Is it fair to start a review with, "This is one weird story?"
We meet Margot, who is living with her mother in rather abject circumstances. And their relationship is clearly dysfunctional. Margot's mother has "rules," and if Margot breaks them, or says or does anything her mother doesn't like, Margot must navigate through the situation like a starship through an asteroid field.
The first person narration helps readers immediately empathize with Margot and root for her as she leaves her abusive mother to try to find a family her mother has never talked about in a town a few hours away. Upon her arrival, Margot is immediately recognized as a Nielsen girl as Margot, her mother, and her grandmother share the same face. And this "Orphan Black" situation comes back in to play as Margot finds a girl killed in a fire who also shares their features!
Readers need to suspend a lot of disbelief while reading this novel. I kept wondering if it was a psychological thriller or if these events were really happening. In any case, it was enough to keep me turning the pages to get to the weird and twisty ending.
Hand this novel to readers who like thrillers, mysteries, psychological thrillers, and twisty tales.

I...almost have no words
I read this in ONE SITTING yesterday and needed a good nights sleep to process.
I really liked this. I'm not a thriller type person because I have high anxiety and NEEEED to know what happens and often spoil myself by reading the ending. I fought off the urge and powered through. Let me tell you I made some crazy guesses during the plot about what was happening and ONE OF THEM WAS RIGHT haha
This was just overall, extremely well done. I think the writing style was magical, the characters insane, and the plot line kept me guessing and guessing the entire time. I actually haven't read wilder girls yet and now feel like I absolutely need to. I'm pre-ordering this book immediately and y'all should too

This is the type of book that I look for. Thrilling page turner with a little bit of her or mixed in

I loved Wilder Girls by Rory Power so when I saw that she was realizing another horror novel I was super excited. Burn Our Bodies Down wasn’t a horrible book, it had me in its grips and I had to know what happened. But I’m a little disappointed in its execution.

Rory gave the creepy edge and prose that made these horrible things came alive in your mind. The climax of the story had me reading as fast as I could to know more and then putting the book down to gather my thoughts. I feel as if more explanation and detail could have been added in certain areas. There was room to expand on a lot of things.

I don’t hate this book, but I don’t love it either. I’m I excited for future books by Rory? Of course I am and I can see why so many people are going to love Burn Our Bodies Down, but this one wasn’t for me.

I loved Rory Power's Wilder Girls, so I knew I had to read Burn Our Bodies Down this year! I was a little skeptical, simply because I LOVED Wilder Girls, but this book definitely topped it. It's one of those books that has an eerie element to it, but you can't pinpoint exactly what it is. As you progress, things get creepier but you can't understand why. And then the ending... WOW. Burn Our Bodies Down is now one of my new all time favorites!

Burn Our Bodies Down is one of those books that as soon as you pick it up you know you won't be putting it down until the very last page. It reminded me of Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn the way you can feel the heat and the menace lurking under every page and Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer the way it made me feel unhinged and searching but in the best way possible. The story builds slowly, but it grows like a weed closing itself around you until you are completely absorbed. It gets under your skin. It's a book that made me afraid to turn off the lights. Rory Power's mind is incredible, I've never read any other books like hers.

This was one of my most anticipated reads ! I loved the dynamics of the characters and the fact the author gives the characters struggles. This book was wild. It deals with things such as abuse which may be difficult for some to read. I won’t go into detail about the story just so it’s not spoiled. But this book is worth reading!

Burn our bodies down is a twisty YA thriller set in Phalene, a small town where Margot goes to uncover a sinister family past. Rory Power’s writing is tight and easy to fly through with character that stick with you like dirt under a fingernail.

Her writing is a little young but she is writing for younger audiences. If you like subtly creepy/horror vibes this book is for you. I enjoyed my time reading it but have grown to understand my own standards in reading YA. I will still be recommending this to others because I feel as though her writing is engaging and unique, and can bring up interesting discussions.

This was probably one of my most hyped books to read since it was announced. I was a big fan of Wilder Girls, so when I was approved this I was extremely excited. However, it did come while I was having a rather big reading slump. Luckily me and my girlfriend decided to read this together. This book was probably the first book I’ve read in a few months that I’ve been able to finish and actually felt like I was getting somewhere with it. The story was quick and gripping, enough so that I didn’t realize I was more than 50% into the book until I finished reading for the night. The story itself was well done. It kept you guessing until the end, which isn’t something I can say often, but I didn’t see the ending coming for this one. Margot as a character wasn’t likeable, but you find yourself believing she’s real because of it. She was very much a teen making mistakes. She doesn’t listen to her mother. She runs off to her grandmothers. She wants to be loved, but finds herself completely out of water and in a situation she can’t expect to get out of. All of the characters in this book are unlikeable. Vera is ruthless and deceiving and terrifying. She leaves you questioning what you're told and also desperately wanting her approval. Josephine seems unhinged and broken down, someone you want Margot to leave only to find yourself screaming that she shouldn’t have left her. Most of the book you’re left thinking ‘did I read this right?’ and almost a sense of being gaslighted throughout it because you think you know what you read only to be told otherwise throughout it. You think you know where this story is going to go, that there’s something supernatural at work, that there’s more happening than it seems, only to find out it’s more rooted into something real and that makes it scarier. I loved this book, loved every second reading it and I’m afraid it’s going to make my reading slump worse because nothing can live up to this experience.

Oh, where to start? Wilder Girls was one of my favorite reads of 2019 and Rory Power knows how to WRITE. Like Her debut, I could stop reading until late at night/early morning — that’s how GOOD it is. Also, the plot is fantastic; I love premises/plots like this. Rory Power knows how to knock it out off the park every. single. time. I just want Rory to, like, let me adopt her brain because I could never come up with stories such as these. I will automatically be preordering this and future novels!

Margot has been secretly searching for her past behind her emotionally distant mother’s back for as long as she can remember. That’s a hard task to accomplish when you have to walk on egg shells in a tiny, run-down apartment in a city you hate. However, when buying back some of her mother’s possessions from the local pawn shop with squirreled away money, she finds a clue tucked away in an old bible on the back of a photo.

Phalene.

Margot plots an escape to the small farming town. Seeking her family and the story of her past, everyone seems to know who she is, but no one can tell her much of anything. Things turn hostile when she finds a dead girl who shares her own face in a blazing field fire. A girl no one seems to have ever seen before. A girl her grandmother also ever knowing.

As Margo dives deeper and deeper into the mystery of her own origins and searches for answers to who this doppelgänger girl could be, she finds herself in the middle of a dark, deep mystery spanning generations. As she spirals into the horrors of her family’s history, she struggles with the choice between keeping the family and sense of belonging she has finally found or the rabbit hole that is the past.

Burn Our Bodies Down was an unexpected ride. It was a slow, aching build up of intertwined mysteries that overflowed in a rush of blood and horror. It was one of those horror stories that keeps you guessing until the bitter end. The ideas were original, the setting and plot were well fleshed out, and the larger themes were made clear in the end.

I highly recommend this to any YA horror fans out there who want a summer mystery to sink their teeth into.

Haunting, terrifying, and brilliant.

Burn Our Bodies Down is about what happens when Margot Nielsen embarks on a journey to uncover the secrets of her past. As far as Margot has ever known, it's been just her and her mother, but a chance discovery leads her to a small town called Phalene, where her grandmother has been waiting for her.

This book was an absolutely wild journey told from Margot's point of view, and Powers' writing style is wonderfully poetic and engaging. The first 75% of it builds you up and with every word, there's a constant sense of dread lurking right underneath the surface. At times, it does seem to drag on, but there is always a feeling of unease. Then, the last quarter of the book jumps out from behind a tree, beats you up, and throws you off a cliff. There are breadcrumbs dropped along the way that hint at the ending, but I wasn't quite prepared for the terrifying outcome and resolution. I was somewhat disappointed by how quickly and abruptly everything was wrapped up; I had hoped for a more drawn-out reveal, but at the same time, it was scary enough that perhaps I should be thankful it was over so quickly.

The main characters in the book are built up very well, with deep and intricate flaws and characteristics. Margot's character is raw, emotional, and fierce, in contrast to her anxious and compulsive mother. However, I would have liked to see more of Tess, who seemed more important to the plot than as a stand-alone character. The relationship between Margot and Tess is a tentative alliance that grows into friendship, and their characters balance each other out well.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for an advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sophomore books usually don't do anything for me and I really feared that for this one despite the fact that I was overwhelmingly excited for it... and let me tell you, it did not disappoint me.

I've seen this book compared to WILDER GIRLS but I didn't get that vibe at all. This book is set in the middle of corn field where nothing is quite right and secrets lurk around every corner. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time, shocked and awed by each new revelation. Between the strange characters and uncomfortable setting, Power's did an amazing job of keeping me on my toes.

This is a well-developed, well-written, twisting and turning book about a young girl who wants answers about her family. I found this book intriguing throughout, and all of the characters felt truly real and fleshed out to me. Even the simplest moments held bits of a sense of unease (exactly as I would have wished for), and I kept waiting to find out what would happen next.

I adored 'Wilder Girls', and this was such a great continuation of Rory Powers' writing prowess.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's Delacorte Press for the chance to read this book!

Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Power is filled with dark secrets, unsettling atmosphere, and a mystery the Nielsen women have been keeping for generations.

Apricot trees and Cornfields, words spoken so sweet and sharp they cut, and a young girl who searches for the meaning behind family.

There is a compelling and haunting way the author writes in this story that lures you into it. Toxic family dynamics are surrounded by a mystery that slowly unravels—namely what are the Nielsen women hiding.

At the beginning of the book, we are introduced to the protagonist Margot, a teen who desperately wants answers about her family, and why her mother refuses to talk about them.

Immediately Power’s creates a sense of foreboding that some things should be left alone, but when Margot finds her mother’s bible with a photograph hidden in it, she has finally had a clue. A town called Phalene and a grandmother who runs the Nielsen farm there called Fairhaven.

Although the plot is filled with some twists and turns, and there is this undeniable creepy atmosphere, it is the relationships between mother and daughter, the way the women interact with one another, that persuades you to keep turning the pages.

I found myself fascinated and appalled at the same time by their interactions, how their words are at once soothing and yet cutting. Their turn of phrases and strange magnetism to each other despite how they hurt.

You can’t help but feel for Margot as she struggles to find answers even while they reveal a deeper layer of betrayal and lies.

The setting of Fairhaven with its aging farmhouse, its rippling fields of an almost alien cornfield and the strange and bent trees of its orchards leave the hairs on the back of your neck tingling. The chilling letters Margot discovers just add a sense of foreboding.

Power’s writes magical realism with quick, lyrical sentences while enticing our senses. I gave the story a lower rating because, despite my overall enjoyment of the characters and writing, the plot and story’s ending left me wanting more.

3.5/5 Stars

This was such a good second novel for this author!! I think those who had problems with the ending of her first book (Wilder Girls) will be more satisfied with the way this one wraps up. And those who loved her first book for its weirdness will not miss out on ANY weirdness in this one. The writing was great and right from the start felt super ominous. I was never bored with where the story went and although I wanted maybe a litttttle more surprise to make it a full 5 stars, I’m happy with what I got. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

Margot's life is not great. Her mother tells her nothing about her past and demands Margot always keep a candle burning no matter what. Why? Margot doesn't know, but she's determined to find out.

When she goes to look for answers, her mother shuts her down completely. But is that going to stop her? Absolutely not. And that leads her to finding a phone number for a grandmother she's never met and sneaking out in the early morning to make her way to Phalene where she lives.

What shes finds is not what she expected and it scares the shit out of her. Something is going on in Phalene and her grandmother is hiding something big from her. There's a dead girl who looks exactly like Margot, corn fields that look all wrong, and strange things keep happening inside her grandmother's house that Margot doesn't like.

This book is creeeeepy! It's atmospheric af and gives you just enough information to keep you reading until it's 4 AM and you're scared to go to bed because WTF IS WITH THE CORN?! Margot is also quite gay for a girl she meets in Phalene and their adventures together are some of my favorite parts of the story.

I also just really like Margot as a character. Even when she's scared, she's willing to fight back against her grandmother to find out exactly what she's keeping from her. Bravery and courage is fighting even when you're scared and that is Margot to a tee.

If you liked Wilder Girls or like a spooky, creepy story set in the Midwest, you need to read Burn Our Bodies Down. Rory Power is quickly becoming a must-read author for me. I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Burn Our Bodies Down comes out July 7, 2020.

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the free eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This haunting sophomore novel provides new spins on Rory Power’s signature body horror and environmentally conscious themes. I was hooked from the very first page, and could not be more grateful to have experienced Phalene as an early reader.

The cycles of abuse that Margot experiences feel so personal and real—her headspace is so clearly delineated through the novel that I truly think I got to inhabit her mind for a brief while. Her responses to the events of the novel also influenced her perception of herself and her family, so despite the fact that the book is entirely in her perspective, it avoided repetition. This contributed to my enjoyment of the novel, as I dislike narrative repetition if avoidable. My favorite books are the ones where I can understand each character’s choices, and what makes them tick. Ergo, Burn Our Bodies Down is one of my new favorites.

This book is also special because of the relationships between its characters, even as we see Margot trying to learn who she is. Her family relationships, especially the rocky one between her and her mom, as well as the new friendships she forms, felt so real to me. I could perfectly imagine life in her apartment: candle lit, fridge semi-filled, too much waiting in the summer heat. And Margot’s never-ending hunger for what she thinks of as a “real family,” with love sweet like cotton candy. I can’t pretend to understand her specific situation, but Power wrote with such clarity and compassion that I truly felt for Margot.

And let’s not forget the horror! Oh my goodness, I was not expecting the reveals. Everything builds up to the conclusion in a way that had me marveling at the foreshadowing. The body horror builds over the course of the story in a different way than in Wilder Girls, but I loved Power’s descriptions just as much. She has a very careful way about her words, and I was sucked into the visuals of Margot’s family and Phalene immediately.

I’m giving Burn Our Bodies Down 5/5 stars, and I’m so glad it soared above my expectations as one of my most anticipated novels of 2020. Buy it, y’all!

You want to know the truth, and the whole truth of what REALLY happened in Phalene? You wouldn’t believe me, even if I did tell you. This is a MUST read YA thriller.

Starting on a quest to find her family after finding a phone number and name, Margot thinks discovering her family’s origins will answer questions about her family’s past.

Strange things happen on the farm. How strange will things get before Margot decides it’s gone too far?

Power keeps the story moving, filling it with twists and turns til the very end. Every chapter leaves on a cliff hanger, forcing you to keep reading. And what an ending! Keep the flame burning.

Rory Power has a gift. She has the gift of storytelling. Her books have a way of sucking you in and compelling you to keep reading. Burn Our Bodies Down certainly was no exception. It had everything: a great cast of characters, a good story, and enough elements of surprise to keep the reader guessing until the very end. Whatever I thought I was going to get when I started this book, by the end I realized I was getting something completely different.

And I was fine with that.

Margot is a fierce main character who never hesitated to get what she wanted. Her wants became the readers wants, and the reader will definitely want to find out the answers to Margot’s family mystery just as much as Margot herself wants. Honestly, this book is fantastic, and I cannot wait for it to come out into the world for others to enjoy as well!