Life got in the way and I could not finish the book. Thanks to the publishers for the chance to read the book.

8-year-old Ruby Ortega has had an easy life thanks to her parents’ successful business and is excited to start college with her best friend, Ashton, who she’s long had a crush on. However, her hopes of dating Ashton are dashed when he returns from school with a girlfriend, Millie.

When a wildfire hits their valley, Ruby and Ashton return home to help, with Ashton joining the fire crews and Ruby trying to manage her family and their business. Ruby also finds herself battling ICE, which is deporting families displaced by the fire. This part of the book realistically addresses immigration issues and the terror of living in a fire-prone area.

However, I didn’t connect with Ruby as the main character. Her obsession with Ashton, despite his clear disinterest and her poor treatment of Millie, was off-putting. The plot felt rushed, and the twists lacked impact. The epilogue seemed out of place for a book that doesn’t appear to have a sequel.

Overall, it was an entertaining read but not one I loved, primarily due to the main character and the single POV.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC; all opinions are my own.

*Up in Flames* by Hailey Alcaraz is a gripping and intense read that masterfully blends suspense with emotional depth, keeping readers on edge from start to finish. Alcaraz's vivid storytelling and complex characters make this novel a standout in the thriller genre.

This book being a YA, I just wasn't entertained. I think if you're personally a YA reader this will be a good book for you. But for me personally I didn't love it.

Thoughts and Themes: I am glad that I switched from reading this one through e-book to audiobook because that made it, so I was interested in the story. The beginning of this book is pretty slow and for a while I was wondering what the story is about. The first few hours of this book are focused on the love triangle that Ruby is trapped in and her feelings regarding the boys in her life.

I like that this story takes a shift and is so much more than just a love triangle and romance story. This story quickly takes a turn as Ruby comes back to her hometown as fires are taking over her city. This was the moment in which I got invested in the story to see what this meant for Ruby and everyone else in her life.

Characters: Throughout this story you meet our main character, Ruby, her family, the two guys she is interested in, Ashton and Remy, and Ashton's girlfriend, Millie. I really enjoyed getting to know each of the characters and their interactions with one another.

I really liked getting to see Ruby interact with both Ashton and Remy before her loss and after. I liked the contrast between these two and what this meant for Ruby. I liked seeing how she begins to make sense of her world after the tragedy. I thought it was interesting to see the way this event affected her relationships with others.

Writing Style: This story is written in first person through the perspective of our main character, Ruby. I liked having the story told in Ruby's perspective because we only got to see how she feels about everything. I liked that we didn't really get to know how the other's felt throughout this situation and it added tension to the story.

Something else that I really enjoyed was being in Ruby's head as she struggles to figure out how to help raise her sisters and keep her family together. I liked seeing her feelings through all of this especially since she doesn't express those feelings outwardly to others.

This is a compelling young adult contemporary. Ruby’s characterization was indeed evocative of Scarlett O’Hara, in the sense that she is a heroine that isn’t always likable but you can’t help but root for her as she goes on an unforgettable journey of discovery. The narrative had some uneven points, which disappointed me as I was totally captivated by the premise of a modern “Gone with the Wind” retelling.

Thank you PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, Viking Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!! I really enjoyed this book!

I really wanted to get to this one, as it seemed interesting. The downfall was that I requested so many ARCs that I could not get to all of them before the book was archived. I am going to try and get a physical copy of this at some point, as I do want to check it out!

I loved Ruby! She had a strong voice that pulled me in and kept my attention. I loved her confidence and her determination.

As a first Gen Mexican American and college student I really related to her. I'm also from California but I lived in Arizona for two years so we have a lot in common.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

I really enjoyed this story about privilege and tragedy, I really appreciated the references and overall loved the writing and characters.

I loved loved loved this Latinx retelling of gone with the wind. The main character, Ruby goes through so many trials and tribulations during the story. From California wildfires to just growing up faster than she expected in general. This is a story I could read again and again and share with others. I definitely will be buying a physical copy.

I loved Ruby! She had a strong voice that pulled me in and kept my attention. I loved her confidence and her determination.

As a first Gen Mexican American and college student I really related to her. I'm also from California but I lived in Arizona for two years so we have a lot in common.

I loved her chemistry with Remy. I wasn't a big fan of her going after a man who had a girlfriend though.

I really enjoyed this story and would recommend to anyone who likes romance.

18 year old Ruby Ortega has had a pretty cushy life, she's always gotten what she has wanted thanks to her parents building a pretty successful business. She's pretty excited to start college in the fall with her best friend who is a year ahead of her, herlong term crush, the boy next door, Ashton. Unfortunately, Ruby's plans of getting another 'thing' she always wanted, Ashton as her boyfriend, are dashed when Ashton returned from school with a girlfriend, Millie. This is a main issue throughout the book where Ruby is trying to get his attention but he just isn't interested.

When away at college, the valley that the two of them are from is swallowed in a wildfire so they must return home to help. Ashton joins the fire crews, and Ruby is home trying to piece together her family and their business. Ruby and another man friend she picked up as a distraction from Ashton find themselves dealing with ICE taking advantage of the situation and deporting displaced families who lost her homes to fire. This part of the book was informative and realistic about the issues with immigration in this country. I also live in a fire prone area and found the depictions about that terror to be well done.

What I didn't love was the main character. She's a pick me, trying to get between Ashton and his girlfriend the whole time and sabotaging her love life for this guy who clearly doesn't like her like that and is also taken. I don't like how she treats Millie, who is nothing but nice and supportive and helpful to her even when Ruby treats her like trash.

Some of the plot felt rushed and the twists didn't have much buildup so they lacked impact. Also, the epilogue felt weird for a book that doesn't look like it will have a sequel.

It was okay, it was an entertaining read, but I didn't love it. Mostly because the main character wasn't someone I would want anything to do it and it was solo POV.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the arc for review, all opinions are my own.

Was a good, intriguing YA book. I found the main character a bit annoying but overall a good read. I would recommend to fans of YA

It's been so hard for me to read YA contemporary books lately but this book was an easy draw back into the genre. There were times Ruby was immature and I didn't like Remy as much as I'd hoped and the characters weren't as engaging but it was a nice read.

This one just didn’t really stand out too much to me, if I’m being totally honest.

I was not Ruby’s biggest fan at the beginning of the book. Her obsession with Ashton just felt so immature and she just acted like a spoiled baby who didn’t get her way. She had so much growth though and by the end of the book I loved her.

I also couldn’t stand Remy, at all, at any point in the book. He was the literal worst.

Thank you Penguin for this ARC
A powerful read about leaving your bubble of privilege, and how undocumented immigrants are affected by natural disasters.
I very much enjoy how Ruby knows how to best use her appearance and beauty to her advantage. The way she dealt with Frank made my heart break a bit for her, but at the end of the day she was doing what was needed to survive.
Ruby grows a lot in this story, and watching a very spoiled character realize there is more to the world then just what she is dealing with is always a thought-provoking read. She really had to step up for her family, and even though she starts off ignorant, by the end of the book she really is a different person.
I am always wary to read a Latine book regarding topics of immigration and ICE because of the large amount published compared to more "cozy" stories. It does push a certain societal narrative and stereotype around our culture, and I do feel the need to mention publishers choosing certain themes to publish over others. I do like how it was handled here, even though it was almost a bit too rainbows and sunshine with how everything worked out perfectly for the undocumented immigrants. (An unrealistic portrayal to be frank)
I did find this book extremely prose heavy, the only reason this isn't a five star book for me. There are so many inner monologues and summaries, and just it reads very fast-paced at times. Every time I thought we were going to have a scene or conversation, instead sometimes it will go for pages of just inner monologue or summarizing with no dialogue or anything else whatsoever. I do think I would have liked it if it was longer and spent more time showing the dialogue instead of just summarizing character interactions.
I do think I enjoyed the first half of the book a lot more then the second.
The ending was fine? I was very confused by some of the characters. Remy seems to alternate between being mature and smart, to being incredibly immature especially for someone of his age and responsibilities. Ambiguous endings can work in certain situations, but it seems that Ruby is just chasing after another guy so I didn't quite enjoy that fact. (Though hey I am super happy to see a BIPOC character not [ end up with the white guy! (hide spoiler)])
I did feel like certain men were forgiven too easily by other characters, I almost wish the woman each had a bit more self respect in how they were treated. Or at least came to the realization that IT'S OKAY TO BE ALONE!
I would recommend this book, and I would read more from Hailey Alcaraz. This is her debut novel and I am excited to see more from her.

Reviews Posted Oct. 3, 2023
Goodreads
Storygraph


Firstly, this book meant a lot to me in so many ways because, as someone who was born and raised in California, wildfires are a part of life. There were many times that I had to set the book down because the events the main character was witnessing became all too real for me.

While at times, I wanted to shake Ruby to knock some sense into her, overall I did really enjoy her character arc throughout the book. She was thrust into a position of authority and responsibility at such a young age, while still trying to navigate her teenage emotions. Honestly, I don’t think I could have handled that half as well. At the end of the book, I think she ended up exactly where she needed to be.

Ashton and Millie, ya I could not stand either of them. I feel that in their own ways, they were awful to Ruby, but also awful to each other. Like if I was Ruby I would have kicked both of these people to the curb long ago. And I wasn’t thrilled how the book ended with them.

I think that the family aspects are what captivated me the most and how hard grief can be. And that it often looks different for every person.

I thought this was a beautifully poignant story about how even the fieriest fires in our lives can transform us! Although this was a romance novel, was extremely touched by how Hailey undertook the social issue of illegal immigration in her story. She did it wonderfully and left me with a lasting impression!

I've never read a romance novel with such a interesting love triangle! I loved the complicated trio and secretly loved the messiness of the situation. Remy & all his
cockiness will have my heart always. There were points I wished for more from the characters, especially in the end. I became particularly frustrated in the end with Ruby. This was her redemption era and where she had grown so much, she still didn’t step up when we needed her to.
It seems like it's set up for a sequel and I think the book would've held a little more punch if the characters could've wrapped up their story in the first book! It felt a little long for a romance novel, but overall I enjoyed the read.