I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Shana Youngdahl's debut was one of my favorite reads a couple years ago, and when I heard about this book I couldn't wait to read it! And it lived up to my expectations.

I have to admit, I just experienced the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, and reading this book was almost cathartic in some ways. I really like how Youngdahl was able to depict the hellscape devastation of wildfires and also weave in a coming of age love story at the same time. Cap is a very real, intelligent, kind main character. I enjoyed her programming language to make sense of the world around her. I also thought Beckett, River, and Alicia were fantastic characters.

I enjoyed the vignettes from the catalog of burnt objects. It was a cool way to quickly depict the emotional hurt from losing things in a fire. And I thought there was care with talking about Beckett's recovery process. Overall I really liked this and would recommend it.

A Catalog of Burnt Objects by Shana Youngdahl is a beautiful but heartbreaking look at life, love, and the obstacles that are thrown in our way.

While perhaps geared for young adults and/or high school age readers there is a lot here for those who can connect with a well-rounded character even if of a different generation. I am several generations past the protagonist and found myself thinking about the big picture topics she faces (as well as what the rest of the townspeople face). Yes, she is also falling in love and in a, well, teen way (imagine that!) but the storytelling doesn't let the novel become so full of teen angst in the sense that an adult with empathy, and a memory of their own youth, can't still enjoy it and relate.

I found the interludes (from the app Caprice ended up developing) quite moving. They were placed near where we learned something about the character writing it and could see how that person felt about other people in the town and about the town itself. Those sections usually made me tear up. Yes, I can be sappy, but this was more because I could relate very well. I lost most of what I owned in Katrina and some of the most valuable to me were the things without much monetary value. That said, anyone who remembers things from their past that they no longer have, no matter the reason, will relate. The first art or shop project your child brought home that somehow has been lost in moving. The small gift from a grandparent that didn't mean as much when you were 10 but would mean the world to you at 60.

I would recommend this to readers who aren't put off by a teenager as the protagonist, especially since so much of what she is dealing with is not age-specific but human-specific. So if you're human you'll be able to relate to this story without feeling you're reading some teenage melodrama.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

A Catalog of Burnt Objects is a love story of many kinds and a reflection of the terrifying, heartbreaking events of Paradise, California, where the author grew up. It's a tale that looks at what is lost and discovers what remains, telling how a family can be nearly destroyed again and again, and still survive.

Burnt Objects is also a story of family, friendship, addiction, and young love. Parts are heartwrenching and others are hopeful. I loved Caprice's first love, named River. (Great names!) I also loved the cute and clever names of the stores and restaurants!

On the downside, the book had quite a unique format, which wasn't what I expected or particularly enjoyed.

Having said that, Burnt Objects is a moving story of how to survive when so much has been lost.

Thank you, #DialBooks, for providing this book for review consideration via #NetGalley. All opinions are my own. It has an expected publication date of March 18, 2025.

#Family #Friendship #YoungLove #Fire

This is a timely book, with the LA fires so recently happening. The author was living in Paradise, CA at the time of the 2018 fires, so this story seems very true to life.
Caprice (Caps) lives in Sierra, CA with her parents, her (recently returned from rehab) brother, and next door to her Gramps. Gram is in a care facility with dementia. Caps is leery of Beckett's recovery, and is waiting for a shoe to drop. She is also working on an app that is her ticket out of Sierra. Her best friend is helping her, while trying to decide about her own educational path as a piano prodigy. There is also a boy... Just when it seems like everything will be okay, a wildfire starts that takes over Cap's small town and forces everyone to reckon with their own trauma.
This is a moving portrait of what is lost and what remains once everything is burned away.

awesome story about a natural disaster and family bonding against a backdrop of substance abuse. 5 stars. tysm for thea rc.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A YA novel about a coding girl, her addict brother, and their hometown that is devastated by a fire.

After loving Youngdahl’s debut, As Many Nows as I Can Get, I was elated to get early access to this one. Youngdahl’s writing is layered, poetic, and deeply resonant in a way that reads as effortless, even though I’m sure it’s anything but. The simplest of sentences carries emotional weight. The symbols and metaphors are lightly handled but vividly drawn, such that every garden gnome, every street corner, every haphazardly-incurred scar has layers of meaning. I also love that in a sea of feel-good reads that are dominating the YA market right now (because, let’s face it, we all need something that makes us feel good), Youngdahl doesn’t shy away from the hard stuff. Here, we not only have a community displaced by the wildfire that devastates their town, but a beloved brother working through the brutally challenging aftermath of intense addiction that wracked his family and left his best friend in a permanently vegetative state, a grandmother with dementia, and parents with a contentious relationship to each other and a largely distant relationship to their kids. It’s a lot, though Youngdahl balances the layers of trauma with the flutters of attraction brought on by the cute new boy in town, a ride-or-die friendship, and a tenacious hope for a better future that colours every interaction. It’s a story about a town destroyed by wildfire. It’s a call to action about ignoring climate change. It’s a deep dive into the resilience of the human spirit and the challenges of accepting the unknown as a means of moving forward after intense hardship. It’s a beautiful, poetic look at the things we hold dear, and why they grip our hearts. It’s complicated. It’s insightful. It’s beautifully written. And it packs a hell of an emotional punch.

Intense character study of identity and complicated relationships.
Personally, a little too "teen angsty" for me, but the older teens i teach would like it

This book is a heartfelt and emotional journey through loss, survival, and rebuilding in the aftermath of a devastating wildfire. As Caprice navigates family struggles, a new romance, and the destruction of her hometown, her story is both raw and deeply relatable, making it a must-read for anyone seeking a powerful tale of resilience.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this incredible book.

It was so very good. I loved it and I forsee a best seller! I have never read anything by this author, but the description and reviews pulled me in.

So glad I was able to get to read this one. It was just overall fantastic.

I highly recommend. You will not be disappointed.

Five stars.

This is an important book for my students to read, especially because they live in Ca. It is a story of a family, a girl with dreams, navigating building an app, a new romance, the return of her brother after rehab and so much more as they deal with the fire and the affect effects. How to survive when so much is lost, strong moving tale of survival

A CATALOG OF BURNT OBJECTS is such a beautiful book! Caprice is a heartwarming and relatable protagonist. Just as she is putting her life together and looking forward to what is next, a terrible disaster strikes in the form of a wildfire. The scenario is realistic and based on the real-life wildfires in California. The author does a wonderful job of including just enough details to make the reader feel immersed in each scene. I enjoyed following along Caprice's journey.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance e-galley; all opinions in my review are 100% my own.

I am not the typical YA audience (I'm 70) but just loved this book. I thought your characters, plot and circumstances were interesting, and the love affair between Cap and River just realistic enough to engage both teens and adults. The story concerns a somewhat fictionalized version of the Paradise Calif. fire of several years ago. and the timeline spans before and after the town is consumed by it and how the lives of the main characters -- including the two teens mentioned -- drastically change as they adjust to new circumstances of being homeless and rootless. There are three generations of residents that are involved in the plot, and while some of the situations border on well-worn stereotypes, they pull back just enough to make them realistic, relatable, and engaging. As the author says, "it is a story all of us need. We all face our own disasters. We all must find a way through." Highly recommended.

Caprice’s journey is so raw and intense, it pulls you in completely. The way she tries to mend her broken family while falling in love for the first time feels so real and heartbreaking. You can feel her pain, her hope, and her desperation as the wildfires threaten to take away everything she’s trying to hold onto. The emotions in this story are heavy, but there’s also a quiet strength in how Caprice fights for her family and her future, even when everything feels like it’s falling apart. It’s such a deeply moving and honest portrayal of love and survival.