What do you think?
Rate this book
Stray #2
Burn
Lona Sixteen Always is about to become Lona Seventeen Always, but she isn't feeling much older or wiser. Unlike Fenn and the rest of the Path strays, she is struggling to move on with her life. How can she look to the future when she knows almost nothing about her past? Lona feels like everyone's pressuring her to become 'normal' - even her beloved Fenn - and on top of this, she's been having strange, violent dreams. It almost feels like someone's trying to send her a message...
Lona's dreams turn out to be memories - clues hidden inside Lona by her mother, who Lona always assumed was lost to her forever. But she isn't lost at all: she's being held captive by Harm - emotionless, psychotic, murderous Harm - and she's desperate for Lona to find her. But can Lona work it all out in time? And why does Harm need Lona's mother? In the bid to find out who she really is, Lona will fall headlong into a trap far more dangerous and cunning than she could ever have imagined. The Path was just the beginning.
Lona's dreams turn out to be memories - clues hidden inside Lona by her mother, who Lona always assumed was lost to her forever. But she isn't lost at all: she's being held captive by Harm - emotionless, psychotic, murderous Harm - and she's desperate for Lona to find her. But can Lona work it all out in time? And why does Harm need Lona's mother? In the bid to find out who she really is, Lona will fall headlong into a trap far more dangerous and cunning than she could ever have imagined. The Path was just the beginning.
320 pages, Paperback
First published February 6, 2014
5 people are currently reading
198 people want to read
About the author
Monica Hesse
11 books1,271 followersMonica Hesse is the national bestselling author of the true crime love story American Fire, and the historical mystery novel Girl in the Blue Coat, which has been translated into a dozen languages and won the 2017 Edgar award in the Young Adult category. She is a feature writer for the Washington Post, where she has been a winner of the Society for Feature Journalism's Narrative Storytelling award, and a finalist for a Livingston Award and a James Beard Award. Monica lives in Maryland. with her husband and a brainiac dog.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 7, 2016
Check out the review on my blog here!!
------
A huge thank you to Hot Key Books for sending me a review copy of this book. If you want to see my review of the first novel in the series, Stray, Click Here.
After the explosive ending of Stray, I was really looking forward to diving into this novel. Although I felt a little disappointed that this book didn't surpass Stray, I did really enjoy it.
The novel picks up six months after the events of Stray and we see how those events have changed the characters lives and emotions. I really enjoyed seeing that the group were still a group and the way they interacted with each other was still close. I liked seeing that they had become close with Talia and didn't blame her for any work on the Julian Path.
I enjoyed reading about the progression of Lona's and Fenn's relationship. I really liked reading about their budding romance in Stray and reading about them as a couple was great. I felt that Monica Hesse has really created a relationship with ups and downs but that feels so grounding for the reader in the midst of the sci-fi plot.
I really enjoyed learning about the Julian Path a little more. I'm really intrigued by the workings of the Path and how it came to be . I am also really interested in finding out more about Julian himself as he still seems mysterious to me. I really like that we haven't been given too much information about Julian or Path yet, as I think if we were given the information all at once it would be too powerful. I enjoy the way it is spread out over the series.
I really love the theme of questioning what "normal" means that lies beneath the surface of the book. I found the book to be really though provoking, as was Stray. It has made me stop and think and question my own morals if I were in a situation as Lona finds herself in.
One thing I did not like about the book was that I felt the POV's transitions were not as smooth as they were in Stray. I sometimes felt they were a little jumpy and uneasy.
I also would have liked to see more of the side characters, like Ilyf and Gamb, in the story. I don't think they were mentioned enough and I would have liked to have seen more of their interactions to give a break at times from the heavy story line.
I loved the dreams / visions aspect of the novel. I found it to be really entertaining and gripping. It added to the sci-fi quality of the novel and had me guessing the meaning behind them until the very end of the novel.
Overall I really enjoyed this novel, and if you liked Stray, I would definitely recommend you pick up Burn. Fingers crossed for a third book!
------
A huge thank you to Hot Key Books for sending me a review copy of this book. If you want to see my review of the first novel in the series, Stray, Click Here.
After the explosive ending of Stray, I was really looking forward to diving into this novel. Although I felt a little disappointed that this book didn't surpass Stray, I did really enjoy it.
The novel picks up six months after the events of Stray and we see how those events have changed the characters lives and emotions. I really enjoyed seeing that the group were still a group and the way they interacted with each other was still close. I liked seeing that they had become close with Talia and didn't blame her for any work on the Julian Path.
I enjoyed reading about the progression of Lona's and Fenn's relationship. I really liked reading about their budding romance in Stray and reading about them as a couple was great. I felt that Monica Hesse has really created a relationship with ups and downs but that feels so grounding for the reader in the midst of the sci-fi plot.
I really enjoyed learning about the Julian Path a little more. I'm really intrigued by the workings of the Path and how it came to be . I am also really interested in finding out more about Julian himself as he still seems mysterious to me. I really like that we haven't been given too much information about Julian or Path yet, as I think if we were given the information all at once it would be too powerful. I enjoy the way it is spread out over the series.
I really love the theme of questioning what "normal" means that lies beneath the surface of the book. I found the book to be really though provoking, as was Stray. It has made me stop and think and question my own morals if I were in a situation as Lona finds herself in.
One thing I did not like about the book was that I felt the POV's transitions were not as smooth as they were in Stray. I sometimes felt they were a little jumpy and uneasy.
I also would have liked to see more of the side characters, like Ilyf and Gamb, in the story. I don't think they were mentioned enough and I would have liked to have seen more of their interactions to give a break at times from the heavy story line.
I loved the dreams / visions aspect of the novel. I found it to be really entertaining and gripping. It added to the sci-fi quality of the novel and had me guessing the meaning behind them until the very end of the novel.
Overall I really enjoyed this novel, and if you liked Stray, I would definitely recommend you pick up Burn. Fingers crossed for a third book!
May 12, 2014
Review by Layla Year 8
Burn is about a sixteen year old girl called Lona who has been part of a science project all her life. The science project was called ‘Julian Path’ because the children who are part of it live in pods and watch the life of a man called Julian. As all of the children there are abandoned, when Lona leaves, she goes searching for her real parents.
Although the story is written in 3rd person, Monica Hesse manages to portray Lona’s feelings very well. Monica steps into Lona’s shoes and talks about her thoughts and feelings about the whole situation. As Lona’s thoughts and feelings were always so clear, it made it easier to understand what she was experiencing.
The plot was always moving- there was always something happening, so I was easily absorbed by the story. This made it very interesting and enjoyable to read. I read the book quickly because I always wanted to find out what would happen next. The plot is very good because it’s as if it’s slowly building up a puzzle as Lona finds out information about who her parents are.
Another thing that I liked about the book was that Monica Hesse thought about how Lona’s search for her parents affected her friends. Part of the story is also about what her friends think about her looking for her parents and how they react to some of the problems they face.
Something which made the story more interesting was that Monica Hesse told most of the story from Lona’s point of view, but some of it was from Lona’s mum’s point of view. Seeing where Lona’s mother was and what was happening to her deepend the mystery still. The fact that the plot got more interesting as I went through the book made it very hard to stop reading because I wanted to find out what was going to happen next.
I found that towards the end of the book that there was an interesting twist as to what I thought was going to happen, which made the ending more interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Burn.
Burn is about a sixteen year old girl called Lona who has been part of a science project all her life. The science project was called ‘Julian Path’ because the children who are part of it live in pods and watch the life of a man called Julian. As all of the children there are abandoned, when Lona leaves, she goes searching for her real parents.
Although the story is written in 3rd person, Monica Hesse manages to portray Lona’s feelings very well. Monica steps into Lona’s shoes and talks about her thoughts and feelings about the whole situation. As Lona’s thoughts and feelings were always so clear, it made it easier to understand what she was experiencing.
The plot was always moving- there was always something happening, so I was easily absorbed by the story. This made it very interesting and enjoyable to read. I read the book quickly because I always wanted to find out what would happen next. The plot is very good because it’s as if it’s slowly building up a puzzle as Lona finds out information about who her parents are.
Another thing that I liked about the book was that Monica Hesse thought about how Lona’s search for her parents affected her friends. Part of the story is also about what her friends think about her looking for her parents and how they react to some of the problems they face.
Something which made the story more interesting was that Monica Hesse told most of the story from Lona’s point of view, but some of it was from Lona’s mum’s point of view. Seeing where Lona’s mother was and what was happening to her deepend the mystery still. The fact that the plot got more interesting as I went through the book made it very hard to stop reading because I wanted to find out what was going to happen next.
I found that towards the end of the book that there was an interesting twist as to what I thought was going to happen, which made the ending more interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Burn.
March 9, 2014
A fitting finale. I think, anyway. Got a little overdescriptive towards the end, what with the explaining plot direction when it was already clear. My issue perhaps. A few interesting twists in there that I did not see coming.
April 3, 2014
Would recommend: Yes
I think this sequel was a reasonable follow-up to the first installment, although the pacing was a bit off. The first 2/3 strolled along, and then it was a sprint to the end. Still, the book's dystopian premise is interesting and original, the story was pretty well done.
I think this sequel was a reasonable follow-up to the first installment, although the pacing was a bit off. The first 2/3 strolled along, and then it was a sprint to the end. Still, the book's dystopian premise is interesting and original, the story was pretty well done.
December 31, 2014
One *highly* manipulated event orchestrated to make poor Lona convinced of something that wasn't even remotely likely, but I could give it enough of a pass to love this. Very satisfying follow-up to Stray, and can't wait to see what Monica Hesse writes next.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews