Review: Burn for Burn by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian

Title: Burn for Burn
Authors: Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release date: September 18th 2012
Pages: 368
Genre: YA
Source: NetGalley
Add to Goodreads | Purchase from Amazon

Lillia has never had any problems dealing with boys who like her. Not until this summer, when one went too far. No way will she let the same thing happen to her little sister.
Kat is tired of the rumours, the insults, the cruel jokes. It all goes back to one person – her ex-best friend – and she's ready to make her pay.
Four years ago, Mary left Jar Island because of a boy. But she's not the same girl anymore. And she's ready to prove it to him.
Three very different girls who want the same thing: sweet, sweet revenge. And they won't stop until they each had a taste.

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars


I love both Jenny Han's and Siobhan Vivian's earlier books, but I was a little worried about this one, since it's classified as paranormal and not contemporary, like both authors' previous books. But I had nothing to worry about! Really, Burn for Burn reads a lot more like contemporary than anything paranormal. There are a few hints at some supernatural powers, and I guess that'll be explored more later on in the series, but for the most part, Burn for Burn is contemporary. That might be disappointing to people who prefer paranormal books, but I, as a contemps-lover, appreciate that it takes place mainly in the real world.


Burn for Burn is so much fun. Really, that's the only way to describe it. It's not deep or meaningful, but it's just so entertaining to read. Jenny Han's and Siobhan Vivian's styles are both great, and they work really well together. I'd love to know who wrote which parts - whether each of them wrote one character and they shared the third one, or what - since I honestly couldn't tell. The writing on both parts flows very nicely, making this a quick read. It's not too descriptive or ornate, but it makes it so easy to get lost in the story.


I'm not sure what to make of the characters. I didn't exactly like them or agree with their decisions, and each of the girls frustrated me at some point, but I didn't even care, for some reason. They're just fun people to read about! Especially Lillia and Kat have some serious sass and attitude, which made it hard for me to feel for them, but made them all the more entertaining characters. The same thing goes for the secondary characters - a lot of them are bitchy and mean, but that just caused for more drama and fun reading. In the beginning, I had some trouble keeping track of who's who, because of the varying POV and the large set of secondary characters, but I figured it out after a while.

At first, I was a little worried about the whole revenge thing, since it seems kind of... wrong, but I ended up really enjoying it. Again, I didn't agree with the characters' choices, per se, but I still couldn't wait for them to get revenge because it caused for so much fun reading. Burn for Burn is the perfect guilty pleasure read - you know you shouldn't be enjoying this because it's all so wrong and mean, but you can't help it. I loved Kat's and Mary's storylines, but I found Lillia's a little weak, to be honest. Her reasons for wanting revenge didn't seem as strong as the other girls', and I kept thinking something about what she'd heard would turn out not to be true, making me feel kind of bad for the guy she gets revenge on.


Burn for Burn is a quick and very entertaining read. If you go in expecting something meaningful, expecting it to be discussed whether or not the revenge these girls try to get is wrong, you'll probably be disappointed, but I didn't mind. This book is pure fun; total brain candy. I can't wait for the next book, even if I'm dreading the part where the supernatural stuff takes over.

Who are two authors you would love to see team up and write a book together?