"The Burning" by Laura Bates was a quick and enjoyable read. I couldn't put it down. That's not an exaggeration: I was holding my tablet with one hand and eating dinner with the other, which did not earn me points with my husband, who made the dinner.

Anna is starting a new semester at a new school. She's hoping to outrun what happened at her last school, but she can't. She's having dreams about Maggie, a girl in the 17th century who was accused of witchcraft. Both girls are the victims of a mob mentality that demands perfect behavior from women.

Anna's experiences at school are probably the most realistic I've ever read, and by that I mean there might be trigger warnings for bullying and misogyny and abortion and sexual assault. The Burning is full of strong women who manage to stick together through all of that. I'd buy this book, I'd read it again, and I'd recommend it to every girl and woman I know.

Content warnings: Sexual assault, revenge porn, bullying.

Truthfully, this book was difficult to read- not in terms of quality, but in terms of content. Our main character, Anna, has up and moved away from everything she's ever known to escape terrible bullying and acts of revenge porn, a subject that is horrific to read about. My heart was not only breaking for Anna, but for myself, as this story hit very close to home for a number of reasons. Anna's pain was visceral- I felt as though I was her going through these terrible motions. Anna's story is told alongside the story of Maggie, a woman accused of witchcraft in her town in the 1600s, who Anna has begun researching for a school project. My main critique was that I wanted more from Maggie's story- we are shown glimpses into her life through Anna's eyes, but I would have loved the juxtaposition of Maggie's life as a scorned woman and the parallels between what Anna was going through. The discussions of sexism, sexual assault, and bullying are well done, but in my opinion, left something to be desired. I wanted to see the people responsible for Anna's trauma held accountable for their actions- I wanted to see them punished. Perhaps thats just my own experience speaking, but I felt everything was tied up too easily for such a painful experience.

The world of social media has created a window into everyone's private lives so what happens when a teenager's life is turned upside down through lies, bullying, and doctored videos? This young adult novel explores this world through Anna, a young British teen forced to move to Scotland when her school life in Birmingham becomes untenable. As she deals with her father's recent death and trying to adjust to a new school, Anna's past not only finds her, but the past of the small Scottish village and its witch trials do as well. This is a powerful story of a life that rolls out of a teenager's control, the scary power of social media, and a woman's ability to fight back. Loved it!

First off I want to thank @netgalley, @sourcebooks & @laurabates for my free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
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This one was a very powerful read about bullyinyg, slut shaming, rape and many others. It was very consuming and touching to read.
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I was not expecting to enjoy it at some point into the book I wasn't enjoying it as much. Glad I pushed through because when the story starts to develop further and the girls start taking action it really turns into such a powerful book. I was a victim of bullying and slut shaming in high school so I was relating to this one so much when everything unfolded. I also really loved the fact that the author loved through some of these horrible things, it makes it even more touching. Honestly, it's an intense rollercoaster ride and you just have to push through and finish it to understand the whole message of it.
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The ending was the perfect conclusion for me. If you're a fan of YA and real life issues definitely add this one to your list.

I am really conflicted by how I feel with this book. I really wanted to enjoy it because I <i>adored</i> the premise - a scorned girl finding solace with a witch from the 1600s, sign me up! The book does have a lot of things to say; it discusses slut-shaming, misogyny, double standards,and cyber bullying (to name a few). I think Bates did a really good job at painting the pain the main character, Anna, goes through. There were times in the book where I was physically cringing at what Anna was experiencing. I also really, really enjoyed the historical aspect of the novel. It was super interesting and I loved seeing a perspective from someone accused of witchery in 1655 Scotland. I was fascinated by these parts. The novel's downfall is that I felt it was tackling <i>too</i> many topics. A lot of the novel felt messy, I felt a lot of the book left much to be desired on certain topics. I also found some of the writing to be awkward and a little dated for a YA novel published in 2020. Overall, I loved the message of the novel concerning slut-shaming and misogyny as well as the historical aspect, but the rest of the book felt lacklustre to me and left me disappointed.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started reading this, but I was pleasantly surprised! In this book we follow Anna, who has recently moved from Birmingham to a small town in Scotland to get away from her past. Soon she begins researching the town history and becomes fascinated by a witch trail that took place in the town. Soon she starts connecting dots between what happened in the past and what has been happening to her in the present.

This book is a lot deeper than I initially thought, touching a lot on slut shaming, and victim blaming. I thought the discussion about these topics was done fairly well, but I wanted the book to take it just a little bit farther. I felt that some characters got away way too easily and I wanted to see more consequences. I thought the shifts between the past and present were well down, and I liked how it all wove together as well. I also liked how the mystery of why she moved was revealed slowly.

The characters themselves were also really intersting. I really felt for Anna and all that she was going through and I could appreciate her friends. I felt there were a lot of minor characters that were super intersting, but we didn't get to know the at all. I really wanted to see more from Robin, especially when he could have become so pivotal towards the end of the book.

Overall, this was a compulsively readable book that was deeper than initially seemed.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Great book and an easy read. I felt very connected with the main character and the relationships she built. I loved the pacing but I felt the story could have had more depth.

Thank you kindly to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this review copy.

This is a book with a strong message--didactic, even. It may well speak to girls who have been sexually shamed or bullied online and it might also be preventive for younger readers.

This was a solid work of feminist YA fiction! I found the tie-ins to 17th century witchcraft accusations and trials really interesting, especially how that compared with the shunning and abuse that happened to Anna. A lot of this book was hard to read because of the abuse she suffered by the hands of her peers, and I was just waiting for anything good to happen for her.

The Burning was one of the best books I've read this year. The writing was simply beautiful, and the characters were extremely real and relatable. Anna was one of the most complex characters I've read, and the side characters never felt flat or as if they were just there as plot devices. Anna's experience with online bullying was also heart-wrenching in its truth. Nothing was dramatized or exaggerated like some novels dealing with bullying; this was all very realistic.
I also loved the flashbacks of Maggie's perspective. The author tied together the stories of Anna and Maggie seamlessly, and I really appreciated how Anna herself comments on the ways in which sexism has not changed since Maggie's lifetime.

This just reminded me how teens can be so cruel. This follows Anna Clark as she moves to Scotland immediately following a major scandal back in England, only to have it follow her to her new school. Instead of running away, like she did before, Anna stands up for herself and to her classmates. 

An added element to the story was told through dreams that mirrored at village tale from the 1650's that Anna is researching for an assignment. The more she learns, the more connected she feels to Maggie.

I think this was just okay. I liked the journey Anna went through across the book as well as the relationships she built, but I think I wanted more. Everything felt very surface level. I wanted a more in depth look into her relationship with her mother and what her life was in England. I also feel like everything was way over-exaggerated—pretty unrealistic.  

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book had my attention from the very beginning. I really connected with the main character, Anna, and was so curious to find out more of her story. The historical aspects covered in the book were fascinating as well. I enjoyed reading about how the UK handled supposed witchcraft, and the tie ins with the historical character and the modern day character were fabulous. The best part for me, though, was the way the major social issues were handled. I love the feminist overtones in this book, and I think it is an important read for all women and girls, as well as boys!

First and foremost I would like to thank NetGalley for a copy of the eARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Because fire is sneaky. You might think you've extinguished it, but one creeping red tendril, one single wisp of smoke is enough to let it leap back to life again. Especially if someone is watching, waiting to fan the flames.

It’s taken me a very long time to write this review, mostly because I am so upset that this book turned out the way it did.

Writing

Unfortunately, while this novel started off strong, it delved into some very cliché teen writing, sounding like one of those tumblr posts that ends with “and everyone clapped”. There is literally a scene where the main character stands on a lunch table, makes a big speech, and people begin to form a group behind her in a show of support. Which is absurd at best, and would never happen outside of movies.

Story

The story feels very much like a backdrop for the preaching tone of the novel. While it touches on some very important themes, it reads much more like one of those PSA/anti-bullying movies they show at school. Anna and her mother move to a new country in an attempt to outrun some horrible things that happened in Anna’s past. Mainly cyber-bullying and sexual harassment, which fall more than a little flat with the author’s seeming lack of understanding of how social media works. While she describes the most commonly used apps by teenagers, Snapchat and Instagram, she describes them working like Facebook does. The story feels like an out of touch adult trying to use teenage slang to talk to younger folks.

Overall

It’s very disheartening because this book touches on very important themes, and has representation for various illnesses/disabilities.

It’s clear that the story that Anna researches for her school project is a foil for what happened in her life.

In the end, I’m just sad that this book did not live up to my expectations.

The Burning is a story that shows the relationship between the modern rumor mill and the witch trials of the past .

Anna and her mother move to Scotland, hoping to find peace with the death of Anna's father, and to escape the devastating results of cyber bullying that they faced in England. Anna has learned the hard way that once a rumor is started, it can be difficult to prove to the world that one small action only makes up part of the truth. "When did the rest of me disappear?"

When Anna begins school in Scotland, a history project spurs her to investigate the life of a woman who was accused of witchcraft in the 1600's. Anna's research on this mysterious woman will show her that the destructive powers of rumors are timeless, which helps her cope with her own situation.

This is an insightful, powerful, and emotional look into how drastically a life can be damaged by gossip and one sided stories. It's also a story of grief, and the power of friendship. The Burning is an excellent look into many facets of life and how the past is often repeated in modern times.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Fire and Laura Bates for the advanced copy of The Burning in exchange for my honest review.

Girls are like marshmallows”

This is a great book about slut-shaming and women coming together in solidarity. It’s a social commentary piece on how boys should be held responsible and how it takes two to tango. It dives into the heartache and the social injustice that women face everyday just by being women.

The book opens with Anna moving to a new country and finding new friends. It’s pretty intriguing since you don’t know why she moved but it gets better as the pieces come together. What I will say is that most of her later problems in the book could have been avoided if her and her mum had a better relationship and they felt they could talk to each other.

It is nice to see Anna find friends and see the value in them, but I genuinely enjoyed Anna’s parallel to her subject for the history project-Maggie the maybe witch. They faced similar prejudice and to have Anna gain strength through Maggie’s story was interesting to see.

In the end, what killed this book for me was the way it was so easy for Anna to develop feelings for Robin. It wasn’t realistic and it took away from the story.

“We are the granddaughters of the witches you burned. And we’ve had enough”

A gripping story of a teenage girl being shamed and tormented for sharing a photo of herself with a boy who then shared it with the world. There was so much going on in this book and not all of it easy to handle but it was written with passion and the overwhelming message was absolutely clear that misogyny is still a huge problem and needs confronting. Very thought-provoking and also enjoyable. There were times when I thought parts seemed unrealistic in the new fake profiles being created and the amount of abuse being sent but apparently this was all based on other experiences and nothing was exaggerated.

The Burning by Laura Bates is a powerful, painfully, beautiful story about a girl who has moved schools to start over after a painful experience at her old school. Unfortunately her past seems to have followed her and Anna now needs to find her voice.
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This book is so incredible. I finished in a couple hours, I couldn’t stop reading it. My eyes are red and scratchy from crying throughout (no, it’s not just my allergies kicking in) and my throat kept getting clogged. Anna is going through a painful experience. Her agency is taken from her, images of her body are being used without her consent and in crude ways and kids being kids are being cruel about it. She is in a new school, far from what she knows after a recent loss of her father and she is not in an okay place. Anna has a pretty great outcome at the end of this, but the reality is not many who go through this do.
This is a tough book to read, no two ways about it but it’s an important read that takes on a very tough topic. Bullying, sexual harassment, etc need to be discussed, the right people (ie not the people who were wronged) need to be punished, schools need to move forward with the times and have policies that handle this better. This is a book that needs to be read! Ms. Bates is amazing for taking on such a tough topic.
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I liked how the story also includes the history project that Anna is working on, where she starts looking into a woman who was accused of witchcraft. A lot of women were accused of witchcraft for various reasons and it worked really well into what Anna was going through and giving her that sense of other women have been where she’s at, and she may feel like it but she’s not alone. .
I also really, really liked that the author also included a list of resources if you are going though or have gone through what Anna has gone through. It’s incredibly important and a nice touch to have that there.
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Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I read some reviews of this book and a lot of people said that they felt that this story wasn't necessary or some of the reactions and actions were a bit outdated. The funny thing is a lot of the people who wrote those reviews were adults. People have to remember these type of books aren't meant strictly for adults. Teenagers would identify with this story because this stuff really happens. Bates adapted relevant issues and turned them into a modern day witchhunt, something that girls and women go through every day. As soon as I started reading, I had a hard time putting it down. Anna's emotions and torture felt so real to me. I love the aspect of Anna researching another woman's tale. It put a different spin on these kind of stories. It makes young female readers to research their past to understand their future more.

“The Burning” is a page-turner about a teen named Anna who must abruptly move away from her big city to a small coastal town in Scotland. While still healing from the untimely death of her father, she’s also trying to outrun bullying and nasty gossip at her prior school that she hopes won’t follow her to her new home.

As Anna begins to put down roots and begins to make friends, the past comes back to haunt her - in more ways than one. A school project leads her to uncover the story of a local woman named Maggie from centuries ago who was accused of witchcraft. Maggie’s torture and humiliation touch a nerve in Anna as it becomes clear that both have paid an enormous price for being young women who have dared to come into their sexuality. The depiction of bullying is brutal and realistic. Bates doesn’t pull any punches as we come to understand why Anna fled her hometown.

The highlight of “The Burning” is its depiction of female friendships. Anna’s new friends Cat and Alisha are full, three-dimensional characters with wit, talents and flaws. Some of the greatest tension in the book comes from the fear that Anna’s past will somehow drive a wedge between the three.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book to teens. It offers insights into present-day misogyny and bullying, along with a visceral illustration of how such cruelty has echoed throughout modern history.

Teen angst with witchy vibes? Sign me up. Right on trend but this story will be interesting throughout the years. Timeless.