consult her before reading this book if you have any concerns.

Once I started this story, I couldn't put it down. I read a quarter of it in one sitting, and the other three-quarters of it last night, because once I started it back up, I couldn't put it down until I knew the truth. Power's writing here is phenomenal; she does such a great job of using simple. short sentences and Margot to really push the story along. The twist was a bit unexpected, and it was a fun journey trying to piece together the fragments of the past that left Jo to want to leave Phalene a long time ago. The twist itself is unique; I personally haven't seen anything like that before, so I thought it was really cool. There's really nothing about this novel I don't like! Everything feels tight, and the story completely ties up in a way that is both appropriate and without any loose, unsatisfying ends.

If you wanted to read Wilder Girls but couldn't, definitely give Burn Our Bodies Down a try. It's so powerful both as a story and as a mediation on family, motherhood, and the bonds of the past. I completely recommend!

I received this book from Netgalley and Random House in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's - Delacorte Press for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This story takes place with a teenage girl, Margot, who has a strained relationship with her mother and no real knowledge of the rest of her estranged family. After finding her grandmother's phone number, she contacts her and then runs away to stay with her. Her grandmother still lives in the house her mother grew up in and takes care of her now failing corn crops. There's a family mystery that Margot is determined to solve and once she does, she realizes it's corny ;) [pun]

I enjoyed this book and actually read it pretty quickly (for my usual pace) because of the twists and turns throughout it. It's definitely a thriller and just like Rory Power's last book, there is some paranormal-ish/magical realism type parts. Maybe can be labelled a little bit of horror and scifi? I'm not sure how to label it but weird stuff sure does happen and you really don't know what's going on until the end. There are some gory parts but not as bad as her first book.

Again, I thought this book was very entertaining and the concept was original to me. I recommend this book to people who like thriller/mysteries and domestic drama. Book comes out 7/7/20

4/5

Engrossing, dark, twisted, and beautiful. Rory Power continued her streak of must-read YA novels that will stick with you for a long time. Her character development and writing style allow for easy suspension of disbelief and it's hard to settle back into reality when the book is finished. I can't wait to see what she writes next!

This book was everything. At first it's hard to track what's happening, but that kept me going, kept me reading. I finished in 7 hours. I cannot wait for another Power book. Wilder Girls was amazing, and this was fantastic as well. 4 stars because of one little thing - huge spoiler - that didn't sit well with me, but wouldn't have made since in the story without it happening.

ARC provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was much better than Wilder Girls since it gave an ending and didn’t leave me with conspiracy theories.

This book is a mystery within a mystery, a secret within secrets. It’s the story of Margot who is searching for her family. Her mum refuses to tell her about the past and she goes to search for it on her own.

The story goes from “who’s my family?” To “who is this strange girl on my family’s land that died in this fire and is wearing my face?” It’s such an interesting story of how finding out the truth can set you free, but it can also set you on a path for redemption.

I thought the idea of her grandmother using this outlawed chemical and spawning generations of the same person was interesting, especially when you find out that it’s spreading and how it grew little girls out of the ground.

One flaw with this book is just minute details: for instance, at one point, Margot is asleep and her grandmother comes in and goes “we have to be in town by 5:00” and then they get there and she’s like “be back at 4:00”. I really encourage a second look through this book since that’s just one example of that happening.

Otherwise it was an interesting read and just wish Tess had been slightly more developed.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing an e-arc for me to review this book.

I don't know what i expected and i requested this book on Netgalley. I DNFed the author's debut release so this decision of me to give her a second chance felt a bit off. To say the least, I am not the biggest Rory Power fan nor her biggest hater. Her talent shows in her works but they might not be my favored pieces of literature. To say the least, i didn't care. Some say Jo gave more care about her daughter than me caring about this book. I was invested, but i didn't care. Like a cheesy horror movie where every cliche is present and nobody captivates your attention. Yet you keep watching said movie, all 120 minutes of it. The ending was mediocre. Tess felt a bit wonky. She was sometimes described as messy and bitchy. And some other times the opposite. The science-y part felt a bit gimmicky, much like in her previous work.