Review for “Burn Girl” by Mandy Mikulencak (2015)
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Before I start this review, lemme celebrate a bit by telling you all that this is my first ARC from Net Galley!!! Yasssss!!!
Ok, now that that’s over, I’ll start my review. This title is scheduled to be published on Sept. 1, 2015. Spoilers abound, so umm…
“Burn Girl” is the story of Arlie, a teenaged girl who is disfigured in a meth lab explosion as a child. After her mother dies as a result of a drug overdose, she goes to live with her uncle in an Airstream trailer. Interspersed throughout the narrative are glimpses into Arlie’s sad childhood–her mother’s drug dependency, her friendship with her close friend Mo, and the devastating explosion caused by her stepfather Lloyd. Through Mo, her uncle, and a love interest at her new school, Arlie gradually learns to accept the love she’s missing in her life.
The premise of this book was good but the slowness of this book made it a three star read for me. The beginning is great–you’re thrust right into the action as Arlie as she discovers her mother deceased. Unfortunately, the story rapidly loses steam from there with slow storytelling and even slower pacing of events. The action does pick up in the last 50 or so pages, but the subplot in the end didn’t seem “right” to me. Why in the world would a man go after his teenage stepdaughter for a ginormous sum of $50,000? Uhh, ok.
Not a bad book, despite its flaws I’d recommend it to teens who are looking for something beyond standard YA subject options.
[I received this ARC via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.]
29chapters.com 
A story about an orphaned girl who’s disfigured in meth lab explosion? This sounds so depressing.
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Honestly, it wasn’t that bad. The main character is fiercely independent and even though you know she is disfigured, she never invites your pity as a reader. I think the author tread carefully in how she created her character here, which I liked.
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