Baylor’s dad, who is a fire lookout, has asked him to spend the summer with him. Even though Baylor hasn’t seen dad in years he agrees and thinks it will be fun. When they get there he finds they will be living in the fire tower that has a lot of stairs, and he has to use an outhouse. Dad shows him what he has to do as a lookout. Tensions rise when dad calls him a redneck and tells him he why he doesn’t like his name. Baylor keeps hoping to see a big fire, and when the first thunderstorm hits it scares Baylor and dad makes fun of him. After the storm Baylor sees smoke and his dad lets him call it in. One day they go out to check a tree on fire and a burning branch falls on dad and catches his shirt on fire. Baylor helps put the fire out and his dad later thanks him. As summer winds down his dad asks if they can stay in touch. What does Baylor say?
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Slow Burn is a middle-grade Hi-Lo fiction novel that follows 13-year-old Baylor as he connects with his estranged biological father, Rob. When Baylor gets the opportunity to spend the summer in Arizona with his dad, helping with fire lookout duties, he accepts. For Baylor, it is a thrilling adventure and a chance to possibly connect with his father. Surrounded by breathtaking mountains, their limited space and quiet life create underlying tension. As wildfire season intensifies, Baylor and his father must stay alert for danger and seek to build a bond after years of separation.

This title is written with the high-low format in mind, creating an engaging story that invigorates reluctant readers while maintaining appropriate readability and creating opportunities for growth in literacy and reading comprehension. Given the main characters in the context of the story, this is great for reluctant middle-grade readers aged 12+ who are interested in nature and weather phenomena, but could easily be entertaining and beneficial to readers of all ages, depending on the child's maturity. Throughout the story, the reader is treated to information on how fires start, how wildfires are monitored in forests, and the terminology used in fire control and forest preservation.

Note on Accessibility: I read this on Kindle, which offers customizable fonts and backgrounds to better accommodate accessibility needs, including dyslexia-friendly options. These adjustable settings, along with the book's Hi Lo structure and formatting, enhance accessibility for a broader range of readers.

Reading 2026
Book 45: Slow Burn by Katy Grant

Found this book on #NetGalley looking for books for #middlegrademarch Thank you for the advanced copy in exchange for my review. This is a YA book written in verse.

Synopsis: A young boy spends the summer with his estranged father as a fire lookout in Arizona.

Review: The story is one of struggle. Baylor is 12 years old and has grown up with his mom, dad is only a signature in a card, or an occasional call. So when the invitation to spend the summer with dad presents itself Baylor is excited and nervous. Dad is nice at first, but he lashes out at Baylor, making fun of him, and even hits him at one point. Baylor wants his dad in his life, but… My rating 3.5⭐️.

Very much a short story spread lightly across the page to make it look novel-length, this, it is good to report, spreads its heavy subjects lightly, too. It could certainly have been more serious and lumpen and well-meaningly bad. Baylor is just planning his Tennessee summer, when contact from his rarely-seen father invites him to spend the season with the man up one of those forest fire lookout stations. Even Baylor is surprised by how cool this proves to be, with Arizona wildlife to photograph, and the chance to do something really responsible as well. But in looking for smoke in a storm season, it's pretty obvious things have the chance to get quite tempestuous…

What we have here is a very pleasant slice-of-coming-of-age story, that doesn't give Baylor a hugely Damascene change of opinion but firms up his future for him nicely. It makes the whole forest care scene look like something to aspire to, if you don't mind heights, thunderstorms, remoteness from shops, no Internet, etc etc. And it shows an honest, realistic kid look at himself and ask the truth behind his parents splitting, about how welcome an arrival he actually was, and what thoughts about race might have to bear on where they all are now.

For yes, Baylor is mixed race, which I think is prime here for things that are done lightly and could have been ripe for over-emphasis. The dad is not perfect, and while some might argue this should go into why he thinks this is acceptable, why that opinion and behaviour is welcome, and so on, when to Baylor they're not, I again like the deftness of this to get past that and to see the events through Baylor's eyes. Either way it won't take much of your time – it is easily read in under an hour – and is quite a distinctive option. If you disagree and want something all-round meatier then I can see your standpoint, but I saw this as practically worth four stars, so that's what it's getting.

Thank you so much to Rosen Publishing/ West 44 Books and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

Baylor has a distant relationship with his dad, but he gets invited to stay with him for the summer monitoring the fires in the woods, he jumps at the fun opportunity. But the trip doesn’t all go as planned with he and his dad having such a rocky relationship.

The relationship between Baylor and his dad was harsh, it was such a rocky and difficult relationship. I did like that they kept trying even when it felt really difficult, his dad wasn’t one to talk a great deal which ended up leaving Baylor confused on the things he was saying to him. But I liked that they did form a connection and kept talking after their summer was over, it was really sweet.

I loved the original and unique concept for the setting as a fire lookout station in the forests. It was so cool I didn’t know anything about this so it was great getting to learn about them and how they do the monitoring and what types of fires they get there and how they deem one a big one. It was a really interesting thing to learn about and I’m glad to have gained some new facts on something I never knew about previously.

A really great verse story, it has a really cool setting with so many different aspects of nature mentioned, with our protagonist exploring the world around him. We have an estranged family relationship which causes plenty of rocky drama throughout and get to see it get me ended as the story progresses. I really liked reading this book it was very wonderfully written.

There’s a distinct audience for this story, and I can especially see middle school boys connecting with it. The plot centers around a boy visiting his father, with whom he doesn’t have much of a relationship—something many young boys may relate to. The book touches on themes of family, identity, and navigating change—topics sure to spark meaningful conversations. The pacing keeps readers engaged, and the protagonist’s growth feels genuine. Overall, Slow Burn is both relatable and accessible. In fact, it’s a high-interest, low reading level book, making it especially well-suited for students who may struggle with reading in that vulnerable middle school phase.

I really enjoyed getting to read this book, it had that element that I was looking for from the description and enjoyed how it was used in the genre. The characters were everything that I wanted and cared about the characters in this univesre. Katy Grant was able to create something perfectly and made me care about the characters in this book. I'm glad I was able to read this and am excited for more.

I was on the edge of my seat for this one, but it was a bit of a struggle for me. I wish we could have explored Baylor's feelings more about his Dad especially after he hit him.

Thank you to NetGalley, Rosen Publishing Group, West 44 Books, and Katy Grant for the opportunity to read Slow Burn in exchange for an honest review.

Despite what you may think, Slow Burn is NOT a romance. In fact, it refers to a type of forest fire burn, but also relates to the type of father/son relationship in the novel. This novel is a HiLo novel-in-verse written in a poetic style.

Baylor has lived with his single mother his whole life. His dad isn't fully removed from the picture, but seeing him every few years certainly isn't much. What kind of relationship can he have with his father if he never gets to see him?

This summer, thirteen-year-old Baylor is offered to spend the season with his father at a fire lookout post where he lives and works. Baylor is excited to get to spend more time with his father, but also to learn about spotting and calling in forest fires. What seems to be an exciting summer also shows a side of his father that Baylor never knew. Being distanced so often certainly isn't easy. Their relationship is a slow burn that will hopefully one day flare into something more powerful, but relationships like that do take time. 

This is a speedy (despite the title, hah) novel and relatable for young readers who may be distanced from a parent of their own (like myself, actually), which would help show they aren't alone in striving for those relationships. After reading some of Katy Grant's other HiLo novels (Blood Gone Cold, Disaster Trail, and my personal favorite: Three Shots), I knew I'd love this one and the message she has to offer through the words.

This is an accessible and relevant read for a middle grade audience, though young adult readers can find relatability and enjoyment in Slow Burn as well. Highly recommend!

Baylor and his dad don’t really have a relationship but both want to rekindle one. Baylor sets off to visit his dad Rob- who lives and works in a fire tower spotting wildfires across the wilderness. This is a fast pace verse novel that many students will identify with. Baylor’s figuring out his father and the flow of his relationship with him is a theme many students can and will identify with. Although not super heavy or deep in plot, I do think this is something many of my middle schoolers will enjoy- and continue their dive into verse novels.

In this short novel in verse, thirteen year old Baylor is sent by his mother to spend the summer with his noncustodial father, Rob, who has never really been part of his life. Rob has taken a seasonal job as a fire spotter in Arizona, and is living at a fire lookout tower in Arizona. It's close quarters, but the view is spectacular, and Baylor starts to think it might not be too bad of a summer, even with an outhouse! He gets a chance to talk to his father, and even learns how to use an Osbourne Firefinder and helps with spotting. There are plenty of difficult time; when the two are wrestling, Baylor gets the better of his father, who gets angry and painfully pulls Baylor's ear. There's also an awkward "facts of life" talk, when Rob (who is white) tells Baylor he doesn't want his son to make the same "mistake" that he did. Baylor's mother (who is Black) has always said that he was one of the best things in her life, even though being a young, single mother had its challenges. Since he's struggled a bit with being biracial, Baylor doesn't need more complications. There is a thunderstorm that is quite frightening, and the two do have to report a small fire, but Rob explains to Baylor that some fires are let burn in a controlled way to manage the environment. Rob and Baylor have a big blow up when Rob accuses Baylor of being a "mama's boy" and claims that he has not been involved in Baylor's life because his mother doesn't want Rob around. When a tree is struck by lightning and a fire starts, Rob is badly burned, and Baylor has to get help. Rob is okay, and the father and son have to figure out a way forward with their relationship.
Strengths: It is much more realistic and interesting to portray contentious relationships with middle grade parents, and there are many young readers who don't live with both of their parents. There are also a lot of children who are biracial, and Baylor does have some thoughts about his background, but they are not the point of the whole story, which more closely mirrors modern reality. Rob isn't the best father because he doesn't have practice, and he doesn't always have the best reactions to Baylor, but he stops short of being mean and abusive. The inclusion of fire spotting was interesting, and gives a unique background to the father and son bonding struggles.
Weaknesses: I would have liked to see more of Baylor at home with his mother, so that the contrast with his father's treatment of him would be more pronounced. We do hear that his mother and her family and friends are very supportive, but seeing him at home would have added another level of interest.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who want a short, easier to read book with more emotional depth, like Fontes' Benito Runs (Surviving Southside, another Hi Lo series) or Watson's Living Rough. Interestingly, there are two other middle grade novels about fire spotting, Rose's The Burning Season or Downing's Controlled Burn.