I've never read anything by this author, but I'm likely to check out future books.

The characters demonstrate the importance of being prepared for emergencies no matter where you may be. It also explores the consequences of fires. I like how issues such as PTSD, panic and anxiety attacks, and insomnia were addressed.

This book was a short, quick read, but it didn't feel unfinished in any way. It's a well written book with well-developed, realistic characters.

Once again this was an amazing book written by April Henry. This is about Natalia who is stuck in an Oregan fire with strangers and now they have to find a way out. That might now sound hard but the thing is that Natalia has had a terrible past with fire. This book had a great plot and setting with very fast pacing which was perfect for this book. Usually, April Henry writes mystery/thriller books but this was less mystery and more of a thriller. Not a scary thriller but more of a thriller to see who will die and who will survive. You can tell that the author has done well research for the book because of the way everything is worded. I personally was a little afraid of it not having much mystery like her other books but I think this one might be my favorite.

The characters in this book were well written. This book is from Natalia's point of view but has chapters of her past that are in this book. I enjoyed her character and I loved her character development throughout the book. She grew and faced her fear bravely! There are many supporting characters in this book but there were some side characters that annoyed me. There is a small antagonist in the book that you will see but the big one is the fire.

This was a wonderfully written book. The reason I didn’t give it 5/5 stars is that the ending ended when I didn’t expect it and I wanted more of it! Overall it was a great story and I think my favorite from April Henry. This story tells the dangers of the natural fires in the west like Oregon and California which I think is an important book to read. This book is perfect for fans of thrillers and contemporary.

Playing with Fire had the potential to be a thrilling story of surviving in nature against the elements but it ended up feeling like a soap opera with the amount of drama. The story focuses on Natalia who is out for a hike with her coworker/potential crush, Wyatt. As they head back to their car from their hike, they discover a fast-burning wild fire stands in their way, forcing them back to the waterfall they were coming from. They end up joining with a group of people who were also at the waterfall and are also unable to get back to their cars and safety. The book follows them as they attempt to hike out of the forest back to safety. That storyline had enough drama on its own but there is also the backstory of Natalia having been in a house fire years earlier that scarred her and killed her brother. Then there are the cast of characters, from the old man and his young grandson, to the women who appears to be suffering from dementia and the guy who, unbeknownst to the group, started the fire. I felt that there were way too many things going on in the book which made it very unbelievable and distracting to the story. The medical knowledge Natalia possesses seems forced and unbelievable and the list of things that they encounter and have to overcomes is exhaustive. While I think that upper elementary/middle schoolers might enjoy the drama and the budding romance between Natalia and Wyatt, I don’t feel the book is one I would recommend to my students or coworkers.

Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan Children's Publishing Group for the ARC of Playing with Fire. April Henry's books never disappoint. Natalia has suffering more trauma at 11 than anyone should ever have to endure and years later she is faced head on with one of the things that scares her the most, fire. With the help of her friend, Wyatt and a group of strangers who quickly become a team fighting for survival, they must beat the fire out of the wilderness to safety. At every turn, there are challenges they must overcome in order to get to safety. Definitely a page turner!

I thought this sounded great, but I found it really implausible. Like the main character, I am also re-certified in Red Cross CPR and first aid every year and have never been taught this much about burns in their varying degrees and how to handle them.
In the end, I DNF this book so I don't know how much it improves, but i think I've learned my lesson with trying to read forest fire books.

I enjoyed this YA book a lot - this was a completed in one day book for me. Natalia is 17 years old and on a first date with Wyatt, who she works with at an ice cream shop in Portland, Oregon. He decides to take her hiking, as she has never been. Natalia deals with a lot of anxiety and fears, as she started a fire six years ago that killed her younger brother. She met with a therapist and was diagnosed with PTSD and has been working through that.

Imagine her fear when, on their way to return from a hike, a forest fire breaks out and blocks their path back to the car. They scramble to find an alternate route, but end up being trapped. They meet up with 10 other hikers and together they have to figure out how to survive until they can find a way out or escape. The story takes place over the course of their time stuck in the woods, with some flashbacks to Natalia's past.

Overall, it was very compelling. The tension and anxiety that all the characters faced was real and I could feel it. There were a lot of characters, though, and at first, I had to look back to remember who was who, but overall a good read.

A great fast-paced thriller that my students will love, for sure! April Henry books are a sure bet for any middle school library and this is no exception.

Natalia is not certain that hiking is really her thing, but her co-worker Wyatt convinces her to give it a try. The perfect day turns into a less than perfect scenario when a wildfire breaks out and blocks their path back to the car. They, along with several other day-hikers, are trapped by the rapidly encroaching fire and must work together to try to find their way around it. With few supplies, and a lot of twists and turns, the group will rapidly discover that there is no easy way out.

I am always a big Apri l Henry fan and this book was no exception. In fact, I particularly enjoyed that this book departed from some of her more typical storylines. Her ability to create tension and to do so in a succinct yet compelling way is one of the things that makes her particularly appealing to the students I serve in middle school. I recommend this to any reader who enjoys survival stories!

3.5/5 Stars

This thriller was stunningly plotted. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time and was so scared to find out what would happen next to these characters. Every chapter ended with a miraculous cliffhanger, so it was hard to stop reading and focus on anything else. I did find both the beginning and the end of the book a little abrupt. I would’ve loved to get a little more background information about the main character in the beginning especially. I still really enjoyed this book, though, and would definitely recommend it to any thriller fans looking for a wild and even educational next read!

I was hoping that this book would be thrilling and keep me on my toes, and it sure did. It's fast paced to the point of being frantic in some places, which perfectly suited the situation the characters were in. Definite trigger warnings if wildfires is something you have dealt with, or if you have a fear of fire - the way the story is told is very real and true to what people may experience in some cases. Going along this survival story with these people is anxiety inducing as they run into obstacle after obstacle, which made it a harrowing read, but also made it fly by. If you're looking for something that will keep your pulse racing until the end, check this one out.

Shockingly enough, this happens to be my first April Henry book. I promise it won’t be my last, though! Playing With Fire was intense and exciting from start to finish. Natalia and her co-worker (but she hopes maybe more) Wyatt go for a hike, and are thrown into some serious chaos with some other strangers who also just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. But they soon realize that if they want to survive, they’re going to have to work together.

Adding to the chaos, the fire starter happens to be in the woods, as well. None of the group is prepared for anything more than a calm afternoon walk, so they’re short on supplies and the stakes could not be higher. Natalia also has some significant past trauma related to fire, and she must overcome that in order for herself and the group to make it out.

I loved that the author was able to make all the characters seem so relatable. You wanted this group of everyday, decent folks to make it out, desperately. Natalia’s personal story was incredibly emotional, and added a layer to the story. I also really appreciated that the author appropriately touched on some mental health issues during the ordeal, because it was incredibly realistic that this would trigger some pretty serious responses from Natalia.

I think the only thing I’d have personally changed about the story is that while we’re given the story from Natalia’s perspective, it is a third person narrative, and I may have felt more connected to Natalia had she been the narrator. But otherwise, it was a fast-paced, high stakes story that I simply couldn’t put down!

Bottom Line: Playing With Fire kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish, cheering on the relatable characters as they fought for survival at every turn.

[3.75/5] As a sucker for survivalist stories, I knew I couldn’t pass up Playing With Fire by April Henry. It’s a young adult survivalist thriller about a group of hikers caught in a forest fire.

Natalia is no stranger to trauma: when she was 11 years old, her life was completely changed by a devastating house fire. Years later, while on a first date hiking with a boy from work, she’s forced to face her fears when they’re trapped by a rogue forest fire. Along with a bunch of other stranded hikers, they try to find a way to make it to safety before it’s too late.

Playing With Fire is a quick read, with lots of high-octane action as the characters try to outrace a fire in the middle of a forest. The group has to weather one terrifying situation after another to get to safety, and the tension never lets up.

I learned a ton about survival and first aid from this story. I’ve always been intrigued by that kind of thing, so I really enjoyed that here! I was also surprised to hear the premise of this is based on a forest fire that actually happened in Oregon.

I would have liked more characterization, though. The characters didn’t have a ton of personality, and some of them almost felt like simplified stereotypes (like the old woman who called everyone ‘honey’). Even so, I still cared for all the characters and was rooting for them the whole way.

Overall, this was an enjoyable YA survival thriller that’ll tug at your heartstrings!

Last year I read some AMAZING YA thrillers, so when I was able to jump on this book tour with Terminal Tours, I jumped at the chance to read the first of this genre in 2021.

Playing with Fire did NOT disappoint, it was an intense story that kept me guessing, with great pacing. Henry's writing style packs a lot of punch in a shorter story at just 240 pages, but it meant that I was able to devour this unique and interesting book in a single day.

What I loved most was the immediate in the action feel this book had. Often times in thrillers I feel like I'm getting too much back story at the beginning and not enough action, where this story threw us as the reader right into it and didn't let us go.

Add in some incredible characters with a smidgeon of romance, and I was hooked. It's rare to read a book with so many prominent characters and not feel confused as to who is whom & what's going on, especially in one as fast-paced as this one, but I could not get over how well written they each were, with their own quirks & strengths.

My one complaint would be I felt the ending was a little rushed, and would have loved to get a bit more from, but I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves an intense thriller!

Thank you to Terminal Tours, Henry Holt & Company & NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance readers copy of this book!

A seventeen year old girl with a traumatic past and minimum first aid training, an eighteen year old Eagle Scout and ten other unfortunate hikers trapped in a forest ravaged by a roaring wildfire... April Henry's latest YA thriller took me on a roller coaster of emotions and kept me reading until the small hours.

Playing with Fire is an intense story. Told in short chapters with catchy titles, it is full of twists and nail-biting, heart-stopping moments. Everything that could go wrong for Natalia, Wyatt and their companions goes wrong. How likely is it that a small group will experience all these misfortunes and medical emergencies within twenty four hours? We are talking about broken bones and dislocated joints, an encounter with an extremely dangerous wild animal, an asthma episode, a panic attack, a hypoglycemic shock in a person with diabetes and a potentially lethal allergic reaction. I'd say statistically impossible, but, boy, does it make for an exciting read!

First things first...Natalia, a survivor of a domestic accident that resulted in a fire that destroyed her home and killed her little brother, goes on a first date/ hike with her co-worker Wyatt. Both of them are well-prepared and even have basic first aid kits. Of course, they do not expect that careless actions of a few criminals are going to set the forest where they are hiking on fire. There are other people on the same trail, although you wouldn't even call them a group at the beginning of this incredible adventure. You have to admire April Henry's skill at creating such a diverse group of characters with a huge range of ages, dispositions and medical conditions. They all have one goal: escape the fire and get to safety as soon as possible. They all have to face and overcome pain and fear and keep moving. They also have to pull together their meager supplies, share, support each other and work together.

I learnt a lot about survival techniques and the importance of being prepared when you go on a trip in nature. Fire safety, the mnemonics for checking life signs, a technique for reducing anxiety by focusing on what your senses perceive in the real world- this book isn't just entertaining, it also has a great educational value.

I would definitely recommend this exciting YA thriller, inspired by the true events of the Eagle Creek Fire. If you like adventure and survival stories with a touch of mystery and a tiny bit of romance, don't miss this book.

Hugging closely with reality, this is a thrilling tale with tons of high-stake moments.

Despite living near the mountains, Natalia has never gone hiking, but thanks to a friend, that's about to change. After a nice trip, they turn back down the trail to head to the car and are met with incoming flames. Together with other hikers stuck on the trail, they get word from a rescue helicopter to head toward a bridge over a canyon. But getting there isn't going to be easy, especially when Natalia already barely survived a fire six years before and isn't psychologically completely past the experience. And especially since there might be someone there who wants to kill her.

The tale starts off with a very grabbing scene and sets the stage for the thrill to come. It's quickly clear what kind of troubles (fire-wise) Natalia and the others will be up against. Even some of the dangerous moments along the way aren't exactly hard to see coming. But it's exactly that which keeps the tension high. Every turn carries danger and time is running short with flames threatening from several sides.

The author has done her research, and every moment comes across with realistic flair. The scenes, dangers and solutions are logical and understandable. This hits so well that the moments Natalia offers medical assistance could almost be copied in real life...they carry that much detail.

There's a colorful mix of characters, which keep the stakes high, the moments more unpredictable and, at the same time, adds a little zest to the situations. Each person has their positives and negatives, and these filter in at all the right times. There were times where too many problems occurred...too many accidents too fast...but in general, all was well. The writing itself is very well done, and that kept the story running smooth even when other things didn't. I also had a hard time feeling for Natalia's fear of fire, considering that if she hadn't had chapters remembering the problem, her reactions wouldn't have really had me guessing that she was mentally struggling.

All in all, it's an exciting read and has more than a few tense moments.

This book starts with a guy burning a car in the middle of a forest and how one spark can change the course of many lives. Playing with Fire by April Henry was inspired by a real incident called the Eagle Creek Fire which happened in the Columbia River Gorge in 2017 when a 15-year-old boy lit a firework during a burn ban. In our forest are Natalia and her co-worker Wyatt on their first date as he suggested hiking. They are the first ones to notice the fire and smell it. For Natalia, this is a huge deal as for the past six years she has made it her goal to avoid the fire of any kind and little children as a tragic accident occurred and landed her in the hospital with burns. Along the way they met several groups of hikers and together they are trapped in the forest and now have to work together to survive and find a way out of the fire, the group contains all ages and issues from diabetes to dementia to panic attacks. However, as the book progresses and they work to help one another, someone is sabotaging the members of the group and doesn't want them to survive the night as if they do, then his secret is out. I liked this book and liked the variety of characters and personalities that April Henry had written as they all made the book with their quirks and flaws. Playing with Fire by April Henry was a medium-paced novel and if you love hyperfiction and books inspired by true events, then check out this YA thriller.

April Henry knocked it out of the park with her newest book, Playing with Fire. In this story, a group of individuals try to escape a wildfire while hiking. They encounter many obstacles during their journey. Natalia was a standout character, and I liked the use of flashbacks for us to get to know her better. April Henry takes the reader right into the action; it feels like you are there with the characters. The plot was action-packed and realistic. This was an excellent read!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so anxiety inducing and dramatic.

A group of people trapped in the forest as it burns around them, trying to stay ahead of the fire until help can arrive. The main character survived a house fire as a child that unfortunately killed her baby brother and is suffering PTSD from it still to this day. The question is, can she keep her cool as things burn around her? Especially since the person who started this forest fire might just be in the group with her?

This was so fast paced and entertaining that I read it all in one sitting. However every other page, something terrible would happen and I was so over the dramatics by the end.

I really did like how the author touched on anxiety, and PTSD and how to deal with those things with some coping mechanisms while in a high pressure situation. I also loved all the hiking and survivalist knowledge I learned while reading this one.

I’m not sure if this is categorized as a thriller or not, but it was definitely a wild ride.

TW: death of a toddler, PTSD, panic attacks, FIRE.

Interesting and suspenseful reading. I learned a lot about first aid! I appreciate that Henry has explanations as part of the story to explain how the characters know what they know. Fun reading.

You can't go wrong with an April Henry book. This one is a little different than usual. It is more about surviving a forest fire and coping with past experiences than it is about a murder. Super good read.