Interesting use of iambic meter throughout (not something I usually see in verse novels), as well as internal rhyme. But the pacing feels off to me--the inciting incident doesn't feel like it happens until halfway through. Not my typical type of book, but I think fans of ALONE by Megan Freeman will really enjoy this.

In sparse verse The Burning Season invites readers into Opal's life on a remote mountain in New Mexico's Gila Wilderness. Opal lives in a fire tower with her mother and her grandmother, part of a long line of women who have served as lookouts and helped to protect the cherished land from wildfire. While she loves her life and family on the mountain, Opal longs to move into town and attend middle school with her friends. Moving to go to school would mean leaving her family and their tower behind to live with close family friends. Opal is ready for this change of pace, but her mother is not ready to let her go. When a foolish decision puts a family member in danger, Opal has to face her fear of fire and put her wilderness skills to the test. Suddenly Opal isn't just reading about survival in a well-loved Gary Paulsen book, she's living it. Resourceful and determined, Opal will rise to the challenges before her in a way no one would have expected.

The novel builds slowly, at first, but the second-half action is propulsive. Part adventure, part meditation on fire and the realities of climate change, part ode to our earth, Opal's story is one middle grade readers won't want to miss. The verse format makes the pages fly by. Extensive author's notes clarify what is true and what is fiction, informing readers about fires, fire towers, fire management history, lookouts, and the Gila Wilderness area of New Mexico.

This novel in verse format is a quick but powerful read. Opal's family has been involved in watching for fires in New Mexico for generations, but she longs to go to school with her friends in town. Unfortunately, Opal is on her own when a fire breaks out and she's forced to face her greatest fear. The author keeps the story compelling, and I was rooting for Opal to successfully navigate these challenges and find her own path in the world. The resources and factual information in the book are just as valuable and well-written as the story itself.

Living like your ancestors can be difficult especially when you are a young girl who is trying to prove her worthiness. This book shows the resilience of a young girl who puts herself in danger to save her grandma and much forest land from fire.

A adventure survival story written in verse. For fans of Hatchet, Alone, or Into the Rapids.
Opal comes from a long line of Fire watchtower lookouts. She’s honored to learn the skills but has two secrets she wont share with her family - she wants to go to school like a regular kid, and she’s afraid of fire. When her mom leaves to make a supply run and her grandma goes missing, it’s up to Opal to run the watch tower but also go find Gran. Opal is forced to face her fears and learn what it takes to be brave.

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group for the advance digital review copy in exchange for my honest review.

Opal is such a great character. I loved her story of her living in a fire tower and learning how to spot fires. Like generations before her.
But Opal has a secret she is afraid of fire.
When her Gran goes missing and her mom is in town, she has to face her fears and fight a fire.
She uses what she has learned over the years to get her through.
The verse in this book is so beautiful. You can picture the area and even almost feel and hear what these characters are experiencing because of the language the author use.
A beautiful middle grade novel in verse.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.

Really, really enjoyed this spare novel in verse that packs a big punch, story- and character-wise. An intriguing premise, about a girl who’s destined to be a 4th generation fire-spotter, having grown up - living with and learning from her Mom and Grandma - at the top of a fire tower deep in the Gila Wilderness.

Opal is a 12-year-old girl who lives with her mom and grandmother in a fire watch tower in New Mexico. One day while her mother is away in town, Opal's grandma goes missing and in her search to find her, she spots a fire. With her mom and grandma gone, Opal is the only one who can put the fire out. Except she's afraid of fire.

I do not understand how Opal's mother doesn't think a 12-year-old is possibly ready to live in a town and go to a real school instead of a 15 square foot tower with two other people and no privacy, but that same 12-year-old is ready to learn how to do the incredibly dangerous job of fighting wildfires (which caused the death of her father).

I liked the author's note about how actual firewatching in New Mexico works.

I'll definitely read more from this author.

CW: death of a parent (off page, in the past), fire, mentions of blood

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital review copy.

I can see tons of young people liking this book. It's filled with adventure, overcoming obstacles, making decisions, as well as family connection. I really like that it's female driven. With allusions to classics like Hatchet, this is a wonderful book for middle grade readers.

CW: Death of a family member

This novel in verse is a solid way for young children/young adults to learn about the environment and impact of forest fires, without the fire-causing baggage of a book like Wildfire by Breena Bard. The pacing of the story is quick, but the imagery is clear enough that you can picture the watch tower, the cabin, the road, and the fire. Accessible enough for reluctant readers, and could be used as a whole or in excerpts.

A wonderful addition to the very popular format of novels in verse! By turns exciting and cozy, this is a great read about overcoming obstacles, persistance, and the power of kindness. It also has amazing facts about the history of land management and fire prevention that are included seamlessly. Highly recommended and will be purchasing multiple copies for our middle school library!

This novel in verse. Is a quick read. It is a great book for discussing figuring out who you want to be and how to make it happen. Great survival adventure story

I couldn’t stop reading this one! Wildfires have been a topic of interest lately. This book was about healing, family dynamics, and survival. I enjoyed learning more about being a fire watcher in the author’s note, too. I felt a lot of emotions while reading this book.

Very relatable story about a young girl learning to be a fire watcher while hiding a deep-rooted fear of fire. I enjoyed the quiet story until halfway through when something very minor snowballs into a cataclysmic event that kept me turning pages quickly. Beautifully written and thoroughly engaging novel in verse.

Opal has always lived as a fire lookout with her mother and grandmother. On her 12th birthday, she's faced with some impossible-feeling contradictions. She loves her home, but she longs to live closer to school and friends. She's proud to start her lookout training, but she's terrified of fire itself. When a series of unfortunate events leave Opal alone in the lookout tower, she learns that sometimes her choices can't be either/or; they will be both/and.
There's nothing better than a novel in verse to get pages turning. This book about fire, survival, family, and the unique struggle of being 12 felt perfectly suited for the format. Readers who love Gary Paulsen's Hatchet (shouted out in the book) will be a great audience here - it's quick but contemplative, and the stakes feel high. The author's note at the end also provides useful context about fire management, climate change, and past and present roles of fire lookouts.
After the devastating LA fires of 2025, I think this will be a powerful summer read for elementary kids. It's a great purchase for public and school libraries to supplement summer reading - I'd especially recommend this for kids on the younger end of middle grade books (3rd-5th grade).

I missed that this was an in verse book, I can not stand in verse books but read it anyways because I requested the book

I personally did not like this book, it is impossible for me to understand or get into a book that is in verse the writing style is just not for me personally.

However I know that kids absolutely looooove in verse books and I think that this will be really popular with them so I do recommend picking up a copy especially for kids that enjoy in verse books.

Thank you NetGalley PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Nancy Paulsen Books for the arc

Review 8/10🌲 This verse middle grade novel shares the story of Opal, a 12 year old girl who lives in a fire watch tower with her mother and grandmother. One day while Opal’s mother is away in town her Grandma goes missing. Opal must brave the wilderness and face her fear of fire to protect her family and home.

I really liked this one! Even though it’s now a rare job I’ve always been interested in books about remote living as a fire watcher. I also love books in verse so this one interested me right away. Opals home was unique to read about and the story was very fast paced. I appreciated how the author included mention of indigenous land and forest tending practices multiple times. Overall it was a great quick read that I think any forest lover would enjoy.

Thanks to NetGalley and Nancy Pulsen Books for a copy of this story!

Another wonderful middle grade novel in verse. I don't always love adventure-themed books, but I really enjoyed The Burning Season. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

Unpopular bookish opinion: I don't care for most novels in verse.

I've always been a lover of poetry, but verse novels didn't feel like poetry to me, so for a long time I didn't even see the point.

Then Caroline Starr Rose won me over.

Her book, May B., was a verse novel with a really good reason for being told that way.

The main character struggles to read, and her story is small but dramatic and poignant, with a wide emotional arc. All those reasons made its format make sense, and the writing was beautiful. I loved it.

I felt the same way about Rose's second verse novel, Blue Birds, about the friendship between a Roanoke girl, Kimi, and English settler, Alis. Because the girls don't speak one another's languages, the sparse verse made total sense to me and allowed me to fall into the story without being distracted by the format.

So of course when I found out Caroline Starr Rose had a new verse novel coming out, you know I jumped right on the chance to read it! The Burning Season is possibly my favorite of her verse novels, with a realistic and relatable main character in a setting and situation very different from my life.

Like Rose's previous novels in verse, The Burning Season makes perfect sense in this format. The verses are an excellent medium to tell a fairly "small" story, of a girl training to become a Wildfire spotter despite her deep fear of fire. The swings from quiet introspection and normal life hopes to the high drama of raging fires and missing family members are perfectly mirrored by the shape and structure of each poem.

Additionally, the sense of place in this novel is as much a part of the story as the plot. The poems bring the Gila Wilderness to life with a subtlety and clarity that perhaps only a poem can provide.

So if you're not a big fan of novels in verse…you're not alone. But give this one a try.

This book was beautifully written in verse. The relationship between the grandmother, mother and daughter was relatable. I feel students will love following the life of living in a fire tower. The book does a great job of showing how to address your fears which everyone can relate to. Highly recommend for middle grade libraries.