Nothing Left to Burn by Patty Blount Pages: 336
Published by Sourcebooks Fire on August 4, 2015
Genres: Young Adult, contemporary, Romance, Drama
Source: eARC from Publisher
From the YALSA and RITA Award-nominated author of Some Boys, a smoldering new contemporary YA about love, loss and finding a place to belong.
Dear Dad,
I promised Matt I'd do this-become a Junior Cadet. That I wouldn't let you break me down. I know you hate me. Blame me for everything you lost. But that day I lost my brother and my dad. You could never be proud of me, could you? I was too "different." So, just in case you haven't figured it out yet, I'm saying goodbye. Maybe someday, you'll miss me.
ReeceReece's words make her ache. Amanda understands wanting to belong. As a foster kid, the firehouse where she volunteers is the only place that feels like home. She wants to help Reece, but his dad is her boss. And she won't risk her place as a Junior Cadet-it's all that she has. But when a string of arsons suddenly point to Amanda, her whole world is about to go up in flames. And the only way to save themselves is to risk getting burned.
This August critically acclaimed author Patty Blount releases her latest smoldering YA, Nothing Left to Burn. To celebrate her new release, Patty has agreed to sit down with us for a quick Q&A!
If we looked under your bed right now, what would we find?
You’d find the box holding my wedding gown buried under a layer of dust. What? It’s extra protection. (LOL). You’d find the fire box we keep important papers in like birth certificates and our wills and my sons’ hospital bracelets from when they were born.
Right from the first page, you can tell that Nothing Left to Burn is going to be an emotionally raw and powerful story. It is told in dual narrative between Amanda and Reece. Nothing Left to Burn really got to me. I loved that the book starts out featuring the male protagonist, Reece. Reece really touched me. I felt for him so badly. If anyone needs a hug, it is Reece. Luckily, I was also able to tell right away that he has a kick ass friend in Alex.
Nothing Left to Burn is a great young adult emotional contemporary. Reece’s older brother Matt died a year prior to the start of the story, and Reece is still reeling from the loss. That and the fact that everyone around him (except for Alex) seems to be blaming him in varying degrees for his brother’s death. (which, side note, kind of bugged me for the whole story.) In order to honor a promise he made to his brother, Reece joins the local junior firefighter program to get close to his dad. (since said dad was being a major jerkface.) And at this program Reece meets Amanda. I bet you can guess what happens next.
Yep, emotional romance. I liked the romance in nothing left to burn, but for me it came secondary for Reece’s journey. Amanda has her own issues, but they didn’t really measure up to Reece’s. I don’t mean that they weren’t as important as his. She hasn’t really had a place to call home, other than the firehouse, but her emotions didn’t bleed out of the pages quite like Reece’s did for me. Still, it was nice to see Amanda and Reece impacting the other one. Amanda has to deal with all sorts of crazy with her current foster family, so there were plenty of roadblocks in store for our young friends.
Nothing Left to Burn is a great young adult book for readers that like their romance with a heavy side of emotional and deeper issues. This is not a lighthearted, beach read. But it is a worthwhile read. I had a few minor annoyances throughout the story, but it didn’t take away from author Patty Blount’s powerfull-ness to her prose. She has a very strong book on her hands with Nothing Left to Burn.
@BookBriefs #reviews Nothing Left to Burn by @PattyBlount @SourcebooksFire #Giveaway powerful & emotional read Click To Tweet
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Note: This review satisfies COYER scavenger hunt #78- Read a book that one of your goodreads friends has given 4/5 stars and that another goodreads friend had given 1/2 stars.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
kindlemom1
I absolutely need these type of reads every now and then and I really think I would connect with this one. Wonderful review Michelle, thanks so much for sharing this and putting it on my radar!
Faye Gates
I can’t really think of a favorite YA book. I like a lot of them. This one looks like it would be good. It has a great cover, that makes you want to read it.
Carol
Wow, this book seems amazing! I really have to buy it! 😉 Anyway, my fav YA is The Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness!
Hazel Bear
This kinda reminds me of “Abuse” Nikki Sex and “Hope for garbage” by Alex Tully, though like only in small bits. IT’s a combination that really makes me want to read it! Can’t help but love tortured heroes, heh.
Jazmen
I really think I will like Patty Blount’s work. I entered the giveaway. I’m hopeful! I really like raw contemporary. Great review, Michelle!
Yunnuen Glez
Got so many but… I think Harry Potter series.