This was quite enjoyable!

Burn Down, Rise Up follows sixteen-year-old Raquel who, after her mother comes down with a mysterious illness the same night her friend disappears, embarks on a journey through the New York subway system to uncover what dark forces are lurking underneath the city.

By far my favourite part of this book was the way the Bronx was such an integral part of it. The parts of the Bronx' history that were explored in the world-building of the Echo game as well as in the normal lives of the characters were really enlightening and made me want to learn more about the horrible injustices that occurred. The way the Bronx is described through Raquel's perspective also made it really clear that it's a place the author really cares about, which I appreciated.

Despite this, I felt that some of the other world-building aspects of the Echo were a bit underdeveloped and I found myself feeling a bit confused whenever new things showed up throughout the book. The Echo game as a whole also didn't entirely make sense to me, and I feel like it would have made more sense if it was only in the Bronx or New York. But that might just be me being dumb.

There also seemed to be quite a few moments where the characters 'didn't know why they were doing a certain thing but knew it was what they had to do' which I found kind of frustrating. While the characters didn't particularly stand out to me, I really enjoyed the way their relationships, especially the familial ones, were explored in this book. The sapphic romance was a delight as well.

Overall, Burn Down, Rise Up was a solid read that I breezed through (coincidentally, on the train during my commute) and would recommend to anyone looking for a fast-paced creepy story that also explores histories that are often glossed over.

This is a fantastic story for younger YA readers and late middle grades. It has a fantastic diverse cast of characters, including some delightfully charming young queer rep! I highly recommend it as a night time read, snuggled under the covers so none of the Passengers can drag you into the Echo while you sleep. I love that the main character also reads as Neurodivergent (to me anyway!) and I really connected with them. I’m all about stories that include alternate reality, and this certainly hits the spot on that. Love the world building, the mystery, the cultural influence of Afro-Latinx fusion, and the messages about found family, community, and empathy. It is well detailed and intriguing! Looking forward to more stories by this author, and happy to be able to get a first look at this.

Perfect for fans of mysteries, retro sci-fi, and light horror.