A gripping thriller. The story centres on the devastating fire that consumes a high school and takes the life of a student. 5 students each knows something that the others don’t and the reader has to piece together what happened on that fateful night.

I enjoy reading YA but this book didn'y really do for me. It is so slow until about 20% then gets better. Please check tw's before reading. Told by multiple POV. Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for ARC.

I liked this book. I think after we found out what happened, it didn’t hold my interest as much. The epilogue was very sweet though! Some things I think the author could have improved was making each POV sound more distinct and I also didn’t really feel the chemistry between Eden and Payton. We could have used some more buildup of their relationship.

When a devastating fire destroys most of the high school in Fenix, Colorado, the death of a student, Eden, in that fire sets in motion a series of events that will rock the town to it's foundation. Told in multiple voices, we are taken into the past to see how Eden ended up on campus that night, along with four other students who all have serious reasons for wanting to exact retribution against one of the school's most beloved teachers. We are also taken into the present as some of the students try to figure out what exactly happened that night and how everything went wrong for Eden. A suspenseful book about how the voices of women and girls are often ignored in order to protect a "respectable" man.

This one was heavy for YA. “After We Burned” started out slow, I wasn’t sure where it was going. Thankfully, the slow burn didn’t last long - it picked up pretty quickly. Once it did, it was a fast-paced, quick read.

The book was well-written and invoked a lot of emotion. I will say, there were a lot of characters and I did find it hard to keep track of them.

Overall, I liked the book, but I’m definitely not the target audience.

This one of many book I have read by the author and I once again enjoyed every moment of it.

Told in multiple POV’S but as the book goes on the secrets and mystery soon aligns with one another. Following a school fire that takes the life of a fellow student we delve into the other students backstories and learn about why Eden was actually at school that night when the tragedy occurs.

After we burned is an emotional and heartbreaking book that tackles grief, high school friendship, mourning and secrets amongst one another. All of the characters were all very different and you learn about them and how they deal with the aftermath of what happened. Trigger warnings there is sexual assault from an adult in this book for those who are not comfortable reading through this.

Overall I really enjoyed this book despite how emotional and the pull on your heartstrings there are, not every characters gets a happy ending and I will be thinking about this book for a while. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher SOURCEBOOKS Fire for the copy of this arc in exchange of my honest review.

★★★★★ (5/5)

After We Burned is an incredibly powerful and deeply affecting read. It tells an important story about what happens when kids are let down over and over again by the adults they are supposed to trust, by adults who are supposed to protect them and how corporate greed can tear apart communities.
This is not an easy book to read, heavy and heartbreaking at times, and that is only enhanced by the writing which makes you feel like you’re immersed in the story.
I was deeply touched by the way the main characters (the teens) stand up for one another and look out for each other. Their choices are often imperfect, and their actions often show desperation, love and loyalty.
I’ll definitely be thinking about this for a long time.

Thank you to the author, Sourcebooks Fire and to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book for review.

I will give this one three stars. It's fine, but for me nothing really pops out to differentiate from other YA books of here and now. Typical high school social groups, dialogue, emotions. Drama abounds! The main character, Eden, has some good depth, but the other characters feel paper cut out to me. There's the usual intrigue and murder mystery, but it's all very predictable. Could be added to the library collection. Warning: Contains sexual assault against minors by trusted adult.

3.5⭐️

After We Burned started out slow for me. I wasn’t sure where the book was going to go. However, the pace picked up approximately 20% of the way through. One of the tenants of a good book is its ability to bring out emotions in its readers. This book did that. Without revealing any spoilers, I will say the topics in this book are triggering. Readers should take care to protect their peace and seek out help if needed. Readers should be aware that this is not the type of book where everyone gets a happy ending, and as unfortunate as it is, I found it to be realistic. Overall, I felt this was a pretty good book. This was the first book I’ve read by this author but the story was intriguing and kept you hooked.

Thank you NetGalley! This author knows how to put out heart wrenching young adult books. This one is just as intense. I enjoyed her previous works. The multiple POVs with this one made it easy to understand what can happen when tragedy strikes young people

Marieke Nijkamp's After We Burned explores the aftermath of a tragic fire at Fenix High School, delving into the secrets and stories of five teens connected to the event. The novel tackles themes of grief, guilt, and the complexities of friendship amidst a community in mourning. While the premise is compelling and the multiple perspectives provide a layered view of the tragedy, the execution fell slightly short of its potential for me. The characters, though interesting, sometimes felt underdeveloped, making it harder to fully connect with their individual stories and secrets. The pacing was uneven at times, with some revelations feeling rushed or predictable. That said, Nijkamp's writing captures the emotional undercurrents of grief and the tension of hidden truths well enough to keep you engaged. The story leaves readers pondering the nature of loss and the weight of secrets we carry—though perhaps not as powerfully as I hoped it would. Overall, a decent read that offers an intriguing look at aftermath and accountability, but with room for more depth and nuance.

I really enjoyed this author's previous work and these books are popular titles for our patrons, but this one just does not cut it. The story is confusing and, compared to her previous work, it feels as though she wasn't as committed to the story this time.

I was super excited for this one based on the synopsis, but the listing indicated NOTHING about the triggers that would included - which are a major part of the story - but not at all mentioned in the promo. This prevented me from being able to continue with a story that I really wanted to read, and if I had known I wouldn't have requested it.

This is a 5 star rec for me and one that I will definitely be putting in my High School Library. Emotional, tough, and heart wrenching, but at the same time, REAL! Marieke Mijkamp doesn't hold back and she shouldn't! Every high school library should have this on there shelves!

After We Burned is not an easy read—but it’s an important one, this novel sits in that same space: dark, honest, and urgent. It’s about trauma but it’s also about the courage to speak up, even when it hurts.

Moody, intense, and kinda beautiful in a broken way. The story pulled me in with its emotion and atmosphere, and I really felt the weight of everything the characters were carrying. It didn’t totally hit 5 stars for me—maybe a bit slow in parts or didn’t punch as hard as I expected—but still, solid and stuck with me after.

“After we burned” is shelved as a YA thriller, a genre I’m never tired of, but this one wasn’t exactly what I expected from a thriller. Yes, there’s a girl who dies in a mysterious way, but I felt like her plot was rushed and not the main focus of the book (which is okay, but I wasn’t that interested in finding out how that happened/what caused it, and that’s usually the thing that keeps me interested in a thriller).
And I think that was also because the girl who dies is a stranger to us readers, despite some chapters being from her point of view: I couldn’t connect with her, I felt uninterested.
The book mainly deals with toxic and abusive relationships, and I felt like that was more the centre of the book than the ‘how did this girl die?’ bit.
There’s a few characters, but they felt flat and, once again, so far away that I didn’t care about them.
It’s a nice read, unfortunately I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would; some chapters were boring, and maybe too slow and repetitive.

This is the first book by this author that I have read and I can say that I'm a fan! I loved the multiple POV's that were all interwoven together. The characters were interesting and each had their own backstory. There were multiple twists that I didn't expect and I felt all the emotions while I was reading this book. Will definitely be reading more by this author.

pretty well written thriller by Njikamp, with interesting writing and pretty good characters. has some good twists, too. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

As a past high school teacher, when I read about teachers committing atrocities against students, I am of course, horrified, and I also find myself wondering how my previous school administrations would react. Would we do the "right" thing? Or would we attempt to protect the adult and ignore student voice?

This book will interest and engage both young adults and adult readers, and has a lot to offer in the way of small group book discussions. There will be patrons who resonate with Eden, others with Payton, and some with Theo (for who they are as characters, not what has happened to them). I would recommend this book, but also encourage readers to read the author's note/content warnings because it is not a light-hearted or easy read, but there is hope throughout.