3.5/5

Thank you Netgalley and sourcebooks for an eARC.

Trigger warnings: misogyny, blood and gore, racism, police brutality, missing children, ill family

The book started off amazing, but unfortunately fell flat for me. I didn't fully connect to many of the characters, and some of the decisions they made pushed me out of the world. It also may be that I haven't been loving supernatural books lately.

I really liked how the topics of family and friendship are developed. Raquel's friend group reminded me of my own, and the way her relationship with her father grows is very compelling.

I don't usually mind gore in books, but I think it affected me so much because I didn't expect it. I will reread this soon because I think my rating might get a little higher.

Wow. Just WOW.

I asked to read this book based on the blurb, because to me it sounded kind of like Hunger Games meets something dark and twisted. Here’s the blurb (or at least the part that called to me):

Raquel and Charlize team up to investigate, but they soon discover that everything is tied to a terrifying urban legend called the Echo Game. The game is rumored to trap people in a sinister world underneath the city, and the rules are based on a particularly dark chapter in New York’s past. And if the friends want to save their home and everyone they love, they will have to play the game and destroy the evil at its heart—or die trying.

I love urban legends, almost as much as they scare the bejaysus out of me. I don’t know why I am so drawn to horror movies and ghost stories when I am such a giant wuss, but that’s ok! This book was masterful.

I went in expecting the Hunger Games type of game, but what I got was more the Elevator Game (if you haven't read about the Cecil Hotel and seen the seriously upsetting video of Elisa Lam, do some reading, but know it is a LOT). I was not mad about this! The author did such a good job of blending the macabre with the everyday, and bring a place I have never been to life.

That said, I have never been to America, let alone the Bronx, have never lived in a neighborhood that diverse or charged, and I am white-passing, so I can’t speak to the accuracy there.

That all said, I genuinely felt a connection to the places in the story - it was jarring to look up and see bright sun and smiling eyes (no mouths because COVID). The author used their writing, the descriptions, the past pace, the shifts between the past/present/echo to amazing effect. I can understand how people would find it confusing, but I managed to keep up, and it just sucked me in and I had to keep reading.

The relationships in this book are as diverse and meaningful as the characters. We have friendship, the start of a maybe-relationship, family dynamics within a split family, school “friends” vs actual friends… And they all work together in a way that feels natural. I felt for our main character Raquel when she had to face an uncomfortable truth - she might be falling for the same girl her best friend has been in love with for years, but the girl likes her, not her friend. This burgeoning romance didn’t take over the whole story, which was nice. It wasn’t like a coming out story, it was just feelings being realised alongside everyday (ha) life.

The little parts of religion that are woven in are done well, not overwhelming or too in your face; just enough to make you want to learn more without HAVING to learn more in order to understand and enjoy. Ordinarily, the religion/spiritual aspect of a story calls to me more, but in this book the history was so powerful and so powerfully used, that I now need to do some research. As I said above, I can’t speak to the lived experience, but the author definitely brought to life not only modern day life or Afro-Latinx people in the Bronx, but also the systemic racism and poverty and general asshattery of those in power throughout the generations. It was interesting to have a main character learn things about the place they have grown up in in an organic way, rather than having them start out all “rah rah this is my town, I know everything, I will defend it”.

I don’t want to give away the plot, or the dark sh*t that is in the Echo, but I loved that the whole Echo wasn’t based in one area of the world. The Reddit threads show that history is a foundational part of EVERY city, and the author added a whole swathe of worldbuilding simply by tying in other people around the globe who had been to and reported back on their own local Echo.

Content Warnings: Guys, this is NOT A FLUFFY BOOK. These may not be all of the warnings, so beware. Gore, violence, racism, homophobia, police violence, gun violence, misogyny, missing family member, sick family member, burning, death, ghosts/spirits.

Overall Rating: 5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for providing me an ARC for an honest review.

(2.75*) 3 stars

‘Burn Down Rise Up’ is an young adult urban fantasy, horror, thriller. It is described as Stranger Things meets Get Out, which I think it is a good comparison, although it does dive into some heavier topics. This book set place in the Bronx, with mysterious disappearances set from an urban legend. Tragedy strikes Raquel, she teams up with her friends, and crush, to solve the disappearances and this mysterious legend.

This book is quite enjoyable and it starts of with a big bang. The description of the Bronx and how it describes Raquel’s love for it is one of my favourite parts of book. However I wasn’t really into the book. I found myself not truly captured in reading it. Perhaps this genre is quite new for me.

I did found some choices some characters made were questionable. This made not connect to the characters as much as I wanted to.

Overall, ‘Burn Down, Rise Up’ is a quick solid read.

Warnings: Racism, misogyny, blood and gore depictions, gun violence, police brutality, etc.

History meets mystery
#SorryNotSorry for my silly rhyme. It’s just that Vincent Tirado’s Burn Down, Rise Up so wonderfully blends the very tragic history of the Bronx with a modern, supernatural mystery. This book is about systemic racism, gentrification, spooky subways and first love.

Tirado cleverly moves from redlining to Santaria to Reddit challenges without it ever feeling clunky. The fact that main character Raquel is doing a history project about the Bronx is very near lamp shading, but it truly works.

Tirado has set up the book’s in-world Reddit challenge, The Echo, very much like a video game. Their choice to do so really helped me connect with the story and visualize those moments. Except that the rules of the game sometimes had to be followed to a T … and sometimes they didn’t.

Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado Book Cover

Writing with style
My latest obsession seems to be storytelling specificity and target audience. Burn Down, Rise Up seems simultaneously for the Afro-Latine community and those outside it. For example, I loved all the jokes about running into danger being something white people do because … yeah.

I would have loved to see more of Raquel’s relationship with her mom. Raquel’s early distress at her mother’s illness relies on assuming they’re close. It’s not till towards the end of Burn Down, Rise Up that Tirado gives us some lovely flashbacks that cement the relationship.

Meanwhile, I did absolutely adore seeing Raquel’s relationship with her father grow. As she started to understand why her parents broke up and see her dad as a human, that all felt very real. Realizing our parents are just people too is such a big part of growing up. I’m always happy when YA novels address that.

Is it, you know … ?
Yes, of course it’s queer. I’m reviewing it, aren’t I? No, Burn Down, Rise Up isn’t about being queer any more than any book with a hetero romance is about being straight. As much as we’ll always need coming out stories, I’m glad Raquel’s story isn’t one per se. She’s got enough on her plate.

Raquel’s friend group isn’t queer, but the way they just accept her feels very Gen Z, and Raquel’s trepidation about coming out to her friends isn’t about being queer. It’s that she and her bff like the same girl. Whoops.


Should you read it?
Abso-freaking-lutely. I tore through this book. The rapid pace and genuinely novel (heh) story just gripped me. History, but especially American history, fascinates me, and I don’t think history classes focus enough on post WWII history. That said, Burn Down, Rise Up is not for the squeamish, so do know that.

Content warnings: blood and gore, fire, general violence, gun violence, misogyny, missing children, police brutality, police in general, racism, very ill family members.

Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado is out May 3, 2022. Pick up a copy at your local indie book store or library. 📚

Trigger Warnings: Gore, violence, racism, homophobia, police violence, gun violence, misogyny, missing family member, sick family member

Representation: Lesbian, Black, Afro Dominican American

Burn Down, Rise Up is a sapphic horror story about Raquel and her crush, Charlize, who team up to find Charlize’s mysteriously missing cousin. The Bronx has experienced these disappearances for years, but it is often ignored. The two teens have to play the Echo Game in order to try to save the city.

This was way too scary for me! I am not a fan of horror or thriller but this was a great book! The Echo Game was an interesting concept and very creepy. The story is very fast paced and the characters are absolutely stunning. They feel like people you’ve known your whole life and are very relatable and well developed. This book also spotlighted a neighborhood in the Bronx and included such rich history. It was very interesting to read about a place that I have been to but didn’t know so much about. The story is also completely applicable to today’s society. Raquel is such a strong character who tries to stand up to all of the corruption in her world. I think we all need to be a bit more like her.

A very exciting exploration of the Bronx's history with a horror twist that will leave readers breathless. This book was a non-stop ride that was a thrilling adventure with a compelling cast of characters. I was really impressed by the author's writing and the whole Echo-world was terrifying and creepy. An amazing debut perfect for horror fans.

Oh. My. God. This book! This book has been one of my most anticipated reads so far this year and it did not let me down! The characters were great, the plot was solid and so unique, and the world building was amazing.
This book was an amazing mix of horror, romance, thriller, and political commentary. This book definitely gave me a monster horror vibe. I know everyone is comparing this to Stranger Things or even Get Out but it so much cooler than that.
Tirado wrote such an amazing story about friendship, racism, and the need to confront our past. If badass woman are your thing than this is definitely the book for you.
Plus that cover is just amazing!!

Ooooh, be ready to be creeped out by this one! It's an interesting story, definitely full of horror themes and plot. I liked the underlying theme of friendship and the love of family (and what lengths we will go to for both) but I found the romance to be a bit of a distraction instead of an addition (even though it was very cute!) I liked the main gaggle of friends and, honestly, the main character is who kept me reading. She was so spunky and strong and brave and I liked her perspective.

The story is a bit confusing so buckle in and pay attention. It's worth the interesting ride.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

First Impressions: I am going to be extremely biased due to the nature of this book being written by a non-binary queer Afro-Latine Bronx native, being set in the Bronx with ample amounts of Bronx history.

I really enjoyed this book. I’ve never read anything discussing “the Bronx is burning” & villainizing Robert Moses, like the real life villain he was. There are few titles set in the Bronx and many use the location to set the scene of poverty, drug abuse, violence, etc. While some of those exist in this book Tirado makes a conscious effort to seperate the real Bronx from the fabled Bronx we are fed and to is able to link the “bad” with intersectional systemic oppression. i.e. Black & Brown people in poverty with a lack of resources might turn to violence & crime to survive. Hungry people might steal food to eat & feed their families, is that truly a crime? Or is it a crime that these people are starving in the first place? Obviously I believe the latter. I’m not a big horror reader but the horror mentioned in this book fueled a purpose for examining just how horrible it was for poor people of color in the Bronx during the 70’s when landlords set fire to their own buildings for insurance money. Even more tragically, since slum lords never updated their building to the appropriate safety code, the people who were not made homeless by the fires were killed within the buildings and burned alive. 80% of the Bronx was burned to rubble & ash. I’ve never seen Stranger Things so I can’t say if this was similar to the selling point of the book, but I didn’t really think it seemed like Get Out, it seemed more like the Peele Candyman w/ the urban legend elements (another reviewer mentioned this first and I agree)

This is a great book to begin discussions about the history of the Bronx, including Robert Moses, The Bronx is Burning, the oppression that poor Black & Brown people have dealt with in America and the struggle of being Black & Queer and coming to terms with your sexuality

I have a thing for strong heroines, so of course this cover caught my eye. And when I saw that it was sapphic horror, well, of course I had to read it! It’s a love letter to the Bronx and reminded me a bit of a YA version of Alyssa Cole’s When No One Is Watching.

“It’s fine,” she said in a way that told me it was not. She sighed audibly. “So, I guess we’re sort of in the same boat?”
“The ‘sudden absentee relative who is infected with strange black mold’ boat?” I smiled, weakly. “Sure.”


Several people have gone missing in the Bronx over the past year, but it takes two seemingly unrelated occurrences for sixteen-year-old Raquel to start paying attention. Her mother is inexplicably in a coma after being attacked by a patient. Plus, her childhood friend Charlize’s cousin Cisco is missing – and it may be related to her mother’s illness. It all seems to tie back to an urban legend about a game called The Echo, and the friends must work together if they have any hope of saving their family members. But in this game, breaking a rule means you lose everything.

“You’re like my best friend, and I wanna help you figure this out.” He said it so matter-of-factly, my ears ran hot. “And if there’s a chance we can turn this into a money-making business,” Aaron went on, “I’d like to start sooner rather than later.”


The heart of the book is the characters, their relationships, and their love of their community in the Bronx. The friendship between Raquel and Aaron was particularly good, full of lots of humor and the inevitable bumps, especially as Raquel grows and changes through the book. It’s also about families: Charlize’s close relationship with her cousin Cisco, and Raquel’s relationships with both her divorced parents. With her Mami in a coma, Raquel’s forced to live with her Papi (who doesn’t even have internet access, horrors!). Reconnecting with her Papi lets her learn more about her Afro-Latina heritage, through things like his resguardos, and also their family’s history in the Bronx. There is also a sapphic romance, but it’s more of a slow development.

For the most part, the pacing is quick and tight with short, punchy chapters (with great titles!). It made it easier to read “just one more chapter”… and then suddenly, oops, you’ve read another fifty pages. The areas where the book stumbles are around some of the characters’ inexplicable decisions, suddenly realizing something or deciding to do something without really explaining how they came to that decision. I’ll admit to knowing about the history of the Bronx in terms of redlining, but not about the fires in the seventies and some of the other things that still cause issues today. It’s a bit in-your-face with the theme, perhaps more than I think the age group honestly needs, but I loved the theme itself all the same. In terms of cons, I would’ve liked a bit more romance as well as more explanation on the whys behind the Echos.

“What else does a phoenix do when it’s done burning?”


Overall, I’d give this book 3.5 stars for its tense and creepy vibe, fast pacing, and awesome characters. This is the author’s debut work, and I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on their work in the future!

I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

From the Publisher: "Stranger Things meets Get Out in this Sapphic Horror debut from nonbinary, Afro-Latine author Vincent Tirado."

Okay, the above description had me sold on this book before I even cracked it open, but I was even more impressed with it the more I read. Bronx teenager Racquel and her friends Charlize and Aaron are on a mission to find out what's behind the mysterious disappearances of young people for the past year. The truth takes them to the nether regions of the NYC transit system and a particularly horrifying part of history and had me sufficiently creeped out.

This is such a fun, creepy, unsettling book. I read this in almost a single sitting because it was impossible to put it down. I mean, the cover shows a badass girl wielding a baseball bat. I'm all in on this book and can't wait to recommend it to friends.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for my advanced copy of this book.

Burn Down, Rise Up releases May 3rd and you should totally put it on your radar.
It's advertised as a sapphic horror book with Stranger Things vibes.
The marketing team totally nailed this description!
Raquel is awesome, and this is interesting, fast paced and totally weird.
This was the perfect book for visible lesbian week.
Much love to Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for my DRC.

A thriller that will hook you from the start. Lots of characters to keep track of, but the story sucks you in. I’m recommending this little gem to my students.

Burn Down, Rise Up is a Bronx set, YA urban horror where kids have been going missing, mysterious illnesses have been popping up and an online game is becoming more and more popular with deadly consequences.

This book had so many fantastic elements to it! From the first page there's action and mystery, it made it hard to put it down! The story has history woven through it too, a true homage to the Bronx! Characterwise, Raquel is such a great MC! She's strong willled, caring and passionate. So much is going for her but she never stops, she keeps going for the one she loves. An absolute badass!

Burn Down, Rise Up is honestly such a great YA book, so happy to have gotten a chance to read it!

3.5 - 4 stars.

Burn Down, Rise Up is described as a mix of Stranger Things and Get Out. While I haven't seen Get Out yet (it's on my list), I absolutely felt the Stranger Things vibes! There was a sense of tension and unknown throughout the story that you felt at every turn. The characters were definitely interesting and well fleshed out, I really admired Raquel's tenacity and determination to do whatever she could to save the ones that she loved.

BURN DOWN, RISE UP is a YA horror novel that not only spins a fun take on Internet urban legends, but also weaves in some interesting, important, and disturbing history of The Bronx into the mythos. As someone who is deeply fascinated by Internet urban legends about supernatural and dangerous games, I thought that the Echo Game was well conceived and while paying homage to others it still felt unique. By bringing in the history of systemic racism in the Bronx that manifested through redlining, lack of infrastructure and investments, slumlords, and ultimately fires that burned much of the area down, the Echo Game felt all the more sinister because of the realities that it reflected. The game itself and the parallel world of the Echo could have been more explored, however, as I felt like there wasn't as much detail as I would have liked when we did spend time there. I liked Raquel as a character, as she felt like a pretty relatable teenager in a lot of ways, as well as realistic in some of the conflicts and obstacles that are in her way in this story. I thought that her crush on Charlize was pretty true to form in terms of the anxiety of keeping it secret, and I also liked how Tirado brought more social justice themes into the book by working in how Raquel feels wary of the police during the investigation, as she is Afro-Latine and has seen a lot of racism and violence from the NYPD in her community.

While I would have liked a bit more exploration of the Echo, overall BURN DOWN, RISE UP is an entertaining YA horror that I will definitely be recommending to teens.

thank you netgalley for the arc! i found this story to be quite gripping and a little 'unputdownable' which is always a good thing! i wasn't sure what to expect going in and was afraid there might have been too much going on for me, but not. it was interesting and the characters were really interesting as well.

I enjoyed this book. It was spooky and atmospheric and gave me the heebies. It really did channel Stranger Things and I loved that!

The reason I am only giving a 3 star is that I felt like I got bored halfway through. It seemed like a lot of repetition and some parts dragged on.

Thank you to NetGalley and SourceBooks Fire for the opportunity to read and review an e-ARC of this book. While reading the beginning of this book, I had a bit of a hard time imagining exactly what was going on, and parsing between what was really happening in real time, what strange occurrences were happening only as dreams, and which were potentially melded together. After reading more, I think this was intentional, so you get to be just as confused and on-edge as the characters experiencing it. (But I didn't find it all necessarily suspenseful and enticing, I mean it when I say just genuinely confused and going back to re-read in case I missed something important.) By the end, I was very impressed with the work's ability to bring the history of and injustices in the Bronx to life in a tangled, twisted, and spooky way. It left behind a poignant message (that I don't want to spoil) but that makes you think about what kind of things (like public health issues, youths' disappearances etc) get ignored or minimized. Through its action, Burn Down Rise Up makes you think about what if those issues were so front and center and in the mainstream that they couldn't possibly be ignored.

I absolutely loved this book and couldn’t put it down. I adored the importance of community and how the author made this a love letter to the Bronx community on top of the sapphic romance that takes place in the book. The book was fast paced and kept me engaged which is something I want from a horror novel. The concept was super interesting and well portrayed. The sapphic old friends to lovers was more of a minor role in the book to me however I still really enjoyed it and found it aided the plot and story. Overall I really enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend it to others.