Review: Nothing Left to Burn by Heather Ezell
SYNOPSIS:
The autumn morning after sixteen-year-old Audrey Harper loses her virginity, she wakes to a loud, persistent knocking at her front door. Waiting for her are two firemen, there to let her know that the moment she’s been dreading has arrived: the enormous wildfire sweeping through Orange County, California, is now dangerously close to her idyllic gated community of Coto de Caza, and it’s time to evacuate.
Over the course of the next twenty-four hours, as Audrey wrestles with the possibility of losing her family home, she also recalls her early, easy summer days with Brooks, the charming, passionate, but troubled volunteer firefighter who enchants Audrey–and who is just as enthralled by her. But as secrets from Brooks’s dark past come to light, Audrey can’t help but wonder if there’s danger in the pull she feels–both toward this boy, and toward the fire burning in the distance.
REVIEW:
*Book Received in Exchange for Honest Opinion/Review*
This book had the potential for greatness with a sizzling, unique plot, but the writing is so confusing. I honestly spent the first 30% of the book wondering what the heck was going on. I didn’t know who characters were, I didn’t know how they were related and connected, nor did I know who was dating who. But wait, there is more. The confusion doesn’t stop there as the chapters which are sometimes only a page long, alternate between hours of one day and the time line of the past week. I felt like I needed to take notes on how everything was interconnected and how the plot was playing out so I could piece this puzzle together.
The plot concept itself was unique and refreshing, a romance, a wildfire, betrayal, and secrets. Something that I haven’t come across in young adult literature, but it wasn’t an easy read. I felt so much pity for Audrey it was beginning to hurt, I mean she had no identity. She was into ballet, and then she was into Brooks and that is what has defined the last 16 years of her life, which is sad. She lacks passion and personality. She was fickle, indecisive, and desperate for acceptance.
Brooks, well he was about ten levels of crazy but I couldn’t walk away from this train wreck of a book. I had to see it through. The ending…it wasn’t even an ending, it was one of those I am going to leave you wondering how things really played out type of endings. Which if you read any of my reviews where books end like this…I HATE IT! I was reading this book with the hope of closure and there was absolutely none. One word to describe this book would be frustrating.
LINKS:
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble
