Weird and twisted, a thrilling yet strange read. This will bring in those who enjoy a read that leaves them unsure about what each page keeps bringing them.

The setting of this book is so well done, the echo is deeply unsettling and really sets the tone of the story and the stakes of the game. The characters are well written and I enjoyed seeing how their friendships and conflicts worked with the challenge. The plot kept me engaged and even knowing what would happen it was still really satisfying to see things unfold.

I really wanted to like this, but I only got maybe 20% of the way through before it became a DNF for me. It just was kind of slow for me at the beginning in a way that I didn't take to.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing me access to an eARC of Vincent Tirado’s amazing book, Burn Down, Rise Up. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

People are going missing and no one knows why. Sixteen year old Raquel finds herself caught in the trap of the deadly Echo Game when her mom mysteriously falls ill. This leads her to reunite with an old friend, Charlize whose cousin has gone missing. As the two team up to untangle the mystery of the Echo Game, they start to unravel some long-buried feelings they have for each other. Meanwhile, Raquel learns about the Bronx Burning for her history class and somehow this seems to be tied to the game. Will Raquel beat the Echo Game and save her mom?

This book is wild. First of all, as someone who works with teens, I love books that highlight how resourceful teens are. These teen characters are inventive, funny, and so clever. I love Raquel and her attempts to be prepared for all scenarios while entering the Echo Game. The friendships in this book are fantastic and the romance is realistic for the dangerous circumstances at hand. And the horror? Amazing. The Echo Game and all that comes with it is tragic and terrifying. I think the history of the Bronx and Raquel’s love for her home add complexity to the Echo Game. I also enjoyed reading about Raquel taking both her parents’ religions into account when it comes to protecting herself from the Echo Game and learning more about her papi’s beliefs in Santeria and finding value in his beliefs that she hadn’t really considered before.

I think sadness in scary stories always makes them more terrifying because the acknowledgement that characters have something to lose raises the stakes for readers and Tirado knocked this one out of the park.

5 out of 5 stars

this book was very mysterious and chilling in how it was said to be. the dialogue between characters were so effortless and natural that I could easily delve into the story

⭐⭐⭐⭐

𝙈𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨. 𝘼𝙣 𝙪𝙧𝙗𝙖𝙣 𝙡𝙚𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙪𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙥 𝙤𝙛 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙘𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙨𝙩. 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙢𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙅𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙖𝙣 𝙋𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙪𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙡𝙮 𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙚𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚.

I instantly knew I wanted to read this when I heard it being compared to Stranger Things - I love that show so much!! I can definitely see the comparisons to that show and it made me enjoy this even more. I struggle a lot with connecting to the characters in YA books, however, this story really connected with me and I didn’t care too much for the YA aspects.

I flew through this one with the audiobook, I found myself so intrigued and didn’t want to put it down. It had such a priming synopsis and I am glad it didn’t disappoint. There was so much action in this one and the overall story was very creepy, just picturing being in this situation sends chills.

I found the characters to be relatable, they were very well written. The setting of this one is super creepy - imagining The Echo becoming realistic is so terrifying. This is the first book I’ve read that takes place in the Bronx, and I found myself pulled into the story with the details of the setting. I think the world setup was so phenomenal and very well executed.

It was a bit rushed at times and some scenes weren’t explained fully, however, those were minor moments in the overall enjoyment. There were also some unrealistic scenarios. However, the overall story is definitely worth the read. It didn’t feel too YA to me and I loved the Stranger Things vibes it gave. It was also super quick and the audiobook was amazing. There were some gory scenes. I also really enjoyed the rep in this one - Afro Dominican American sapphic MC, Black sapphic rep, Black side characters, Bronx community, and the overall story was well developed.

Thank you so much to the author and NetGalley for providing me an arc in exchange for an honest review! This book is about Raquel whose crush Charlize's cousin goes missing and then her mother comes down with a mysterious illness. She pairs together with Charlize to try to save their loved ones. There were a lot of elements that I really enjoyed about this book but I felt like the actual plot was a little lackluster. I also think I wasn't the target audience for this one because it read much younger than the typical YA that I am drawn to so this rating should be taken lightly for those who really enjoy YA. I enjoyed hearing about the history of The Bronx which I did not know about and thought it was super informative interesting. I also loved the creepy Stranger Things inspired visuals towards the end but I didn't feel particularly attached to any of the characters which made the reading experience less enjoyable to me. I would highly recommend this book for a younger audience who is looking for Stranger Things vibes in a book! I ended up rating this one 3.5 stars.

Je n'ai malheureusement pas eu le temps de lire ce livre mais l'intrigue me plait tout particulièrement.

I wish I could read Burn Down, Rise Up again for the first time. It was such a fast-paced, engaging and suspenseful read. I adored Raquel and the rest of the cast. The plot was cleverly woven. The conclusion answered all the questions the story asked, and resolved the plot. It started and ended strong. Tirado's debut provided a gripping glimpse of how the characters lived in this well-developed world, and the action was heart-pounding and effortless to visualize.

I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for Vincent Tirado in the future. This book was creepy and unsettling but still felt very YA. I loved the diversity and LGBTQ+ rep. This was a solid debut, but I wasn't as invested in the characters as I'd like to be. I didn't love this book, but I liked it and if this is Tirado's debut, I'm interested to see what they do next!

This book helped me realize is that I love books about New York city when they are about people who are born in the city, who have that identity in their blood. That is when New York City is at its most alive, when the City becomes another silent character who is always there.

Vincent writes about the Bronx in this horror novel that is really poetic in what it means to be from the Bronx. It's a love story for the Borough wrapped in some wonderful fucking eldritch horror. I could have read another 200 pages easily of the Echo alone. I am so bummed the urban legend is time locked to an hour.

Speaking of the urban legend, I had to laugh at every mention of how it's some of the whitest shit to hear an urban legend and want to do it. (There's even an explanation and it's *chef kiss*)

Do I, a white woman, want to go play the Echo game? Fuck yes.

Do I, a person who knows the history of the town I live in know what the Echo would be? Why yes. Atlanta burned, and I live next to a battle mountain.

But do I still want to? ABSOLUTELY. Just as much as I want to play the elevator game. I am not allowed to play the elevator game, so I am guessing I cannot take the Echo challenge either.

I loved this book. It's not even a "this is a good book...for a debut" this is genuinely a book I loved. When I do my urban fantasy/horror reread of the boroughs, this will always be on that list.

As more teens disappear from the Bronx, sixteen-year-old Raquel tries not to let it get to her. But when the most recent disappearance hits close to home (the cousin of her friend Charlize), she starts to wonder what is really going on. Things get even worse when a mysterious illness befalls her mom, putting her in the hospital in a contained ward. Raquel and Charlize work together to find out what's going on and soon discover that everything may be linked to a horrifying urban legend called the Echo Game, where people disappear under the subway. Quickly, Raquel isn't sure if they'll be able to save anyone--including themselves.

I seem to be an outlier but this one just didn't work for me. There were potential glimmers of real brilliance, but simplistic writing and lots of plot holes marred it all. Now I'm sure some of it is that I do not read a lot of fantasy and horror, but this book was just strange. I actually liked the idea of the plot (weird game luring people into a strange underworld, basically), but the writing was just basic and the story had so many plot holes, even if it was a horror tale. You can tell a good fantasy story without leaving gaps in the plot or failing to wrap up loose ends. The Echo/train challenge could have been really great--especially because the way it was linked to the history of Bronx was well-done--but overall, it was mostly just confusing and fizzled out at the end.

I really liked Raquel's friendship with Aaron, another schoolmate, but there's no real backstory to her sapphic friendship with Charlize, which was such a bummer. So much wasted potential there. The book's strength is its exploration of the history of the Bronx and its examination of the racism the area has faced and continues to face. Unfortunately, the overall story was fairly uneven and just didn't work for me. Others enjoyed it and hopefully you will too.

This was a thrill ride through the history of the Bronx, featuring stakes that made this unbelievable creepy pasta scenario feel extremely real. I loved getting to know these characters, how their backgrounds blended in with their city, and imagining that the Echo exists in all major cities is a chilling prospect. Yet, there's history everywhere, much of it is dark, and it can come back to bite you if you don't know to watch out for it.

Whew is this ever a mess. Such a good concept and a really promising writer but an utter, unedited mess. Just because you've discovered a wunderkind doesn't mean you can abdicate your responsibility as an editor to help make the book coherent, structured, and tight.

Apparently this is meant to be a fast-paced book – I definitely did not get that vibe. As with Goth Girl, I really tried to push myself to read and like this book, and I eventually decided this was not worth it. I really liked that it was diverse and I enjoyed seeing the Bronx rather than New York or another standard American setting – especially when they added a bit of history – that I did enjoy. That was sort of all that I enjoyed about the book.

The book didn’t scare me – I love horror movies so when I read a horror book I want that same feeling. I unfortunately didn’t feel the same way, which might’ve been another reason for my dnf – that I couldn’t get into the book because the horror wasn’t enough for me.

Even though I got to nearly 60% I still felt like I didn’t know anything about the characters, and yet I had been given a lot of information about them. I think the writing was fine enough, I just couldn’t find anything about… anything to really dig into the story and enjoy. Much like Goth Girl, this will find their audience and others will enjoy it.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Another great read! I really got wrapped up in this story and couldn't put the book down.

While I felt that more time could have been spent on a building up a few elements, I still give this book top marks. it explores the ghosts of traumas past that linger in a community long after the perpetrators have gone and how that impacts communities at large. There was a lot of good horror elements to keep me happy. Like I said, I feel like it felt thin in a few places, like things were left on the cutting room floor. But it still gets a 4.5 from me=.

Burn Down, Rise Up uses horror and fantasy to explore the generational trauma of racial redlining in the Bronx. The Silent Hill reminiscent story will appeal to gamers and horror fans, while the discussions of institutional racism will appeal to those who crave fiction with social justice themes. Amazing crossover read for teens looking to explore outside their usual genres.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I totally read this in a Stranger Things-induced slump and it definitely met my expectations of a creepy, sci-fi setting. I loved how the Echo was connected to real-world historical events. I had unfortunately never heard of the Bronx fires and it was heartbreaking to read about them. Tirado did a fantastic job of connecting the reader to the situation and the history behind it. I also liked how there was inner-world lore about the Echo and how it was an urban legend. I almost put down the book to open up Reddit and look it up in real life!
I wish that the stakes were a little higher, though. I was never too worried about the characters' safety. I think additional situational tension would have immersed me more into the story.
The main sapphic romance was so cute! I could have done without the hint of a love triangle, though.

Urban legends, psychological terror, … this is the type of book my students asking for horror are looking for.
The twists and quick pacing will keep readers reading.