Book Rewind Review: Nothing Left to Burn by Heather Ezell

Last year, we had some awful fires sweep through California. Even though my direct geography wasn’t burned, there were weeks when it was unhealthy to be outside. Unfortunately, this has become a norm for us Californians. When I learned that Nothing Left to Burn was set during a California wildfire, I just knew I had to read it. Plus, Heather had the most amazing maps made to go along with the story (something very unusual in contemporary!). I had no idea this book would land on my best of list in 2018. It was seriously amazing. Check out my 5 star review below!

Review:

Nothing Left to Burn landed on my radar as a Californian living in the time of frequent and terrifying wildfires. I consumed it like a wildfire was licking my heels because it was unputdownable.

Oof. This book. You will cry. You will scream. You will shake the book as if it will listen. NO IT CAN NOT BE. This book is messy and relatable and complicated. The characters. The situations. 

We get both the present timeline and the backstory, slowly weaving, causing unease the whole time. I loved Audrey and hated Brooks. But I also understood why Audrey was into him, as a person who has been in a similar relationship. 

Audrey spends much of the book trapped and trying to escape. Trying to escape a wildfire that is after her whole life. Trying to escape a boy who is an abusive, manipulative liar. Escaping her own insecurities and worries. 

Heather Ezell does an excellent job of describing the devastation, emotionally and physically, of a wildfire. The urgency of the evacuation. I felt myself tensing up while reading.

This book is intense, to say the least.