Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; First Edition edition, 2012
ISBN-13: 978-1442440753
Available: New and Kindle
Burn for Burn is about three girls who decide to get even with the people who wronged them, and who discover that revenge is not as clear cut as it seems. Two of the girls, Lillia and Kat, were part of a threesome of friends that was broken up by the third girl, Rennie, who has turned viciously against Kat. Both of the girls are close to popular Alex, who has betrayed Kat romantically and Lillia as a friend. Mary is the X factor: she has returned unobtrusively after an absence of many years to confront star football player Reeve about… something. After minor revenge attacks on Alex turn out to have been misguided, the girls target the homecoming dance as a place to humiliate Rennie and Reeve, but it turns out that Mary has something unexpected and dangerous at her fingertips.
Many reviews I’ve read say that this reads like a contemporary until the very end when a paranormal aspect is revealed. I disagree– the paranormal runs like an almost invisible thread through the book, but it isn’t a surprise by any means, and by the time the girls target the dance, it’s pretty evident that there will be a Carrie-style confrontation at the end. This, Han and Leigh execute beautifully, with a heart-stopping ending that does what Carrie cannot, because the disaster that takes place in Burn for Burn is not fatal, and the revenge was intentional, even though the execution of the plan went awry. This gives the three girls time to reflect and regret the effects of their actions, which is horrifying in a much different and human sort of way.
I did not realize when I first read this that it was the first book in a trilogy. As a stand-alone novel, Burn for Burn has serious weaknesses, but with two more volumes to flesh things out, I expect the three books together will ultimately make for a compelling, heart-breaking, and satisfying read. Recommended.