I LOVED Wilder Girls so I was beyond excited when I was approved for this arc. Burn Our Bodies Down has that signature Rory Power atmospheric presence that makes me feel like I am a part of the story or like it is playing like a movie in my head. The characters are messy and complicated and I just felt this pervasive sense of dread the entire time I was reading it.

Burn Our Bodies Down follows Margot, who has lived with her mother Jo all her life—and it’s always been just the two of them. Jo has something of a murky past and is generally very closed off from her daughter. Despite Margot’s constant desire for Jo’s love and approval, they have a deeply dysfunctional relationship and life.
But one day, Margot discovers a clue to Jo’s past hidden away inside an old Bible, and starts off at a run to find the town where Jo grew up, as well as the grandmother she’s never known, and any other family she might have been missing out on. But what she finds is so far from what she expected, and so far from normal. As soon as her feet hit the ground on the main street of town, she encounters mystery, deception, and strange looks from everyone she meets—people who seem to already know more about her than she even knows about herself. And the longer she’s there, the more she starts to see why. Her grandmother is hiding something—something dark. Slowly, Margot begins to unearth the horrifying truth, and see that this darkness spreads further than she could have imagined.

It’s difficult, sometimes, not to compare an author’s sophomore release to their debut, and I definitely found myself doing so during my reading of Burn Our Bodies Down. Power deals in secrets, a currency she’s familiar with and handles deftly. Wilder Girls took on government secrets, medical secrets, the secrets of survival in a post-societal breakdown environment. Burn Our Bodies Down takes on family secrets, small town secrets, and the secrets of the darkness within.

I’ll admit—this one got off to a bit of a slow start for me. The first few chapters deal with Margot’s current life with her mother and the discovery of the clues about her past, then her arrival in the town where her mother grew up. She immediately meets some people, including a couple kids her own age, who unintentionally lead her right to her grandmother’s farm, where things are already going down.

But then it felt like we hit the brakes a little bit, and we got wayyy deeper into the family dynamics and mother-daughter drama, which is fine if I had known that was what I was in for, but the whole time I was just waiting to get to the horror/thriller part, when it was reading more like a generational family drama. And don’t get me wrong—there’s nothing wrong with generational family dramas. But that was so not what I was here for. I wanted to get the meat of the story. I started to lose a little bit of traction on the emotional stuff and the dysfunction between mothers and daughters. While I get how it plays into the story, it just slowed me down a bit.

BUT THEN.

Then we got to the end chapters. And then we got into the meat of the story (ironic, considering I don’t eat meat) that I had been really waiting for.

And once we found out the “big reveal” and what kind of messed up stuff had been going down, suddenly we weren’t slowing down anymore, or hitting the brakes at all. We were pushing the gas pedal to the floor and barreling full steam ahead and I was loving it. The last few chapters and ending of the book actually completely made up for the slower chapters that I hadn’t enjoyed as much, and made it all make sense why Power had been writing them that way and how everything stitched together really nicely.
I will not go into spoilers, because this book isn’t out yet, and I want people to go read it, but I will say this about the big twist/big reveal: it was actually not exactly what I was expecting. I could see some of what she was setting up, and where it might be going, but the magnitude of how horrific it is and what had actually been going on behind the scenes did surprise me, and kept me quickly turning pages trying to find out more and more and more about it. The scene where our main character discovers everything is such a gradual dawning and as it goes on, there’s this sense of dread just falling over everything like a fog rolling in and it is so intense to imagine what she must be going through.

The details of the situation are so visceral and vile, and there were a couple things that actually made me recoil a little bit. One of the details played on a certain concept in horror that always sends shivers right down my spine. The big reveal was also reminiscent of a certain subplot in one of my favorite video games, which may have made me enjoy it even more.

Overall, I’d give this one probably four out of five stars. The only drawback for me was that I felt it played a little too heavily on the generational family drama portion of it when I was wanting to really go in on the horror aspect. It’s just that Rory Power does horror so well, I wanted more of that. But I see that the way she set it up did make it more impactful, and the horror I did get was really enjoyable. I liked this one a lot, I think Power is really making a name for herself in the YA horror/thriller world, and I would recommend that you check this one out when it comes out in July!

this book deserves all the hype. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did. The characters, the world, the writing, it was all pretty amazing and I couldn't put it down. I want more from this world

Oh my goodness, the twists and turns this book took me on! I was so surprised by some of the plot points, which is usually not the case, unfortunately. I think this book was a fun read, but I'm not entirely sure I would purchase it or recommend it to a friend.

Rory Power is such an exceptional writer. This book was absolutely beautiful right from the very first page. I'm honestly in awe of her writing style.

This was such an intriguing read. It was quiet and sort of slow, but even though it wasn't necessarily fast-paced, I could hardly put it down. All I wanted was to figure out this family mystery. It was all so quietly unsettling, and while I'm not normally a thriller/mystery fan, I think I've found my exact brand of them.

CWs: (attempted) murder, body horror, gore, corpses, fire

I read Rory's previous books two months ago and enjoyed it but for the ending. I was still very excited about Rory's new book and was very happy when I got approved. I went into this book not having read the synopsis (not that it tells me much) and was quite surprised. Personally, while I did very much enjoy this book I did think it dragged a bit. I had hoped for a bit more action, but it was still a very enjoyable book. I couldn't put it away and read it in about three days. Highly recommend if you love slightly creepy books.

Well that just thoroughly creeped me out. Rory Power strikes again with a chilling horror novel about familial abuse and the secrets we keep from each other.

My favorite thing about this book was that it didn't keep the action from me. This is more character-driven, yes, but the twists and turns and mysteries are there from the beginning and usually one has to wait until a third of the book before something gripping happens. In Burn Our Bodies Down, the action starts happening 15% of the way in.

You know something is off right away, you know that Margot can't trust the people she so desperately wants to connect to, but you understand her needs and so you watch her sink further into something that she should be running as far as possible from.

Chilling, creepy, shudder-inducing, this story kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time, never truly feeling at ease even after it was over. Highly recommend.

This was a super fast creepy read that I couldn’t tear my eyes away from! Literally finished it in like 2 hours!!!
The story surrounds a teenage girl with a strained relationship with her mother and no knowledge of her real family. She finally contacts her grandmother and escapes to her house and that’s when it all begins.
A lot of weird stuff happens and you really don’t know what’s happening until the end- I guess that’s why I couldn’t stop reading!
This book comes out July 7th- put it on your TBR.
Thanks to Netgalley for my advanced ebook copy!

4 Stars - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Definite Rec

*My thanks to the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review*

BURN OUR BODIES DOWN is a tense, heart-clenching YA thriller from Rory Powers that stays true to her form of causing you to not realize you’re holding your breath until your chest aches.

Margot Nielson has lived a half-life, toeing the edge of her mother’s bitter and blackened emotions just to keep her assuaged long enough to survive the next day. Because it is only them, their shared guilt, and the flames that keep the ghosts at bay. Desperate for a tie, any tie, to the family she longs for, Margot finally finds the number for a grandmother she never knew and leaves to claim the life she’s owed. But her Grandmother keeps just as many secrets, and Margot realizes very quickly that she has entered into a situation far more frightening than the one she left behind.

This left me contemplative. I had to take a moment to let it sink in. I took a shower, half expecting to feel the grit Margot describes when she turns on the faucet at her grandmother’s house. I tended to my plants, pressing dirt into the whorls of my fingers and wondering what it must have felt like to watch a burn spiral white and root-like across someone’s skin.

And isn’t that just like a book? To leave you hovering in that weightless space between one and the next?

There were plenty of times I thought to myself, “I do not like this book.” even as I soared through the pages, drawn in once again by Powers’ fluid and quick prose. Even as I got to the end and shook my head, wondering, “That can’t be all?” And I can understand that many people will not get to that point because it is simply not a story everyone will be able to sit through. The pacing, for some, may seem slow as Margot ambles through the oddity that is her life and the mystery surrounding her family and the girls who died. The almost-perfect normalcy of the rest of the book may rub against the absolute insanity that is the final 20%. All I can say is that it is one heck of an immersing story regardless.

The truth is that I long for happy endings, and when a character is put through terrible situations I want it to have been for something. It’s just that sometimes, what you want for them is not necessarily what they need. There is triumph here, but it is deeply personal for Margot, some may even consider it selfish. But that ability to be selfish is in itself a type of freedom. I wanted to feel more, and so I did not expect the book to linger afterward. It did, and has, and as far as I’m concerned Rory has a strange and powerful gift. She plants seeds so quietly you don’t realize how far they’ve dug in until it’s too late.

Besides having a drop dead gorgeous cover, this thriller was fantastic. Thank you to @netgalley and @minotaur_books for my ARC copy in exchange for my honest review. --
--
Margot and her mom, Jo have never had a traditional mother, daughter relationship. Aside from the fact that her mother won't tell her anything about other relatives, she also regularly takes Margot through some pretty narcissistic trips. In an effort to discover her heritage, and break away from that unhealthy hold, Margot heads to the place where her mother was born. What she finds there is beyond normal, and something no one should ever know. --
I enjoyed this book! I loved Margot's perspective and the way she weighed each decision she made. It is a good portrayal of a child who has had to take care of an adult. It is refreshing that there are no romances in this story. In truth, there isn't a good time or place for one that wouldn't feel forced. I read this in about 5 hours, it was so addictive! There was one point where I started to suspect what might be going on, but the details of it never formed until she revealed it in the story. Very interesting concept. Loved it and now need to get Wilder Girls. --

I could attempt to explain the magically weird captivating nature of this book in an eloquent review but I worry I would fail to capture it. Just read this book I promise you won’t regret it.

I was pretty disappointed with this book. I loved Rory Power's first book, Wilder Girls, so I was very excited to start this one. I liked the character interactions between Margot and her mother, as it was raw and more realistic when it came to depicting a toxic household. I liked the elements of mystery and creepiness, especially with the setting on the farm. However, the plot makes you question everything that is going on, and there's no answer until the very end. The end, in my opinion, wasn't really satisfactory. It makes you suspend all belief as this book is supposed to be a thriller, but now it contains more fantastical elements. The plot moves very quickly as the story begins to unravel, but it didn't really feel like much was actually happening. It's like there are three main plot points, and the rest feels like aimless wandering rather than part of the adventure. I was definitely expecting a lot more from this book than what I got.

I just generally was a little bored by this book, and I didn't like it nearly as much as Wilder Girls. I liked the story for the most part, but the actual reading experience never really excited me. I also wanted more corn.

I really wanted to like this book. It was very creepy & I do like creepy to a certain extent. This was just not my cup of tea .

Four stars

This novel is unsettling from the first to the last page, but it is also incredibly creative and strangely riveting. I had no idea what to expect from this as I requested the arc almost exclusively based on the author, but I am not sure that any kind of synopsis could have prepared me for the twists and turns here anyway.

Margot, the main character, has a deeply troubled relationship riddled with secrets and - perhaps more accurately - bizarre gaps of information that her mother refuses to fill in, and this troubled connection and history lead Margot on an expected quest for answers. What Margot finds is...extremely unexpected.

All good YA treats issues of identity development and especially that delicate balance between feeling connected and part of a larger group (so less alone in the world) and seeing oneself as a worthy individual whose idiosyncrasies make them special and not othered. To me, the creative exploration of this common theme is one of Power's greatest triumphs here.

I don't want to say anything that could even hint at a spoiler because the intrigue does come from finding out what is actually happening. My expectation is that this will be a polarizing work. It's absolutely not for everyone, but it is definitely for me.

Ok so I’m still trying to wrap my head around the craziness of this book, in a really good way!

It was creepy and captivating and really well written. It’s one of those books that just gives you this unsettled feeling the whole time. Like you’re not quite sure what to think or believe. I absolutely loved that, it really added to the overall the story, the atmosphere.

Margot goes searching for a family she never knew she had, but what she finds is not at all what she expected.

Everyone in this strange town seems to know who she is, knows her family, and everyone seems to think she’s pure trouble. I had no idea where this story was going to go, and I never saw the twists coming.

I swear even the setting of the book, the rural, sleepy town was perfect. I enjoyed it so much. Although I did find Margot to be a challenging character and narrator at times. She was so unique.

If you’re looking for a great YA mystery thriller, I definitely recommend this one.

Sorry, this was a DNF for me. It was weird, dull, confusing and unlikable. I had no idea if it was supposed to be paranormal or metaphorical at times. Did her mother really make her hold flames to her skin every day and keep candles lit all the time, or am I misunderstanding the text? Is this for some magical reason or is her mom just mentally ill? This girl's life is so sad and dysfunctional, and the trajectory was clearly to just worse and worse. Looking at other reviews, it looks like it does eventually go to some supernatural nasty place, which makes me glad I finally just gave up before it got even uglier and more depressing, but with horror.

I viewed a temporary digital ARC of this book for the purpose of review.

I liked a lot of things about this book. I really felt for Margo and her frustrations with her mother and I think the longing to feel wanted and loved is something a lot of teen readers will connect with. I got really sucked into the story and found it compulsively readable. The creepiness of the grandmother and the tension between Margo's desire to give in to belonging to her vs knowing deep down that something isn't right really works. I liked the ultimate explanation for what is going on, even though it felt a little hazy on the details and I had to work a little to suspend disbelief.

There are some elements of the story that didn't work as well for me: I felt like the whole thing with her mom making her light candles and the holding a flame to her skin was never really clear in terms of what is actually happening and how Margo feels about it. I get that the end of the story (sort of) explains why, but it still didn't feel right that Margo accepts it unquestioningly for so long, and then she never revisits and connects it once everything happens. I also felt like she should have grieved more explicitly for Tess in the end. We never get to see her deal with any emotions about what happened to her.

2.5 stars

I was let down by this book. I loved the atmosphere and I think the storyline had the potential to be incredible.

However, the plot was messy and convenient. I didn’t feel connected to the characters at all.

I had the same problem with this book that I had with Powers’ first book. It had so much potential, but it fell totally flat.

“A mystery that will hook you in to the very end, Burn Our Bodies Down, is as eerie as it is bizarre. Fans of the 90’s television show X-Files will devour this book whole.”

Cecelia Beckman, Sheaf & Ink

My Thoughts
I purchased Rory Power’s debut novel, Wilder Girls, when it came out last year because one: the cover and two: the story was intriguing. When I heard about her second novel and one: saw the cover and two: read the synopsis, I raised my hand and said, “Yes please!”

First let’s talk setting.
In Wilder Girls, Power’s really utilized the idea of isolation, setting her story smack on an island. She wrote these brilliantly lush vivid details of her setting, creating a volatile atmosphere between the environment and the characters who inhabited it, making readers feel constantly on edge.

Whereas with Burn Our Bodies Down, Power is able to capture that same uneasiness, like the rushed notes of a violin, shrieking staccato, but missing those vivid details. I compare it to a Vincent Van Gogh painting minus the paint.

But Dear Readers this book was a crazy and intense read. The mystery of the novel grabbed me by the hand and held firm. Rory Power did an exceptional job of keeping you invested in reading the story. She leaves small bread crumbs, details decisively placed to keep your fingers turning each page.

Even though the first fifty pages were sluggish, I still had the momentum of wanting to figure out what was going to happen next. I needed to know why these characters were in this situation. After Margot runs away from her half crazed mother (that relationship needs its own novel), I was still invested in what Margot would find when she got to Phalene.

Once Margot finally gets to Phalene the story morphed into something I wasn’t quiet expecting. Something akin to an X-Files episode. Everything about this new town was odd, strange, and unnerving. The characters were as unsettling as the setting. It was clear this was intentional, that perhaps everyone was drinking from the same contaminated proverbial Kool-Aide, but I felt that we needed at least one character rooted in reality. Someone who could play point guard in helping Margot survive the nightmare she just stepped into.

While the ending is knock-you-out-of-your-seat jarring, I felt the reasoning behind all the madness was slightly disappointing. Perhaps Power is making a political statement on humanity’s negative impact on the Earth (which I commend and agree with), but how that’s transcribed into her book, though shocking, lacks the full scope needed to make a completely satisfying conclusion.

Burn Our Bodies Down shows the fraying edges of a rundown town, a family with dark secrets, and the disturbing dynamics between mother and daughter.

Happy Reading ̴ Cece