3.5 stars

I won’t lie, this book was a slow burn, but I’m glad I stuck with it. At times I felt frustrated that the story wasn’t really progressing and the protagonist was running through the same thoughts and issues with her mother. There seemed to be vague possibilities of some sci-fi goings-on, but they were so subtle I couldn’t be sure. I find it very frustrating when a book’s entire premise hinges on a secret that someone stubbornly refuses to share, but in this case I think the secret was worth the wait. When you come to the end and the truth is set free, the entire story blazes in front of you in vivid shades of understanding and horror.

Let me compare this to [book: Wilder Girls] since that’s the whole reason I wanted to read this author again. Wilder Girls has striking sci-fi/dystopian vibes with lots of action from the get-go. It has a large, misfit cast of characters and an understood antagonist, the Tox. Meanwhile, in Burn Our Bodies Down, the focus is much more intimate, between Margot and her mother, and later, Gram. The mood is stifling, suffocating, contrasted against the wide open fields of burned corn that don’t look quite right. You don’t know who or what to trust, so there is no defined good and evil, and you just have to wait for the next fire to spark to understand. I would definitely recommend both books, depending on what kind of mood you’re in: faster-paced, in-your-face body horror mystery or creepy old farm with lots of family drama and a horrific past?

There is one element/theme that is the crux of both books which I found really interesting. It’s explored in very different ways in all of Power’s work so far, so I’ll be curious to see what she writes next. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to experience this one!

I enjoy this book very much it is a strange book but I think teenagers would very much enjoy it. I like the why the author describes the awkward relationship between mother and daughter. I did see in the beginning there being something not quite right about the teenage girl but I would have never expected what exactly happened in the end so I very much like that.

Content- profanity. See Rory Powers webpage for a more thorough content warning.
14+

Holy what the heck? Think you can guess where this story is going? Nope. Guess again. You're still wrong. It's creepy as heck, too. I feel so mixed up about it that I don't really have much in the way of current thought to share. But I will say this: Read it.

After not enjoying this authors first book, I should have known I wouldn’t enjoy this. I was caught up in the hype for this. Unfortunately this authors writing style just isn’t for me. I found it hard to get into and didn’t connect with the characters. I can see why so many people love this but it just wasn’t for me

Can you truly know your self if you don't know your past? Margot doesn't know who she is because her mother does not disclose her past. Making Margot wonder what secrets she keeps. Burn Our Bodies Down is a suspense novel about the secrets families keep to protect their legacy and themselves. Power tries to build anticipation with children of the corn theme but falls short. The pace of this book is excruciatingly slow and bogged down with excessive detail. Margot has no time to develop and form a connection with the reader. Throughout the book you have no reason to cheer on Margot and because of this, the family story feels superficial. The supporting characters feel vapid and forced on the reader. Gram is a shell of a person and her backstory is hardly expanded on. Her reason for what she does seemed rushed and not thought out. The climax felt hurried so the book could have closure. While there were instances of suspense and wonder, the dragged out mundane interactions outweighed those. A faster pace and more depth into the interactions and history of the family would have made this book a more suspenseful read.

3 stars.

First and foremost, I must say I loved Wilder Girls, but this one didn’t work for me. It started off strong, I was immediately curious about Margot and her mother. Rory Power knows how to write a good story that hooks you. I love a good thriller, but this turned more horror, which I wasn’t expecting.

Most of the characters in this book were unlikeable or there wasn’t enough page time to get to know them. While we spend most of our time with Margot, I still feel like I don’t know her. I still have so many questions! And as for the other characters, we just don’t see them enough to get a feel for them.

The story itself is a good one, it kept me interested and on my toes the entire book. Figuring out the big mystery became crucial for me, but I did not guess how this book would end. I was going in a million other directions with my theories. I think I would have appreciated the ending and the big twist a bit more if I didn’t perceive this book as a thriller.

This was a fantastic follow up to Rory Power's debut Wilder Girls. Power's has a very unique writing style that I love and takes risks. This was such a creepy and out there book, and I loved every minute of it. From the beginning I was sucked in and it kept me guessing. From the atmosphere to the mysterious characters, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Can't wait to read whatever she writes next!

Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Power is a weird, creepy novel filled with a lot of anger. So. Much. Anger. Anger at mothers. Anger at men. Anger at climate change. Anger about secrets. It is as if Ms. Power used her novel as a form of therapy and unburdened her soul by exorcising her personal demons through novel writing.

At its heart, Burn Our Bodies Down is about relationships between mothers and daughters, and it is no easy tale. In fact, one might find the story triggering given Margot's experiences with her mother and later her grandmother. Her feelings of impotence, of balancing on a wire, and of navigating the minefield that is her mother's moods are difficult to experience even for a reader who may have the best of familial relationships. For someone whose childhood memories are less than ideal, I can only imagine how brutal these relationships would be.

There is a fantasy/science fiction element to the story I did not expect and do not entirely welcome. For a novel so steeped in emotion, the use of something otherworldly lessens the reasons behind those emotions, making them almost moot. The story would be much more powerful if there were a realistic cause at the heart of the mystery, not only because it would not require a suspension of disbelief but also because it would give credence to everything the characters feel.

For a story with such strong emotions, Burn Our Bodies Down has a truly disappointing ending. There are little closure and little reconciliation. Add to that the inclusion of some weird science/otherworldly happenings on the family farm, and you wonder just what Ms. Power was trying to do with her story. It is neither a coming-of-age nor a horror story, although it has vestiges of both. Unfortunately, this is one novel in which the combination of two genres does not work well at all.

Burn Our Bodies Down is the creepy midwestern gothic book I didn't know I needed in my life.

For her whole life, it's been just Margot and her mother Josephine No father, no other family. But life with her mother is hard. Josephine is emotionally abusive and Margot is constantly on edge, trying to keep from provoking her (and it takes very little to provoke her, and Margot never really knows what is going to set her off). It's a lonely life, and when Margot finds information about her mother's family, she goes in search of her grandmother.

Margot ends up in a dying small town, on a very creepy farm, with her very strange grandmother. The townspeople don't like her family and she's not exactly welcomed with open arms. Everything about the town, the farm, and her grandmother are weird and unsettling.

Rory Power is a really interesting writer and her books go into some dark places. This is such a well-done story, and Power really ramps up the tension. It's a perfect gothic tale, and I found it totally gripping. Highly recommended.

Margot Nielson lights a candle every day. Her mother insists on it; Margot is never told why, but if she doesn’t, there will be consequences. Margot’s entire life is made up of questions her mother never answers. Who is her father? Do they have any family? One day, Margot finds a bible among her mother’s things– inside is a picture of a woman who looks exactly like Margot. Margot, unable to accept excuses and lies anymore, leaves to track down her grandmother in her mother’s hometown, Fairhaven. Instead of finding answers, Margot only has more questions; there’s a lot to weed through in this mysterious town and even more mysterious family. As more secrets are unveiled, Margot trusts her grandmother less and less until she becomes trapped, completely entangled in the mystery that lies in the fields. Powers creates an entire world among the corn stalks of Fairhaven full of suspense, lies, and manipulation. Perfect for fans of Courtney Summers, Burn Our Bodies Down, will shock you, disgust you, unnerve you, but will ultimately leave you satisfied although somewhat in shock that a book like this could even be written. Utterly excellent.

Wilder Girls was one of my favorite books of last year, so I could not wait to read her next book. The opening chapters and overall concept were wonderfully weird, just like Wilder Girls. However, one of the main things I loved about Wilder Girls was the poetic style of writing, and Burn Our Bodies Down was less poetic in its writing style, but did had the same indescribable melancholy and dread. The middle of the book was so good and I had no idea where the story was going. Ultimately, the ending didn't quite work for me and I was hoping for more from the friendships and relationships. I will definitely read anything Rory Power ever writes, though!!

This was what I was hoping Wilder Girls would be. It's eerie, full of family secrets, set on a really creepy farm, and still pulls the real world problems into the story. This book is like Dig by A.S. King, but make it a thriller/horror book. I still found the pacing a bit off and didn't totally love the ending, but I would be quicker to recommend this than I would Wilder Girls.

I was really excited for this book because the premise seemed really interesting and like something I would enjoy. Unfortunately it fell flat for me. I think the biggest tell is that it took me more than 3 weeks to read this (when I normally read a book in a few days), and I had to force myself to keep reading. I think a major part of this was the pacing, because it was extremely slow for most of the book, and it only really picked up at the end, and by then it was too little too late. I didn't really care about any of the characters besides Margot because I don't think any of them really had any sort of personality or depth. While I didn't completely guess how everything played out, parts of it were obvious. And I was expecting something different than how the ending played out. There were too many weird things that I don't think were explained properly, which lowered my enjoyment of the book. This could be a case of reading it at the wrong time, and maybe if I read it at a different time, I'd enjoy it more, but as it is, I really struggled through this book. One of the things I did like was how atmospheric the book is. I think that was done really well.

I'm a fan of the combination of sci-fi and horror. To me, speculation about technology is far more frightening than the supernatural, so long as the science makes sense. And that's the source of my struggle here. I couldn't reconcile how this all worked. The atmosphere is eerie and uneasy, to be certain. That's the strongest part of this book. The major characters are reasonably developed but secondary characters are quite flat. And the resolution didn't work for me at all.

Burn Our Bodies Down

17-year-old Margot has only ever had her mom; no other family that she’s aware of. But she has questions about her history that her mom refuses to answer and Margot wants answers. She finds an old photograph of a town called Phalene and decides to leave and go see what she can find out about her family. But, was her mom keeping things secret for a reason? To protect them from what lives in this rural town?

I was all about this book, at first. I wanted answers myself but the ending took a weird turn for me. However, I think this could make a decent Netflix series.

Thank you @netgalley & Delacorte Press for this free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Power delivers.

Margot wants to know. Her mother, Jo (Josephine), refuses to tell her. There has got to be more. Where did she come from? Who are her family?

Everyday her mother tells her to light a candle and keep it burning. It will keep her safe. Margot does what she is asked. The strange has become normal over the years. She and her mother do not communicate. They argue. So much does not make sense and Jo knows how to play the game. Margot cannot get through her mother's armor. One day, with money she pilfered from her mom, Margot goes to the local pawnshop to buy back one of the many items her mother sold (to help make ends meet) as a surprise. Margot is the one surprised when she comes across an old family photo with writing on the back and a phone number.

Well, well, well. Let the bomb drop. Margot is off to the proverbial races. Here the story truly begins. Margot wants answers, She wants to meet her family. She wants to feel like she is a part of something, anything. Maybe Vera, her grandmother, will give her the answers her mother refuses to give. Maybe her grandmother will open her home to her, the operative word - home.

Shortly after Margot arrives, a young girl is found. She was spotted in a cornfield. A burning cornfield, A cornfield that belongs to Vera. This girl is dead. This girl looks like Margot. Exactly like Margot. Something is wrong. Something is very, very wrong.

Margot's inner dialogue was great. I enjoyed being able to process the information along with her. At times, a bit redundant, but how often do we ourselves do just that.. What she believes is her safe haven, becomes dark and twisted. The secrets mount until there is nowhere else to hide. In one fateful night, all is exposed. There are consequences to our actions. Harsh consequences.

I liked this book. I know some have felt that Wilder Girls was a better novel, I found I could not make any comparison between Wilder Girls and Burn Our Bodies Down. Both novels by Rory Power stand on their own merit. I believe Power may have the ability to create from whatever topic she chooses and make it work. A very nice attribute for any writer.

Thank you to NetGalley, Delacorte Press, and Rory Power for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Warning: You will lose sleep while reading Burn Our Bodies Down. Its a book that burrows into you like a restless itch, until you’ve read half in one gulp, gasping for air at the end. I yearned to unravel the puzzle that was Margot and the Nielsen women and the enigma that was the dusty small-town of Phalene. As I read my way up to the conclusion, I found more questions than answers, just like in Rory Power’s debut, Wilder Girls. That’s not to say that it wasn’t a satisfying read, just that the book felt like a string I kept pulling on, yielding more and more without an end in sight. Instead of a solid conclusion, I was left with the feeling that the story wouldn’t leave me and that Rory Power’s words had left an impression on me that I would never fully get rid of until I read the next book.

For those of you not familiar with the book. Burn Our Bodies Down is about Margot, a teenager, who flees the life she lives with her mother—a woman as mystifying and impenetrable as the past she never discusses—for the spotty hope of family in the town of Phalene, a town her mother left after she was born without a word. Her arrival is met with a mysterious fire on her grandmother’s land and the start of a chilling mystery that Margot believes is the reason her mother left the town eighteen years before.

Margot is bewildering at times, but I loved Tess, a bright character set against Margot’s moody narration. I loved the relationship, what was just teased—unapologetically queer. I just wish we had more time to see Margot and Tess throughout the whirlwind of the book but the pressure of what was really happening in Phalene and at the Nielsen farm took precedence, and as the readers were let in on Vera Nielsen and Jo Nielsen’s secrets, we readers weren’t able to think of much else!

With graceful prose and foreboding, the book stuns and thrills, toeing the line between outright horror and the grotesque. It also frustrates the reader in a way that speaks to how masterful Rory Power is as a writer. Her skill is in making us want more out of everything the book has to offer—more of the town, characters, more after the last page. I went into the book hoping it was like Wilder Girls, but found something as unique as the debut was and was happily content with how much I couldn’t stop reading, even if I lost sleep. Go into this with a few hours to spare or with all your lights on, curled up with someone who can bring you back to reality once you disappear into the story. You won’t regret delving into Rory Power’s words, but you will regret once it is over.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I've not read this author before, but the cover and description intriguied me....every now and then I like to read YA book to escape the world. A wild, strange, eerie ride!!! I've seen references to her Wilder girls books---so now am going to have to check them out!

Whew! This book caught me right from the start. It's incredibly suspenseful and Rory Power manages to keep up the intrigue throughout. Beautiful and perfectly creepy writing! This story reminds me a bit of All the Bad Apples by Moïra Fowley-Doyle and I'd recommend either book for fans of the other.

I loved Margot and her relationship with her family. She's SUCH a well-written sympathetic character. Often, I found myself wanting to shout "don't do it!" to her, even while understanding 100% while she did what she did. That is HARD for authors to pull off and I commend Power for doing so successfully!

Plot-wise, the story took some interesting turns and I enjoyed most of how it played out. (There was a small pet peeve with the story-line that really is just that, my personal pet peeve.) Overall, I'd recommend this story for anyone interested in a creepy, sapphic story full of family secrets!

Thank you Delacorte Press via Netgalley for providing an advanced e-copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Oh I really enjoyed this book! I will read anything Rory Power writes! Her writing is so good and I love how twisted this book was.