By Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing me access to an eARC of Vincent Tirado’s amazing book, Burn Down, Rise Up. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
People are going missing and no one knows why. Sixteen year old Raquel finds herself caught in the trap of the deadly Echo Game when her mom mysteriously falls ill. This leads her to reunite with an old friend, Charlize whose cousin has gone missing. As the two team up to untangle the mystery of the Echo Game, they start to unravel some long-buried feelings they have for each other. Meanwhile, Raquel learns about the Bronx Burning for her history class and somehow this seems to be tied to the game. Will Raquel beat the Echo Game and save her mom?
This book is wild. First of all, as someone who works with teens, I love books that highlight how resourceful teens are. These teen characters are inventive, funny, and so clever. I love Raquel and her attempts to be prepared for all scenarios while entering the Echo Game. The friendships in this book are fantastic and the romance is realistic for the dangerous circumstances at hand. And the horror? Amazing. The Echo Game and all that comes with it is tragic and terrifying. I think the history of the Bronx and Raquel’s love for her home add complexity to the Echo Game. I also enjoyed reading about Raquel taking both her parents’ religions into account when it comes to protecting herself from the Echo Game and learning more about her papi’s beliefs in Santeria and finding value in his beliefs that she hadn’t really considered before.
I think sadness in scary stories always makes them more terrifying because the acknowledgement that characters have something to lose raises the stakes for readers and Tirado knocked this one out of the park.
5 out of 5 stars
Stormy Sky Reads 