The story of Up in Flames was intriguing, but overall it didn't wow me. It was difficult to connect with the main character because I feel like she was immature.

Hailey Alcaraz's debut novel is a stunning coming of age story. It follows college freshman Ruby, the daughter of a successful property owner, and while it's clear that she's smart and ambitious, she's also very entitled so she comes off as kind of insufferable at first. However, this book is largely about Ruby unlearning that sense of entitlement, and her character arc was satisfying.
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The California wildfires turn her life upside down, taking her mother's life, her family's business customer base, and overall causes destruction to her hometown. Ruby is left to pick up the pieces, and as a business owner's kid myself, I can't imagine rebuilding my parents' company, but I loved reading about Ruby doing so (or rather, what she learns while doing so, because understandably it's a wake up call). I also thought that it was interesting how Ruby's family didn't bear the brunt of the destruction caused by the wildfire, but Alcaraz still depicts them experiencing hardship because of it.
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What stands out the most, though, is how Ruby begins to reevaluate her relationships and how she relates to people. Ruby is portrayed as a flighty serial monogamist, but she does begin to consider what's actually important in romance, and also befriends people who she didn't think she'd like, and develops more empathy and compassion overall, and that's growth.
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Overall, a great debut.

Good novel I couldn't put down

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this review copy and the opportunity !

I get that it was the point of the book, but it took me some trying to get past how immature Ruby was at first! Ruby is a complicated character and we get to see her grow out of that selfish and strong girl when tragedy strikes her town. This was a great YA read that is a coming of age story loosely based on “Gone with the Wind.”

Despite the rocky beginnings, I was rooting for Ruby through her journey. We see her grow into such an incredible person without sacrificing her strong willed nature. This book also touches on a lot of topics such as immigration, disaster relief, racial privileges, and societal privileges, and I thought they were all handled really well. I could tell how much care was put into these topics, it really cuts across to the reader. As someone who has never lived or spent much time on the west cost, I learned a lot about the wildfires. My heart was breaking at times! I’ll be honest, I didn’t quite vibe with the romance, I thought the love triangle was handled well but they are very hit or miss for me (more often misses).

This book is well worth the read! Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Teen for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

Life got in the way and I could not finish the book. Thanks to the publishers for the chance to read the book.

8-year-old Ruby Ortega has had an easy life thanks to her parents’ successful business and is excited to start college with her best friend, Ashton, who she’s long had a crush on. However, her hopes of dating Ashton are dashed when he returns from school with a girlfriend, Millie.

When a wildfire hits their valley, Ruby and Ashton return home to help, with Ashton joining the fire crews and Ruby trying to manage her family and their business. Ruby also finds herself battling ICE, which is deporting families displaced by the fire. This part of the book realistically addresses immigration issues and the terror of living in a fire-prone area.

However, I didn’t connect with Ruby as the main character. Her obsession with Ashton, despite his clear disinterest and her poor treatment of Millie, was off-putting. The plot felt rushed, and the twists lacked impact. The epilogue seemed out of place for a book that doesn’t appear to have a sequel.

Overall, it was an entertaining read but not one I loved, primarily due to the main character and the single POV.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC; all opinions are my own.

*Up in Flames* by Hailey Alcaraz is a gripping and intense read that masterfully blends suspense with emotional depth, keeping readers on edge from start to finish. Alcaraz's vivid storytelling and complex characters make this novel a standout in the thriller genre.

This book being a YA, I just wasn't entertained. I think if you're personally a YA reader this will be a good book for you. But for me personally I didn't love it.

Thoughts and Themes: I am glad that I switched from reading this one through e-book to audiobook because that made it, so I was interested in the story. The beginning of this book is pretty slow and for a while I was wondering what the story is about. The first few hours of this book are focused on the love triangle that Ruby is trapped in and her feelings regarding the boys in her life.

I like that this story takes a shift and is so much more than just a love triangle and romance story. This story quickly takes a turn as Ruby comes back to her hometown as fires are taking over her city. This was the moment in which I got invested in the story to see what this meant for Ruby and everyone else in her life.

Characters: Throughout this story you meet our main character, Ruby, her family, the two guys she is interested in, Ashton and Remy, and Ashton's girlfriend, Millie. I really enjoyed getting to know each of the characters and their interactions with one another.

I really liked getting to see Ruby interact with both Ashton and Remy before her loss and after. I liked the contrast between these two and what this meant for Ruby. I liked seeing how she begins to make sense of her world after the tragedy. I thought it was interesting to see the way this event affected her relationships with others.

Writing Style: This story is written in first person through the perspective of our main character, Ruby. I liked having the story told in Ruby's perspective because we only got to see how she feels about everything. I liked that we didn't really get to know how the other's felt throughout this situation and it added tension to the story.

Something else that I really enjoyed was being in Ruby's head as she struggles to figure out how to help raise her sisters and keep her family together. I liked seeing her feelings through all of this especially since she doesn't express those feelings outwardly to others.

This is a compelling young adult contemporary. Ruby’s characterization was indeed evocative of Scarlett O’Hara, in the sense that she is a heroine that isn’t always likable but you can’t help but root for her as she goes on an unforgettable journey of discovery. The narrative had some uneven points, which disappointed me as I was totally captivated by the premise of a modern “Gone with the Wind” retelling.

Thank you PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, Viking Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!! I really enjoyed this book!

I really wanted to get to this one, as it seemed interesting. The downfall was that I requested so many ARCs that I could not get to all of them before the book was archived. I am going to try and get a physical copy of this at some point, as I do want to check it out!

I loved Ruby! She had a strong voice that pulled me in and kept my attention. I loved her confidence and her determination.

As a first Gen Mexican American and college student I really related to her. I'm also from California but I lived in Arizona for two years so we have a lot in common.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

I really enjoyed this story about privilege and tragedy, I really appreciated the references and overall loved the writing and characters.

I loved loved loved this Latinx retelling of gone with the wind. The main character, Ruby goes through so many trials and tribulations during the story. From California wildfires to just growing up faster than she expected in general. This is a story I could read again and again and share with others. I definitely will be buying a physical copy.

I loved Ruby! She had a strong voice that pulled me in and kept my attention. I loved her confidence and her determination.

As a first Gen Mexican American and college student I really related to her. I'm also from California but I lived in Arizona for two years so we have a lot in common.

I loved her chemistry with Remy. I wasn't a big fan of her going after a man who had a girlfriend though.

I really enjoyed this story and would recommend to anyone who likes romance.

18 year old Ruby Ortega has had a pretty cushy life, she's always gotten what she has wanted thanks to her parents building a pretty successful business. She's pretty excited to start college in the fall with her best friend who is a year ahead of her, herlong term crush, the boy next door, Ashton. Unfortunately, Ruby's plans of getting another 'thing' she always wanted, Ashton as her boyfriend, are dashed when Ashton returned from school with a girlfriend, Millie. This is a main issue throughout the book where Ruby is trying to get his attention but he just isn't interested.

When away at college, the valley that the two of them are from is swallowed in a wildfire so they must return home to help. Ashton joins the fire crews, and Ruby is home trying to piece together her family and their business. Ruby and another man friend she picked up as a distraction from Ashton find themselves dealing with ICE taking advantage of the situation and deporting displaced families who lost her homes to fire. This part of the book was informative and realistic about the issues with immigration in this country. I also live in a fire prone area and found the depictions about that terror to be well done.

What I didn't love was the main character. She's a pick me, trying to get between Ashton and his girlfriend the whole time and sabotaging her love life for this guy who clearly doesn't like her like that and is also taken. I don't like how she treats Millie, who is nothing but nice and supportive and helpful to her even when Ruby treats her like trash.

Some of the plot felt rushed and the twists didn't have much buildup so they lacked impact. Also, the epilogue felt weird for a book that doesn't look like it will have a sequel.

It was okay, it was an entertaining read, but I didn't love it. Mostly because the main character wasn't someone I would want anything to do it and it was solo POV.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the arc for review, all opinions are my own.

Was a good, intriguing YA book. I found the main character a bit annoying but overall a good read. I would recommend to fans of YA

It's been so hard for me to read YA contemporary books lately but this book was an easy draw back into the genre. There were times Ruby was immature and I didn't like Remy as much as I'd hoped and the characters weren't as engaging but it was a nice read.