If you’re counting down the days till the newest season of Stranger Things, this may help you pass the time productively! This sapphic horror debut starts off at a frenzied pace, and keeps the reader fully engaged to the end.

Teens have been disappearing from the Bronx for more than a year. It seems like mostly urban legend, until things hit close to home for 16-year-old Raquel. First, her crush’s cousin goes missing. Shortly after, her mom, a nurse who had contact with the boy, contracts an unexplainable illness.

When Raquel and her crush–Charlize–and their friends dig deeper they get caught up in the terrifying and potentially deadly game behind the disappearances. The Echo Game is tying the dark past of the Bronx to the present. They’ll have to work together to dismantle the evil supernatural forces at play. Raquel was a badass heroine (and I love that the cover perfectly emcompasses this!) You’ll be rooting for her to not only take down the monster in the book, but also get the girl in the process.

If you can stomach a little gore in your YA, this could be a good fit for you. It’s pretty horror-lite. While I was left with a few questions overall, I really enjoyed this debut from nonbinary, Afro-Latine author Vincent Tirado, who will keep your pulse pounding with their sinister storytelling. I really loved how they drew from history, when the Bronx was inundated with fires a half a century ago, and tied it to the present. I think it made parts of the story that much creepier to know that it was based off of such a disquieting part of history.

Narrator Julienne Irons captures the youthfulness of the teens while balancing the more mature themes of the book. She did a great job keeping up with the feverish pacing of some parts and also changing tone for the slower parts. It was a great listening experience. Thanks to Tantor Audio for an ALC via NetGalley Shelf.

This was an interesting book. I was not always sure what was going on. I do not feel like it’s fair to give a rating on this. The narrator was good but I I felt like the story was everywhere

I was a little hesitant about this book because I had heard some iffy reviews from colleagues, but I'm so glad I went ahead and picked his one up!

This book is such a clever book in how it intertwines the history of the Bronx with the game played in the novel. It seamlessly blends real-life horror with speculative horror.

The echo game felt like a real game that would be played by teens. The rules around the game were kind of vague, but I think that added to it feeling like an authentic internet lore-based game (think Bloody Mary/The Elevator Game).

The biggest reason this wasn't a five-star read was there were just too many easy resolutions where Tirado wrote the characters out of a corner. Not a big deal - but was something I noticed.

The audiobook narrator was fantastic and did such a great job with all of the voices.

This book was good. I liked that it had a lot of representation. It was creepy but gross at points. It had okay character development. The secondary characters weren't well developed though. And I would have liked to get to know them better. The pacing and plot development were good. The main characters weren't all likable. But it was still a pretty good book!

Thank you to NetGalley, and Tantor Audio for the arc. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
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I throughly enjoyed this book! It was equal parts suspenseful, creepy, and mysterious.
The world was rich, and well developed. I did really like the relationships in this book, although the main romance felt a tad underdeveloped, and the dialogue didn’t always feel realistic. The plot however was fast paced, and kept you on the edge of your seat. The writing style it’s self, could’ve been a little less blocky though.

Overall I give ‘Burn Down, Rise up’ a 7.5 out of 10 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for the Advance Reader Copy of Burn Down, Rise Up, in exchange for my honest review!

If Jumanji were in the Bronx and fueled by the ghosts of systemic racism's past, you'd get this book!

Vincent Tirado manages to weave so many elements together in this dark adventure. Part history, part social commentary, part high school kids just trying to save their friends and and complete their history report due later that week; we see the generational and long-term effects of systemic racism like redlining and environmental racism play out in a horrible new game sweeping the city and other parts of the world.

I learned a lot from this book and really appreciated all the history. And I loved Raquel's journey. I also really love the idea that we might be able to take the history we've learned and the traditions passed down from our ancestors and overcome.

Thank you to Netgalley and Tantor Audio for an ALC of this book.

Raquel is thrown into a mysterious and supernatural situation when her crush's cousin goes missing and attacks her mom, hospitalizing her with an unknown illness connected to the string of disappearances. Raquel has to team up with Charlize to investigate the urban legend, Echo Game, learn about the past history of the Bronx, and save everyone.

This was catchy and fast-paced. First of all, that cover is gorgeous. I really liked the narration by Julienne Irons and I overall enjoyed the plot of the book a lot. There were some parts that I thought maybe dragged on a bit for the pacing of the rest of the book. I like the themes and lessons that went along with this and also felt like I learned something. The Echo Game aspect was really interesting and I was so intrigued about it until we knew more. Good book!

Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Body horror, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Gore and Death
Minor: Police brutality, Vomit, and Cannibalism

I have never read a book so fast in my life, ever.
Admittedly, it was mostly because I was listening to the audiobook, but still, it tells you how gripping and fast-paced it was.

"Burn Down, Rise Up" tells the story of 16 year-old (I think?) Raquel, an American-Dominican native of the Bronx who gets tangled up in a very creepy game, because she wants to help her crush investigate her cousin's disappearance. The book is pitched as "Stranger Things meets Get Out", but I'd describe it more as "Stranger Things meets Truth or Dare" - or really any other horror movie where the characters are forced by an evil entity to play some sort of twisted game.
In "Burn Down, Rise Up" tho, the interesting twist is that this entity and the game itself are strongly linked to the history of the Bronx. Without telling too much, the very nature of the game and of the Echo (the place they end up at when playing) is determined by the horrors that this place and its inhabitants went through in the past. In this case, it's the fires that destroyed part of the Bronx in the 1970's, the many people who lost their lives and their homes, and the overall racist public policies in place in New York at the time.
I loved getting to know more about that specific period, which as a non-American I had never heard of. The Bronx atmosphere was also conveyed so well, and I could really picture myself there and feel the history around me. I also thought the way the story addressed both racial and class struggles was very important, because you can't understand one without the other, especially in the context of US history - or at least what I know of it. Intersectionality, baby.

Like I said, our main character and narrator is Raquel. I thought she was an alright character - she had a "I take no bullshit" attitude that I appreciated, and she was very brave and determined.
She is accompanied by her best friend Aaron, who kind of gave me whiny lazy dog vibes? I can't really explain it, but I feel like in real life I would not get along with him very well. I also found it a little bit hard to believe that these two were best friends and had been since their childhood. In the book, they fight for the stupidest reason and don't really communicate with each other, and it gets resolved by itself in the end but I didn't vibe with it. They just didn't seem that close to me.
Our last main character is Raquel (and Aaron!)'s crush Charlize, who is a former childhood best friend of theirs and is distraught after her cousin Cisco goes missing. Raquel wants to help her look into it, and that's how the story begins. I don't have that much to say about Charlize, because besides the fact that she's super close to her cousin, we never learn that much about her? And she was not present for a good chunk of the book too. But I actually thought that her and Raquel's relationship was well-developed, because it is established from the start that they have both liked each other for a while, even before the beginning of the book, and so the story we follow is them getting closer again and revealing their feelings. What I'm trying to say is, there wasn't enough time dedicated to the romance that it would've been believable for them to fall for each other DURING the span of the book, but the way it was done, it worked, you know what I mean? Anyway, it was a super cute little sapphic story and I was there for it.

Finally, onto the story itself.
It did leave me confused and with a lot of questions about details, but I don't think we were supposed to have all the answers. I just like to really dig into the worldbuilding, so I wish we could've known more.
First I wanna start by saying that shit was SCARY. I'll admit that I scare easily, but still, I knew I couldn't go to sleep before finishing it. And like I said, I listened to the audiobook, and the voices of the people stuck in the Echo were TERRIFYING. Like, well-done narrator.
My problem with the whole thing is that we don't really get that much resolution? And again I think it may have been on purpose - not everything can be resolved at the end, I get that - but it still bothered me that so many things were left uncertain. We never really understand what makes Raquel so ~special~ that she is connected to the Echo (and has been since she was a CHILD), or what happens to the Bronx Echo itself. Since the passengers turn on the slum lord, does that mean that it kind of dies? Or it becomes another traumatising period in history? And what happens to the people stuck there, do they finally find peace? And besides, why do some people die (like Cisco) and some others survive and can't escape (like the creepy cannibal group)?
Basically, it felt like it all got resolved for the main characters, and everyone and everything else can now deal with it themselves, it's not Raquel's problem anymore.

But overall, I would definitely recommend this book if you're looking for a fast-paced and captivating own-voice horror fantasy standalone.
TWs for gore, racism, police violence, misogyny, cannibalism.

Audio ARC received courtesy of Netgalley -

"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."

A better description doesn't exist. This was a thrilling dark adventure. Raquel and her friends set out to figure out where their missing friend has gone and the connection to an illness that has her mother hospitalized. Connecting the history of the Bronx to the present day mystery.

This was a fantastic story that had you thinking while on the edge wondering what would be revealed next. Narrator, Julienne Irons, did an excellent job bringing the characters and story to life.

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!!

Relatable characters with a story based on actual history!! (and creepy af)

So I started listening to this book yesterday afternoon and finished it before I went to bed, now what does that prove?

It proves that the story is fast paced, interesting and hooks you from the beginning!! I requested for this book after listening to the excerpt and it left me wanting more! It was advertised as a story with stranger things vibes, yup no doubt there, but unlike stranger things the monster here were very real once and they did consume humans!!

The story in essence is a journey through friendship, history, sexuality, identity, race, economy, religion, culture and prejudices, all in little bits and pieces but significant never the less. So many different aspects, but the one thing that holds all of it together, is the need for justice!!

Before this book, I vaguely had an idea about Bronx and its history, now I want to know and learn more, that's what happens when your read a work done by an author in the shadow of their 'own voice'.

The story follows Racquel, a high school student living in Bronx. Everything was normal for her until, people starts disappearing at nights near them. When Racquel's mom gets infected by something, and goes into a coma after being attacked by someone Racquel used know, she is forced to think and find connections as she realises, she might be the only one who can save her mom!! That was very bad attempt at trying to explain an intricate plot, because I feel, if I say anything more I will spoil the story.

So how about this, this story is a horror thriller based on friendships, crushes leading upto a sapphic romance (I needed more of that, but alas, there was no time, yikes, there comes the monster).

Now to the characters, I really liked Racquel, all her actions and reactions were perfectly justified and nothing I wouldn't do in the situation (please, I would never ever want to be in that situation). The friendship between Aaron and Racquel however kind of felt forced to me, Nop I did not see them being best friends. However, the whole crush phase of Aaron was really cute and so was all the interactions!

The rep was obviously incredible! The narration was upto the mark and conveyed Racquel and the atmosphere perfectly!

I really enjoyed the book, even though, I have a lot of questions! I am of two minds here, as much as I loved the pace, may be if there was a bit more detail to the magic system or even the game, it would have been even better (Though, this game! I am never playing and sorry besties, I am never volunteering as tribute, proceed at your own risk, stay at home at 3 AM and sleep through 4 ffs!!)

On another note, I love when books are based on actual history and when authors use fiction to potray the past injustices, exploitation and extortion, because it creates another mark on the paper, a mark for the people who were wronged, who deserve attention and repatriation. It gave me a point to understand the Bronx history and gave me names like Robert Moses. Also it gives you a small glimpse of the oprression that the Black and Brown people have been facing in America for as long as history has existed!

Overall, if you didn't understand from my rambling, I really enjoyed this book and will definitely reccommend to anyone looking for a fast paced horror thriller with some essense,

TW: Trauma, Violence, death, gore, cannibalism, spirits

Many thanks to Netgalley and Tantor Audio for the ALC of this 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

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Audiobook: I appreciated the audiobook at moments when I was having trouble getting through the book & dedicated our narrator was to telling the story with different voices and tones.
and I'm glad we had a Black narrator. I kinda wish there was some conversations about how certain latino names and slang were pronounced. For example: The name Xiomara, which is a very typical Dominican name was pronounced like Xiomaro and slang felt too proper if that makes sense.

4.5 stars.

Firstly, this audiobook was really good. I was starting to think that maybe audiobooks just weren't for me, this book proved to me that that's not the case at all. The narration was so well done, the voices distinctive and the emotion just perfect. It definitely improved my reading experience.

It also helped that this book was just really good. The characters are all very well-developed and go through a lot of development throughout this book. The friendships are strong and one of the major points of this book, and I loved them. I loved how strong all characters were, despite all their struggles.

The setting was incredibly interesting. The idea of horrible deeds and collective trauma leaving an "echo" makes sense, from a psychological standpoint, and to turn that into an actual horror place worked really well. The inclusion of creepy games popular online worked very well too.

The story is set in the Bronx, New York, and I learned a lot about its history throughout this book. I personally really love it when I learn things from books, so that was awesome. There were also the inclusion of some religious items I knew nothing about, which I loved as well. Religion played some part in the story and it's either big or small depending on how you look at it. This wasn't a religious book at all, and also wasn't focusing on just one religion, with Raquel's parents both having different religious views. It did play a relatively important part in the mystery, though there's also the idea that memories and belief in itself are important, so it might not be the religious itself, but rather the belief in it. You could argue either way depending on your view.

While I didn't think the book was scary to read, it was action packed and high paced. And if I was experience what the characters did, I'd probably be scared out of my wits. The reactions of the characters were all believable and fit with their personalities. Often horror relies on plot convenience and stupid characters, but that was not the case here. (Though you could say that Cisco meeting Raquel's mum was convenient, you do need something to start the story).

The relationship was very cute. While on the one hand at times I was like: "How can you be so oblivious!!!" I also felt like it was very realistic, and also commented on by the main character herself.

I loved the parallels this book drew. In both the friendship/romance with Cisco and Marco, and Aron and Raquel, as well as between the Bronx of the past and the Bronx now, slumlords then and now, the impact of politics then, and now etc.

This book treats difficult subjects like police violence against black people and political injustice in a way that manages to be both humorous and serious at the same time. It was included in the story in a seamless way, fit perfectly and helped both plot and gave background.

This book was a wonderful book about the history of the Bronx, injustices and trauma, featuring incredibly strong, interesting characters, believable/understandable actions, and wonderful friendships and relationships.

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 Tantor Audio for my DRC.

Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado is a dark contemporary portal story that takes place in the Bronx. Comparing this book to Stranger Things is definitely a wonderful selling point. I usually don't like when books are compared to others in order to sell more(yes I know this is a selling tactic) as most of the time the book is actually not up to par but THIS BOOK can compare itself all it wants because it was utterly fantastic.

The story starts off with a bang. We are following a boy who is reported missing by his family after he played a "game" with some friends on the subway. This game had specific rules that he ended up violating and he flashes back and forth between this world and an upsidedown world. It was definitely a heart-pounding way to start off the book and that pace was kept up throughout most of the book.

My father told me a bit about the Bronx burning in the 70's but this book took that information and turned it into the true horror story that it was. True stories with a monster twist are always the best horror stories, in my opinion. The story touched on so many things, including racism, classism, abuse of people living in poverty, eat the rich, etc. all while having a portal story showing the horrors of humanity.

In the end, this was a fantastic debut?(was this a debut cause DAYUM), and I will definitely be looking forward to the author's future works.

Overall, I gave the book 4.5/5 stars.

I really enjoyed this one. It was incredibly creepy, the characters felt real, and it contained so much important history. The Bronx felt like the real main character here. The representation was also wonderful.

The narrator did a great job, and the cover is also gorgeous, to boot.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Burn Down, Rise Up was a very interesting but super confusing book. It definitely started off with a mini bang that captured my attention. The little elements of horror throughout the book definitely kept me on the edge of my seat. Unfortunately, I feel like I'm left with a bunch of unanswered questions and that annoys me.

As for the characters, I liked them. I really did. The friendships were easy to get along with and were adorable at times. I just think the romance was okay and had potential to be better. Then again, it is kind of hard to develop something with someone if you aren't exactly with them for most of the book. So, in a weird way, I see why things happened the way they did but I still wanted more.

Other than that, the game was completely dark and confusing. I would never volunteer as tribute to play. Like ever. Definitely had its creepy moments that will probably haunt me tonight when I'm asleep. I still wish that we got more information about it because I didn't fully understand why some of what was happening was actually happening.

Then again, it could just be me. I'm still happy that I got the chance to jump into this book. I think the Narrator, Julienne Irons, did an amazing job and I look forward to another book written by Vincent in the very near future.

3.5 stars

The summary of this book really hit some buzzwords for me, 'urban legend', 'game', and 'mysterious illness'. I love a thriller with horror elements and having it centered around a sapphic relationship sealed the deal for me. I requested this book so fast and was psyched to get approved!

The story moves quickly and there are no slow moments here. Raquel quickly gets involved in tracking down information on the Echo Game and how playing could save both her mom and her crushes cousin Francisco. I liked the friendship bond between Raquel and Aaron and how far they were willing to go to help the other. A strong bond like that can help you get through even the darkest of times.

I did feel like the romance was underdeveloped and relied on past events that we didn't get to see. Plus the girls are separated for a while in the book so there's less time for them to build that relationship on page. I also thought the game was a bit lacking and even calling it a game is kind of misleading. There were cool and creepy parts to it for sure, I just wanted more information and maybe more of a point to the game.

The audiobook was good and I thought the narrator embodied Raquel well.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Tantor Audio and NetGalley for the copy.

YA. QUEER. HORROR.

Yes please!!!

Thanks to Netgalley for an audio ARC of this book!

This book is totally strange things plus get out. It's setting in the Bronx is so vivid and the story was so gripping.

The audio narrator was not my fave, their spooky voice made me laugh instead of scaring me. But overall it was a really fun read.

A delightfully creepy, YA urban fantasy book that gave me Stranger Things, Pet and NK Jemisin vibes. When people start going missing in her Bronx neighborhood, Raquel begins to worry, especially when one of them turns out to be her crush Charlize's cousin.

Taking it upon themselves, the two girls decide to try to get to the bottom of the mysterious urban legend called the Echo Game, which involves a series of rules and leads to an alternate world under the city. Full of monsters, zombies and a deadly virus that has struck Raquel's own mother. A group of teens band together to restore their neighborhood and rescue their loved ones.

Great on audio narrated by Julienne Irons. I thoroughly enjoyed this debut and look forward to reading more by this author. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance review copy!