Burning

by Elana K. Arnold

Ben: Having just graduated from high school, Ben is set to leave Gypsum, Nevada. It's good timing since the gypsum mine that is the lifeblood of the area is closing, shutting the whole town down with it. Ben is lucky: he's headed to San Diego, where he's got a track scholarship at the University of California. But his best friends, Pete and Hog Boy, don't have college to look forward to, so to make them happy, Ben goes with them to check out the hot chick parked on the side of Highway 447. 

Lala: She and her Gypsy family earn money by telling fortunes. Some customers choose Tarot cards; others have their palms read. The thousands of people attending the nearby Burning Man festival spend lots of cash--especially as Lala gives uncanny readings. But lately Lala's been questioning whether there might be more to life than her upcoming arranged marriage. And the day she reads Ben's cards is the day that everything changes for her. . . and for him.

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, New Adult, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Contemporary Romance

320 pages, Hardcover

First published June 11, 2013

About the author

ELANA K. ARNOLD writes books for and about children and teens. She holds a master’s degree in Creative Writing/Fiction from the University of California, Davis where she has taught Creative Writing and Adolescent Literature. Her most recent YA novel, DAMSEL, is a Printz Honor book, Her 2017 novel, WHAT GIRLS ARE MADE OF, was a finalist for the National Book Award, and her middle grade novel, A BOY CALLED BAT, is a Junior Library Guild Selection. A parent and educator living in Huntington Beach, California, Elana is a frequent speaker at schools, libraries, and writers’ conferences. Currently, Elana is the caretaker of seven pets, only three of which have fur. Sign up for her newsletter here: https://elanakarnold.us10.list-manage...

Reviews

[Stacia (the 2010 club) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Small-town boy. Gypsy girl. Desert Summer.

While I think that tag line on the cover of Burning is a great hook, it wasn't what got me interested. The lure wasn't from whispers of unconventional young love, but instead with the mention of Burning Man in the synopsis. I almost went one year, and now I have regrets that I didn't make it up there. :(


Burn baby burn. As if the desert wasn't hot enough already...

However, Burning was less about getting one's freak on in the middle of a bunch of crazies, and more about two people who've managed to collide during a time when both are at an important fork in the road of their lives.

There it was - all our lives, everything we knew, just days from becoming a ghost town, a memory, a graveyard.

Ben is suffocating and wants nothing more than to start life over, yet he carries the guilt of what he's about to leave behind. His bags are packed for UCSD and he's almost out the door. But how can he say goodbye to a family who needs him and a town which will soon cease to exist after he's gone?

I'm not the kind of guy who believes in things.

Lala has her life planned out for her. Coming from a traditional Roma family, she is on track to marry young and raise a family. Thoughts of freedom seem like nothing more than a fantasy meant for other people. Could she dare to wonder if there was more to life outside of her bubble?

I was marked, and not for this.

If you end up reading Burning, you might find yourself surprised at how I was able to appreciate a book with such an immediate and intense love story. And I could see why you'd think that. But if you keep reading, you'll slowly start to see where the author is taking us. There's a reason for all of this thick (I felt like I was on a constant balancing scale going back and forth from beautiful and deep, to just plain silly) emotion. How do you show character growth if the characters are never allow to fall or never allowed to make mistakes? Yes, the love story was very "beat-you-over-the-head" with extreme wanting. But this time, it actually worked for me when I took a moment to look at the bigger picture and where the characters were headed.

"Don't you feel it too, Lala?"

The character growth in Burning went far beyond the confines of a love story - there were themes of self-acceptance and learning to let go of people when the time came for them to stand on their own. The secondary story between Ben and his brother was so beautifully handled. Ben had always known that James was different but hadn't quite crossed the bridge from acknowledgement over to acceptance. Love can be tough. When you want to protect a person who means the world to you, it hurts to have to let a person fight their own battles.

The biggest underlying current running through the book extends beyond love, trust, or letting go of the past. Over and over, you spot glimpses of the word freedom - freedom from fear, freedom from small-town life, freedom from guilt, and freedom from what's expected of you. This is what we're seeking knowledge of, and what the characters both desperately need. Is the freedom to be found in each other, or are they needing to travel their own paths?

I learned a few new things about isolated parts of the Romany culture, which sent me to the internet to look up a few questions left unanswered. There is a difference between the terms Rom/Romany/Romani and Gypsy, although both are used in this book. There are also significant differences between groups of gypsy people, depending on their heritage and their chosen set of life principles that they follow. I'm glad I went and did some searching around because at first I didn't understand why in this story, Lala's preference for long skirts had to do with a core belief of being unclean. Even though I've read books with Romany characters before, some of the instances in this book were new to me. And the "as seen on t.v. Gypsy" lifestyle doesn't quite match up with the people represented in this particular book.


Apparently, this chick won't get in trouble for not wearing a long skirt. I think I'm more concerned about her choice of date.

Even though this book had a few moments of awkward yearning, I was impressed by the thoughtful reflections of the characters, and the ties which brought everyone together. The love story is unconventional, and the resolutions may come as a surprise...but those are only a couple of the reasons why I liked Burning as much as I did.

[Navessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goddamn it. Why is it so hard to write three star reviews? Seriously, I’d almost prefer reading a book that pisses me off to one that I feel ambivalent about because at least then I have plenty to say afterwards. So where to start? Um…I guess with a summary because, you know, it’s not like you can’t just read the frigging book blurb yourself or anything…

Ben is a small town boy from a gypsum mining community that collapsed when the bubble burst on the housing market. The company that owned the mine also owned the town and so they’re kicking everyone out that slaved away for them for the past twenty or so years because they’re corporate assholes. Unlike his friends, Ben has greener pastures in his future. He’s a good student and a runner so it’s off to USC for him. Enter guilt. He feels guilty for leaving. Guilty that his friends don’t have the bright future he does (because it’s somehow his fault that they didn’t bust their asses in school?) and guilty for leaving his kid brother to have to fight his own battles.

Lala is a…gypsy? That question mark is because at the beginning of the book she says that her people prefer the term Roma or Romani and then proceeds to call herself a gypsy for the rest of it. She also points out that gypsies aren’t painted in a great light by other people but throughout the rest of the book her family is painted in a pretty horrific light. Um…okaaaaay. I’m just not even going to touch that one because if I think about it too much I may drop my rating even further.

So these two meet because Ben’s friends drag him into her tent by the side of the road to get his fortune told. Boom. Insta-love. In just a few days, and a grand total of three meetings, Ben is suddenly willing to sacrifice the future that he’d worked so hard for and Lala throws away her family and her entire culture.

*facepalm*

Another issue I had with this were the drawn out, incredibly repetitive inner monologues from Lala. I get it, your father is a gypsy king. I get it, you’re not stoked about the fact that your marriage has been arranged. I get it, the walls of your house are thin and you can hear your sister and her husband banging. I actually got it the first time, thanks.

I had other issues but I don’t want to go into them as it’ll just seem nitpicky. I did like the writing. I did like the concept and the fact that the voices of Ben and Lala were strikingly different from each other. I also liked the way things ended for these two. I completely understood why Lala made the choice she did.

All and all I didn’t hate it but I didn’t love it either. Meh, the bane of my existence.

This review is also available on BookLikes and my blog.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This takes places during a pivotal time in both Ben and Lala's lives. It is the summer before Ben is moving to San Diego for college. He got a full scholarship and is leaving behind his friends, family and the town he grew up in. Not just moving away from the town but the whole town is shutting down. Ben is worried and feeling some regret leaving his brother and now jobless father. Lala is nearing the age of 18 and the time of her arranged marriage. She loves her family but doesn't want to marry or follow the gypsy way of life anymore.

Ben is spending his last days of summer with his friends Pete and Hog Boy. For a going away gift they take him to the fortune telling gypsies where he meets Lala. Lala is exotic and perspective and like no one Ben has met before. She feels magical to him. It is easy to see why he would fall so easily and quickly for her. Ben is also feeling a lot of guilt about leaving. He wants to protect his gay brother from being picked on and he is worried about his now jobless family and also feels bad for the friends he is leaving behind. Going away to college is such an exciting yet scary time in life. I felt all those feelings perfectly from Ben as well as how it would be so sad to see the town you grew up in abandoned.

Lala loves her family and sisters but there are things she questions about her lifestyle and upcoming arranged marriage. The alternating dual POVs were so well written. I really got to understand the history of both characters and see both sides of the story unfolding without it ever feeling like things were repeating which sometimes happens with a dual POV. Lala is drawn to Ben who comes back to see her again. While getting ice cream with her family she makes a life changing decision to leave with Ben and get to know him. He is so different from what she grew up with. I learned a lot of interesting facts about gypsy culture I never knew. Also the summer ends with the Burning Man Festival that Ben and Lala attend. The settings were detailed so well that I could feel the summer heat.

Ben and Lala just got together but as I mentioned this is such a pivotal time in their lives. Ben has to go to college. This is his big chance. But Lala just left her family for the chance to be free and not tied down by marriage. So should she begin her new life by following Ben? Or start by living free? Not a perfect romantic ending but I think a realistic ending. So many readers complain about female characters that follow boys blinding so I think many readers will appreciate the girl power ending. It did leave me a little sad and think 4 stars for this one but the beautiful high quality writing really made me think this deserves a full 5 stars. It was different from anything else I've read and I really enjoyed the characters and story.


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"And yet here I was, wedged between Pete and Hog Boy in a tent that hadn't been here last week on the side of Highway 447, across from a girl who seemed magical to me, who seemed able to look inside my soul."

"It didn't matter what I had thought before about fate, about God, about magic. Lala White had appeared in the desert for a reason. She was meant for me. No matter what the cost."

[Christina (A Reader of Fictions)]

Well, I feel sheepish.



Black sheepish.

Pages Read: 107

I'm a third of the way into this book and, while I don't think it's truly horrid, I'm also really not enjoying it at all. The characters are flat, Ben's and Lala's narrations read the same to me, except that Lala thinks about gazho a lot, the romance is instalove, and the plot bores me.

My biggest issue here is Hog Boy, who is exactly what he sounds like. He's a homophobic, sexist asshole. And he's also one of Ben's best friends. Now, I get that there are only two guys Ben's edge in the tiny town of Gypsum, but I would rather have no friends than ever hang out with Hog Boy. The fact that Ben would choose to spend time with such a cretin does not endear him to me, even if he does end up punching or almost punching Hog Boy in every single scene.

I thought Lala and the gypsy angle would be cool, but I really can't get past her name or the fact that her fortune telling abilities seem to be intended to lend credence to the instant powerful connection between the two. No thank you.

Also, Ben just had a conversation with his little brother, James, who he's always known was gay where Ben officially came out to him. Here's some of what he says and thinks in response to that.

It's not that I thought there was anything wrong with being gay. It's just that it's a big goddamn leap between being okay with other people being gay and being okay with my own brother announcing he was.

Actually, Ben, there's no fucking difference. You're a close-minded asshole.

"It's just--damn it, James, isn't there anything you can do about it?"

Called it. Ben's a huge fucking asshole. If you say you're cool with people being gay as long as you don't actually have to know any, that means you're not actually cool with people being gay. Which means you are not cool at all.

I felt stupid. I wasn't some close-minded redneck. I knew that being gay is no more something you choose than the color of your eyes. But I also knew about the value of hard work. Sure, I was a natural runner. But I ran every day. I made myself into an athlete.

That bullshit you're spouting doesn't make any damn sense, Ben.

"Maybe you're gay, James, and maybe you can't change it. Okay, maybe you wouldn't even want to change it. But damn it, can't you try a little harder not to look so goddamned gay?"

Look, I'm sure Ben's going to learn something about accepting his brother through the course of the book, but I really don't care about what happens to any of these characters, except maybe hoping that Lala grows a backbone and that Hog Boy gets murdered in some sort of grisly fashion.

This might get better, but I don't see this getting any higher than a 2.5, and I'd rather move on.

[Margo Berendsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one came really, really close to 4.5 but definitely with caveats. It's a gritty YA contemporary with both the beautiful/thoughtful and ugly/uncomfortable parts of literary writing.

Primarily, Burning is a tense, powerfully written story of the difficult choices tied to freedom; but secondarily, it is also a fascinating look into Gypsy lives in America. I didn’t even realize they were such a separate culture inside of America. Lala is one of the traditional Roma, as they call themselves, where marriages are still arranged and even involve a bride price based on a girl’s earning potential – how good a fortune teller she is.

The book also hints it will explore the culture of the annual Burning Man festival (a festival of “radical expression”) but Burning Man actually played a very small part only at the end of the story.

One thing that impressed me about this book is that it didn’t paint the Gypsies in a one-sided way. Yes, there are very confining rules for Gypsy women. But Burning also shows how loving and close-knit Gypsy extended families are, and how even in very traditional families, rules have loosened to the extent that if a girl really doesn’t want who her father chooses for her, she can refuse and her family will accept her decision. However, there are other things they will not accept or forgive and they will completely sever the bonds of family if certain lines are crossed.

The book is written from two points of view – Ben’s and Lala’s. The first chapter was Ben’s, but it was the second chapter, from Lala’s point of view, that hooked me: a look into her life as part of a Gypsy family.

Lala’s voice is distinct: analytical and thoughtful and a touch formal, wonderfully different from the all-too-common snarky, quippy voice I often encounter from the female teenage characters in most Young Adult books. Lala's voice:

And then came a wave of something that at first I did not have a word for. I liked the sensation, and I considered carefully how to name it. Ah. It was power. I felt powerful.

Ben’s voice grew on me, too. Here’s a taste of his voice as he talks about his family:

My mom liked to tell me and James about Pops back in the early days, back before his years in the gypsum dust had turned his skin chalky and pale, back when he was robust and strong, back before lines were carved in his face like a road map to nowhere.

But I craved Lala; she was so different, and yet so relatable too.

In her first chapter she muses over all the old-fashioned and repressive rules of her family -not condemning them, just comparing them in light of the books she reads in secret on her smart phone. She’s fascinated by Holden Caufield in the book Catcher in the Rye (a book I I tried to read, but couldn’t get very far with). Here she talks about Holden:

The books begins when he is at a school far away from his family – a sleepaway school. Right there we know that something is wrong. What kind of a family sends its children away for an education? My people, we understand that the best education is gained from living and working with the family.

Lala only went to public school until she was 11. She has been confined to her family’s world since then – except for the books she reads. Though I’ve read similar stories where books have opened new possibilities and new worlds to people, for some reason this story really hit me more deeply just how powerful books are. How they can be dangerous to cultures that try restrict their people.

Lala loves her family, deeply, and counts her herself doubly blessed to have two sisters: one older and one younger. I loved the bonds she had with her sisters Violeta and Anelie.

But when she first sets eyes on Ben, it’s like a “love at first sight” moment, for both of them: but that isn’t the right term. It’s more like a catalyst moment. I do believe in such a thing that we call “love at first sight” but I also believe it’s both more simple and more complex than that phrase implies, and Burning captures that dynamic so well:

This boy, who was clearly full of reticence and did not want to be here seemed to me like the answer to a question I had not known I’d asked.

Deep inside me, it was as if something was waking and stretching its limbs. Some secret dragon hibernating in my core had been stirred by the presence of this boy.

And yet later she hesitates about Ben (this gave me shivers! I’ve often felt this way about sharing my heart, too):

They are not like us; they do not understand the bonds that tie my people together, unseen but potent bonds of tradition, story, and shared suffering. They do not know our hearts; I had always believed that they could not know our hearts, even if we tried to share them.

Lala is a very good fortuneteller, but there’s nothing magic about it: she’s like Sherlock Holmes, observant, seeing everything about people, and able to connect the dots between all the clues. Some of my favorite parts were when she’d meet someone new –Ben and his friends Pete and Hog Boy , even his brother James – and how she’d analyze them, little details of their appearance and their conversation and body language.

As always my features were smooth: unreadable. My job was twofold: to read every secret on the faces of my client, and to hide all of mine deep within.

Amazing how much tension and rich storytelling can come from something as simple as Lala’s gypsy family driving into town to buy ice cream from a small town store and encountering the locals. Lala’s little sister prompts her “what do you want?” – referring to the ice cream flavors, but of course also referring to so much more.

“You think you see things clearly, but you do not see deeply, Ben. The same is with the way you think about your brother, and your parents' situation also. You see only how things appear to be from where you are sitting. But rarely is an answer so easy, so one-sided.”

Characters: 5 out of 5 stars. Lala and Ben were so alive, so real, but all the characters were well done. Ben’s little brother James, and their father:

I decided I liked this man – generous, slow to make judgments and gentle with h is boys. He ruffled James’s hair as he passed, drawing a steely-eyed gaze from his younger son, who quickly repaired the damage to his hair with a pass of his hand.

It’s a testament to how well the other characters were done that I was able to tolerate Ben’s friend Hog Boy – not even Ben could tolerate him at times, as he comments that Hog Boy "sees the world through swine-colored glasses, that’s for sure.” Thank goodness Hog Boy goes through some self-improvement as the story progresses – well, maybe that’s being too kind, but at least he had a bit of character arc.

Setting: 5 out of 5 stars. The desert, the playa, the quarry, the wild horses: so well done. I feel like I’ve just a spent a week in the desert. The Burning Man festival only had one scene near the end, but it was very well done, too without being too explicit.

Plot: 4 out of 5 stars. Predictable plot, because you always knew where it was going, but all the characters made the journey interesting, and there was some question about what Lala and Ben would decide to do in the end after their lives collided. Another thing I liked, related to the plot, were several Gypsy tales that were woven into the story, and this poem from Burning Man:

From this day forward,
You shall not walk alone.
My heart will be your shelter,
And my arms will be your home.

Pacing: 5 out of 5 stars. Like I said early, the first chapter didn’t hook me, but the second chapter hooked me and I read the whole rest of it in just two intense settings, the kind where when your family asks you something you just wave your hand “not now, not now!” Granted, it wasn't a long book, only 209 pages. But it was just the right length for it story, if that makes sense.

Dialogue/Voice: 5 out of 5 stars. Loved, loved, loved Lala’s voice. So different! Such a refreshing change! I LOVED what a thinker and observer she was, instead of the typical female heroine driven by her emotions (not that she didn’t have emotions, don’t get me wrong: she was very passionate). Ben was a great contrast to Lala.

Personal appeal: 3 out of 5 stars. This is because there were way too many swear words in this book for me, and Hog Boy’s language and jokes made me want to heave (though he got a little better toward the end). Even some of Ben’s comments and thoughts were too much info (TMI) for me though I’m sure they were genuine. Though I wasn’t keen on the parts that dealt with the Gypsies’s severe restrictions on sex and protection of virginity, I do feel it was handled well in this story. About the sex: it was not explicit, but I’m probably too old to appreciate Ben and Lala’s choice; rather, I identified with Ben’s mother. I’m glad she confronted Ben about it and gave him a little history he needed to know without freaking out and being condemning.

Margo’s literary scale where 1 is “merely entertaining” and 5 is “really made me think”: 4 out of 5. The symbology and themes were done so well in this story, except I didn’t find the use of the Burning Man festival as a symbol very original, though I suppose it was a good symbol. Here's a example of the symbology woven together with theme that was really well done:

“When I first came here, I hated the desert”, I told him. “It seemed to me that there was not much to see, and what little there was held no mystery. But today you are showing me places I could not have guessed existed.”

Most likely he thought I meant this quarry, which was true enough, but I spoke also of the way I felt. It had been like a desert – barren, flat, scorched dry – but it seemed to me now that there could be secret, hidden places anywhere, unexpected oases just beyond the horizon.

I loved learning about Gypsy culture and their perceptions and their deep family bonds, and the clash of their traditional ways with American culture: the ugly and good sides of both. Here’s my favorite part of the whole story:

My people do not have just one name. Of course we each have the name our families and friends know us by, and often we have another name, one by which the gazhe (Americans) know us. But there is another name – a first name, whispered by a mother into her baby’s ear, a name that no one else will ever know.

Lala’s secret name is perfect.

[Jenni Arndt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating is 4.5.

There is something so great about a novel not going the way that you expect it to go. Having read my fair share of young adult literature, I find that I can often pinpoint where the story will go when I am about halfway through. Now, this isn’t a terrible thing, I usually enjoy the ride to the ending anyway but when a story like Burning comes along and throws me for a complete loop I relish in it and love the unknown path I travel.

Ben lives in the small town of Gypsum, but the town that isn’t going to be a town for much longer. Due to the housing market crashing the town has become broke and the mines have shut down. As his family prepares to relocate to the nearby city of Reno he is preparing to head to San Diego on a full ride to UCSD. He’s struggling with the fact that he is off on this happy new adventure when all of his friends and family are being forced out of their town in a very unhappy way. Watching Ben deal with his conflicted emotions was hard. I mean he had every right to be happy about where his life was headed but it was hard to be happy with what was happening to everyone that he loved.

Ben got reprieve from this inner turmoil when he met Lala White. Lala is a gypsy whose family has set up camp outside of his town while the Burning Man festival is happening nearby. As fortune tellers they decided it was a great time to set up camp on the way into the festival and make some easy money. Lala’s story was my favorite part of this novel. She was in a very traditional Gypsy family and she struggled with being OK with the traditions and values that she has grown up with. She couldn’t show her legs because the lower body is unclean, the women in her family had to be subservient to their men and at "that time of the month” they had to be secluded and were not allowed to help prepare meals because they are deemed unclean for that week of the month. Admittedly, my only knowledge of Gypsies comes from that TLC show, My Big Fat Gyspy Wedding, so seeing a much more traditional side to the culture was eye opening.

Ben and Lala come together as Ben’s friends drag him out into the desert to check out the hot girl on the side of the highway that just so happens to be her. I guess their relationship could probably be seen as insta-love, but I didn’t take it that way at all. Lala was intrigued with this man who was very different than any man she had ever known. Ben was a guy, and Lala was hot, so that explains him. I loved the fire that burned between these two and from their first meeting I longed for them to be together.

The most amazing part of this novel is the definition between POV’s. We alternate chapters from Ben to Lala and they couldn’t possibly have felt more different. Often with multiple POV’s I find it hard to tell where one character begins and the other ends but every sentence felt so defined to who I was reading about. I loved the way Lala thought and spoke and she maintained that through the novel. Ben was much less formal and blunt than Lala. She always had such a poetic way of thinking about things and interpreting things. Elana's ability to define her characters in such a distinct way is awe inspiring and something that will make me wait impatiently for more from her as an author.

If you are looking for a story about romance and standing on your own two feet, I think you should definitely pick this one up. It’s a novel that will make you think and it will definitely give you your fair share of butterflies throughout.

An Advanced Reader's Copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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You can read all of my reviews at

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

*4.5 star rating*

Burning is a true summer-love romance. From the moment I picked the book, I knew that it would be the perfect summer read. Just look at the cover!



I've never read a gypsy book before. Elana K. Arnold has definitely introduced something completely new to me. A gypsy girl. A small-town boy. Star-crossed lovers. A beautiful romance. An amazing, thrilling summer. That's basically what the plot is all about, summed up in 5 short statements.

Lala and her Gypsy family come to Nevada for the summer to continue telling fortunes and making a living. She has an arranged marriage to a man that she never and never will love, and all she wants is change, and to get the get the heck out of her family's hands. When she meets small-town boy Ben, who's spending his last summer before university in his home that he's known all his life, everything suddenly changes. They both fall in love, despite their different ways of life, and have to make sacrifices to make everything work. Is it just a fling?



It's not. The romance between Lala and Ben wasn't a fling, it was something far more special and beautiful. They were in love, and love doesn't come that easily. Bala (my ship name for them) had such a strong romance that hardly anyone's can compare to. From a matter of weeks, they learnt to understand each other completely despite everything that's going on with their families. The relationship they had was not only a romance, but a complete understanding and friendship. They didn't love each other just for the excitement and hunger, they loved each other because of love. You'd think that you cannot understand this type of relationship because of the matter that it is put in, but it's so easy to. Their love gave me the feels. *dreams*

The concept of this book was fresh, unique, and summery. If you're looking for something related to Sarah Dessen's books, then this book is for you. Elana K. Arnold has created the next Sarah Dessen-related book. I keep thinking "Don't Stop Believin" about this story. "Just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely world..." But in ways, it's kind of the opposite. Ben is the small-town boy, and Lala comes from the ways of the city. They're not supposed to be together, but fate helped them along the way.

When beginning this book, I had mixed expectations of what it could become. A possible 3.5 star rated book because of its cheesiness and predictability was my biggest guess. And from the beginning, that's where the book took off to be. The beginning was very narrow-sided and not strong and captivating. Until 100 pages, I was getting bored. And also, there was insta-love. *pukes* They basically fell in love at first sight, and that's unreal, in my opinion. But put that aside, and you have an amazing novel. From there, the plot took off. It became so captivating, and my squealing feels went out of control. When predicting the ending, I had a whole other idea of what was to come.

In ways, the book was a masterpiece. But what I really liked about it was that it wasn't perfect. Imperfection is a strong thing, and it helps us realize that the story was more real than anything. This sounds very much like a true story, and I'd believe it if someone'd just tell me it verbally.



I really had a total love relationship with the characters, especially because of their imperfection. Ben was a total heartthrob, and I can see him being in every YA romance story and totally making it awesome. Ugh, I just loved him too much, and it's very difficult to explain my feels in his case. :) But all I can say is that he made my heart skip a beat.

Lala was just a total fun and witty female protagonist. She was a rebel, and sick and tired of the Gypsy ways. All she wanted was to be free and to have a new chance at life because her arranged marriage and tradition would just ruin everything. We usually don't get protagonists like that, willing to do anything to have change.

Of course, I loved the whole Gypsy aspect of the book, and I can tell that the subject means a lot to the author because she wrote about everything with such understanding passion. It was so unique to learn about that, and it was another of my favourite things about this book!

The last thing that I wanted to mention was the ending. EHMAGERD. I don't know how to put this into words, but it SHOCKED ME. WHY WOULD LALA NOT WANT TO BE WITH BEN? LIKE SHE WANTED HIM AND HER TO BE TOGETHER ALL ALONG, AND NOW THEIR RELATIONSHIP IS BASICALLY DONE, all because she wants to be on her ow. Meh. It hurts me as well. And imagine how devastated Ben must be.

Overall, this book was amazing. I recommend it to any chick-lit lover, young or old. The romance is strong and beautiful, and so are the relatable real characters. Go for it.

[Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Taken from my blog, Tapioca Reading.

When I first saw this book on Netgalley, I knew I wanted to read it. Look at that cover and tell me it's not beautiful.



And when I got an e-mail from Netgalley saying I had been accepted to read it, I was ecstatic, because it was my second or third book ever and after all those rejections in the beginning, I felt like I was finally getting somewhere in this weird book-reviewing business.



This book was not what I expected at all.



I was all prepared for it to become my favorite book ever, even topping Auracle on my list of favorites (I'm sorry I ever doubted you Gina Rosati! I'll never do it again!) the moment I opened this book up on my Kindle. Desert setting? Gypsy girl? Small town boy? YES!!!!



Unfortunately, that wasn't really the case. I expected a cute, innocent guy who meets a gypsy girl as she rolls through town and sets up camp near it.



I guess I should've known better in a YA novel.



For those prudes faint of heart, Ben swears a lot, in general. I don't think I ever went to the next page without a swear word jumping out at me. I got used to it quickly, but this just serves as a warning for those wanting to give this to a person under 14--this book is not for kids. (Especially since there's a sex scene. Just saying, but we all knew it was coming.)



---



All right, I've been trying to force this review out for months now because I got this from Netgalley and I really should have turned this in to the publisher a long time ago, but I'm pretty sick of it in general and I can't bring myself to write a really proper review. I checked Netgalley a few days ago and it's not even listed there anymore, so I doubt I can even turn in a review anyway (that'll teach me to hurry up my butt on reading and reviewing books. Eek! So many books I was approved for and never read or reviewed and now I probably won't get approved ever again! Ah!)



But anyway, here's the gist of it:



I thought this book was pretty pointless.



Call me unsophisticated, unclassy, uneducated, whatever. Maybe it's because of my age, or because I'm supposedly narrow-minded, but I just thought the plot was pretty boring.



Basically Lala (I keep reading it as "lala," like from Teletubbies) is in an arranged marriage, she's supposedly unhappy, she meets Ben, they have an affair, her family finds out, disowns her, and she's on her own from there. She sleeps with Ben, stays with him for a day, they go to this festival and she dumps him and she's "free."



Hurray!



I guess it's about being free from bonds?



Or not having to be tied down by men? Family? Obligations? Age-old traditions?



Whatever, I didn't really care about the little I gleamed from this book.



Sorry about the spoilers, but gah, really, there isn't that much to this book that I could see.



Lala and Ben's attraction didn't really make sense to me. It was like "Hot white boy! :O" and "HOT GYPSY GIRL!!!!!" Really, she has known him for LESS than a week and she dumps her entire family and culture for him. Then gives up her virginity for him, which is supposed to be sacred to her.



Oh.



My.



Gosh.



If the point of their VERY brief relationship wasn't for the relationship itself and it was for Lala to be "set free" or whatever, then she just used him. Great job Lala.



I liked Lala at first, but then she got all "rebellious" instead of respectful to her gypsy culture, and I don't think Elana K. Arnold wrote about her shame in betraying her family, traditions, and being "dirty" (shameful--very, very shameful in gypsy culture, the worst you can do, I forgot her word for it, but basically, think of mortal sins in Catholic religion multiplied by ten) very well. I mean, geez, at first Lala was sort of remorseful about all the "bad" things she was doing, but after a while (read: two minutes) she just didn't give a s***.



Really.



She really, really didn't.



I kind of lost respect for her after that; her credibility was lost on me.



I liked her prose at first (think of wordy, flowery, purple prose), but after I started disliking her, this just got on my nerves too.



Ben was a jerk to his brother, then didn't even really make it up to him.



Ummm...





Yeah.



I wouldn't recommend this book.



That's about all I have to say.



By the way, the last line in this book was "I was Lala White."

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received Burning from Netgalley for free in exchange for an honest review. This has not influenced my opinion of this book in any way.

June 5, 2013 - I am in SO in love with this book and the way it was written. I wish there could be another with these two in it! I need to collect my thoughts overnight and I will be writing a review in the morning.

June 7, 2013 - Okay so it's been 2 days and I have collected my thoughts as much as I possibly can about this book. Still, this review will probably be a bit disjointed and come across as rambling because for whatever reason when I really love a book, I have a hard time reviewing it. But I will try.

First off, I love the desert setting and she captured the essence of a crumbling small town perfectly. Arnold has a way of writing that draws you in and makes you feel like you are there, like you can actually feel the suffocating heat, and I felt as if I was actually sitting there with Ben, Hog Boy, and Pete in the opening scene. That feeling of suffocation from the heat grows even stronger as we learn more about the town's future - that it is about to be closed down for the same reason it was started - Gypsum. When the housing market went crazy, a company created a gypsum mine, which was then used to create drywall. This same company owned the entire town, every home in it, and when it closed down the mine, it made plans to close the entire town and erect a fence around it. It is a very small but close knit town, and I found myself emotionally invested in how everyone living there was going to be able to move on after they had their whole lives pulled out from under them.

Lala, on the other hand, is not from the town of Gypsum. Rather, she is a Romani, a gypsy, who is traveling with her family on the way to buy cars for her father's used car dealership. Lala's brother-in-law, Marko, had the idea that they should leave early and set up camp on the side of the road close to the Burning Man festival to read fortunes for the festival-goers so they could earn extra cash. They camp out about ten miles outside of Gypsum and they drive into the town as needed to get supplies needed for meals and such. Lala loves her family very much, but she has recently begun to question some of their beliefs and practices. She would never admit this to her family, but she reads quite a bit of classic books that raise even more questions in her mind.

I can easily say that I loved every character in this book. Well, that's not true. I was never a fan of Romeo or even Marko, and Lala's father bugged me too. But for the rest of the characters, there was something endearing about each of them - even Hog Boy (maybe because I knew someone that acted a lot like him but was actually not a bad guy.) Ben is clearly the leader of this friends, but he is about to head off to college on an athletic scholarship and he feels guilty about this, knowing that his friends will most likely move to Reno and stay stuck there for the rest of their lives.

The book is written in alternating viewpoints, and it is done so flawlessly. Often with alternating viewpoints I feel like I could have done without one of the views, or sometimes the problem is that with an extra viewpoint there is too much information, which can make a book feel less suspenseful, but I never felt like this while reading Burning.

And let's talk about instalove! Most bloggers I follow hate instalove, but for me this case of instalove is a bit different. I don't really want to explain the reasons for that because it would give away the ending.

The last thing I have to say is that I'm not sure if this is considered Young Adult or New Adult, but I would say it's closest to New Adult since one MC is close to 18 and the other is actually 18. Plus there is a decent amount of sexual content. So at best I would say it could fall in with the older half of young adults.

I highly recommend reading Burning. I didn't want it to ever end! It is actually the first YA/NA contemporary book I have read that had no paranormal, sci fi, or dystopian elements whatsoever. It definitely has a spot on my favorites shelf!! And sorry if this review was a bit all over the place!

[Isamlq · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s been how long since I last posted? BURNING is different but not quite. But first, to the positive: it had me asking if people still lived still live like that because I confess the idea of gypsy family roaming from place to place was almost unreal to me. The way it’s set up here though makes it almost “possible” to be imagined.

It’s not just an us and them (though there is that). It’s not just girl with a role (though there’s tons of that, too) Here, there’s possibility… both in the guy but more so in the girl. The girl is the focus: that contrast between how she talks and what she’s saying; she wipes away the mysterious but leaves plenty of questions to be asked. So it’s what she says versus how she says it that had me wondering. She’s almost too formal and old fashioned, yet not really. The more time spent with her, the clearer it is that there’s more going on than just “dutiful daughter.”

Or take the guy and his Atlas schtick… something abut his role in this felt not quite real Perhaps there’s a little role reversal for him here. Typical YA set up has the girl pining and loving quick. Typical YA has the girl too perfect, too good, too burdened by one thing or other. Here… all that’s the guy. So do I like this reversal, or am I tired of reading roughly the same thing just slightly different? So what makes this different but not quite? It’s Intense Loves (see the caps?) that come out of nowhere, with one of them a need to be something for the other despite the latter not necessarily seeing things the same way.

The bottom line is one has got to love unexpected endings. It’s the ending that the best thing in all this because take their two separate story lines of guy just about to start living his life yet still held back by so many things AND this girl with her life and her place (that read almost too Cinderella sometimes) and things could have gone Montague-Capulet (as his buddy joked). Yet things didn’t go that way. And I appreciated that. perhaps it’s how she’s matter of fact about who she is and how they do things that takes away the mystery… but it’s also her piecing thing together for herself that has me (him?) asking questions.

It's mainly her who takes the story away from the makings of ROMEO –JULIET toward the real and factual. And I love that. It isn’t about taking up the weight for all else or even being someone for someone else; it’s the both of them finding who they are and doing something about it. The girl just happens to realize this sooner than the guy does. It isn’t about the guy and the girl. It’s about the guy and the girl and WHO they are going to become for themselves AND NOT FOR EACH OTHER. Burning is about both their POSSIBILITIES and their CHOICE…something the guy is slow to realize but does any way.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Burning is about story of Ben, a boy from Gypsum, Nevada and Lala, a gypsy girl. Defining traits for both of them, they come together at a time when they reflect what what exactly it means and what choosing your own path can mean.

As a coming-of-age story, I adored it. Both Ben and Lala are at turning points in their lives. Ben didn't want to be stuck in the small town of Gypsum, but now that the town is shutting down he must come to terms with moving on being more than just him leaving--everyone is going and his hometown is no more. Still, the fact that he has a chance at a different future than the life everyone around him has leaves him with mixed emotions. As with Lala, she too is examining what it means to follow the path her culture and family have chosen for her--and whether it is what she wants.

The backgrounds of both Ben and Lala are done in such a way that you can see all sides. You understand why Ben has always wanted to go, yet why Gypsum shutting down has such an effect on him. Lala's gypsy background isn't as black and white as it could have been, but explored and you sense the conflict and affection Lala has for her upbringing and what it means for her future.

All of this set against Burning Man. While not the focus, what it means culturally and to each character is explored. The self-discovery and escape of the festival works as a parallel o the transitions of both Ben and Lala, as well as what it means to connect with others. Elana K. Arnold does a great job with the layers to the story, weaving each concept together as well as referencing other coming-of-age literature, fairy tales and poetry, bringing it all together beautifully. On top of that, there is a sensuality to the writing (especially in Lala's parts) and lyrical quality that made the emotion and passion so present, really drawing me in. I highly recommend this book!

[Jill Sorenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this one. Lovely writing, unique setting, well-drawn characters. The dual first-person POV offers authentic voices for both heroine and hero. Lala is an American gypsy who tells roadside fortunes and Ben is a college-bound track star in a dying desert town. They are both at turning points in their lives, and their romance sets off a series of unstoppable events. This is older YA, with graphic teen-boy language and some sexuality. Gripping, poignant and bittersweet.

[The Three Bookateers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Taken from our book blog: The Three Bookateers


Let's start by saying how much I love the cover. I love the composition of the girl, the font and the background - I just love the whole cover. There is not one thing that I would change. This cover drew me in and when they say not to judge a book by its cover, I totally do. Yeah, I know I shouldn't.

But anyway back to the story.

Burning is a story of forbidden love. A gypsy girl and a small town guy. She's engaged to be married and he's about to move out of town. But these minor details are apparently not enough to keep them apart.

Lala White is stuck in the traditional ways of the Romani Gypsies, working in the family fortune telling business with her family expecting her be married off as soon as she turns 18, to a man she has no feelings for.

Ben Stanley grew up in the small desert town of Gypsum, Nevada. The town that he grew up in is literally shutting down, and the town he once knew will be no more.

The Burning-Man festival is a year-long event held just outside of Gypsum and Lala's family have set up camp halfway between the festival and town to read the fortunes of festival-goers and it's because of this that Ben and Lala meet. Ben has his fortune read by Lala and it's in this moment that he instantly falls in love.

Their chemistry is hard to hide and the pull towards each other is so strong that Lala dismisses her family, tradition and all she has ever known to pursue and be with Ben. Due to Lala's dismissal of her family, her family disowns her and this is where the story starts ot get a bit interesting allowing Burning to become quite a refreshing novel to read. It wasn't your typical love story and it wasn't too long or overwritten, what made it interesting was the surprise turn it took from love story to a story of Lala's journey of self discovery, in which she follows on with her break in tradition, allowing Lala to find herself, to find her freedom.

Although I did enjoy the story towards the end, I was not completely drawn in and despite this being a short book, it took me longer than it would other books to read. The timeline of the book is only a couple of days and within this time frame we see, the beauty of what I like to call insta-love, develop between the main characters. This idea that two people who meet and fall in love, within a matter of days is quite questionable and in ways, unrealistic. Sure there is love at first sight but even that takes a longer time frame to allow the characters to get to know you then to fall in love, this doesn't happen in a matter of seconds it takes time. The characters were described in great detail as were the supporting characters. It is apparent that Elana researched aspects of Gypsy culture, as reading it taught me new facts allowing the novel to be peppered with an authentic flair with elements of Gypsy culture described in great lengths, throughout the novel.

Elana K. Arnold is quite a talented writer, having written Burning in alternating POV's allows us (the reader) to truly know what each character is thinking, both characters have rather distinct voices and personalities which peppers the story with a bit of spark.

Overall, Burning was quite unique in comparison to other novels. There is not a huge focus on romance and love - which is different to many other books I have read. But rather an internal conflict with Lala and maybe Ben as well. The story didn't completely draw me in and at some parts confused me (when referring to parts of the gypsy culture that has not been thoroughly explained previously). If I had to give this a star rating I'd give it somewhere around the 2.5/3 mark. It was good but lacking in some aspects.

[Jill · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a coming-of-age romance between recent high school graduate Ben Stanley from the dying company town of Gypsum, Nevada, and a Romani (“Gypsy”) girl Lala White whose family has set up a campsite just outside Ben’s town. [Although Gypsum is fictional, it is very much like the actual town of Empire, Nevada, a former company town centered on gypsum mining about 100 miles northeast of Reno in the Black Rock Desert that closed down in 2011.]

Lala’s family is trying to capitalize on the nearby Burning Man festival, where close to 50,000 gather each year [in real life] for a weeklong event that draws, according to Ben, “artists, musicians, druggies, hippies, ravens, nudists - from all over the world” - a perfect potential customer base for fortune tellers. Lala, 18 like Ben, is due to marry Romeo, also at the camp, in a month; following Romani custom his family “purchased” Lala for a rather steep bride price. Lala should be happy, but she feels increasingly trapped.

When Ben’s two best friends, Pete and Hog Boy, bring Ben to her tent for a fortune telling, Ben and Lala are attracted to each other immediately. For Ben it is InstaForeverandEverLove but for Lala it is more like InstaLust. Nevertheless, the two improbably find a way to get together, and as the Burning Man effigy crashes and burns in the desert, so do their former lives.

Evaluation: This book has some good aspects; the information on both the Romani culture and on the Burning Man Festival seems fairly accurate. The tie-in with The Catcher in the Rye is an apt, if uninventive, trope for a coming of age book. However, the prose is sophomoric and, when the narrative perspective switches to Lala, absurd. Romani people, even those who adhere to old customs, do not talk like robots. Those two aspects of the author’s prose are shown in combination when Lala first sees Ben:

Deep inside me, it was as if something was waking and stretching its limbs. Some secret dragon hibernating in my core had been stirred by the presence of this boy.. ... I knew from the expressions on their faces that the way I looked was pleasing to them - why should it not be? I was young, healthy, full of life.”

And “Hog Boy” who acts like his name, a best friend of nice guy Ben? Doesn’t seem likely, although I give them the benefit of the doubt since the town is so small the kids don’t have many choices for friends.

As for the fortune telling scenes, they are so insipid that it is too absurd to think people would keep saying “wow, how does she know that?” Lala herself says “I have always known that there is no magic in the cards. ... I show them what I see - what I need no cards to see. The truth is in their faces.” [There's a scene, for example, in which Lala reads a man’s hands, and tells him he has had health problems and everyone so impressed.... (he’s wearing a bracelet that says “I am stronger than cancer.”)] But in the end, even Lala "reads" her own cards to help her make a decision.

Evaluation: The denouement is unexpected, but refreshing. Still, I would have wished for way better writing and some character development, of which there is very little.

Rating: 1.5/5

[Once · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ben- a leader, a protector. The small town, populated by 489 people, where he grew up in was now kicking him out. There was nothing left there for anyone. The town was soon to be deserted. Ben was going off to college in San Diego and his family and his two best friends were moving to Reno. Even though he has such a great opportunity ahead of him, he feels guilty because of it. It pained him to have to leave behind his best friends, and his little brother whom he protected. Enter Lala- a fortune telling gypsy. She knows her future perfectly. She will get married to her fiancé, have children and live the Gypsy life. Her way of life is not wrong to her, it just is. But when Ben shows up in her tent for a fortune, the burning he awakens in her is too real to ignore.

I don't even know how to being describing this book. It was amazing! We get to view both Ben and Lala's perspectives. Ben is about to start his college journey but is feeling an insane amount of guilt and doesn't even like talking about it. His mom, dad, and little brother are moving to Reno. He has always tried protecting his little brother and now that he's leaving to college he hates that he won't be there for him anymore. He's also leaving behind his two best friends, whom have nothing exciting to look forward to. As a going away present, his best friends drive him to a place where they saw a hot chick telling fortunes. That is when Lala and Ben meet. Lala feels it as soon as she sees Ben, there is undoubted chemistry between them. She gives him his fortune and he asks her out on a date. But she denies him. Why? Because she is engaged already, and Ben is a ghazi. Lala's way of life is completely different than Ben's. She has different rules and different beliefs. But what if she were allowed to choose what SHE wants? This book is about self-discovery. Both of the characters learn from each other, and help each other move on to their great journeys.

When I finished reading the last words of this book my initial thoughts were: "that is probably the most beautiful thing I have ever read." I FELT liberated, I FELT free. When you read a book there is always one character you relate to, usually the main character. But I am torn, I found myself relating entirely to both Ben and Lala. It was a strange feeling for me- to want what Ben wanted, and then want what Lala wanted even though it was conflicting. My gosh Elana K. Arnold, you are absolutely brilliant! I feel like conquering the world now, like choosing things because it is what I WANT to choose. If this book is not on your to-be-read pile, do yourself a favor and add it immediately. It is a true eye-opener, seeing the lives of Ben and Lala making choices for them entirely and no one else. Often times we live our life the way it is "supposed to be lived." But this book empowers you! It was much more than a YA read, and I am recommending this to anyone and everyone! And I would love to say "Thank you, Elana K. Arnold. Thank you!"

[Henrietta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could tarot cards predict an outcome of a situation with accuracy?

Lala knows the secrets to be a good fortune teller. When she gives readings, she knows exactly what to say and where to look for clues to lure her customers. With only weeks before her arranged marriage, Lala questions whether or not her fate is to be governed by the spiritual traditions of her people. Could she find her answer?

I like that Lala is inquisitive. Maybe some may see her as selfish and irresponsible, I personally find her sensible, shrewd and courageous. I guess there is no easy answer when it comes to following or breaking away from tradition but I like that we get to see a version of what life may look like through the consequences that Lala faces. Do I agree with every choice that she makes? No, but I respect the decision that she chooses to commit. At the same time, I must admit some of her action are a bit too bold for my liking. I guess what I’m not too comfortable with is the way she kinda drags Ben into her mess. And while their paths seem to intertwine, I don’t think Ben deserves to suffer because of her drama.

In the story, Ben seems to be among the rare few who dedicate their energy to work extremely hard to change their lives for the better. I guess I can understand why he seems so upset and angry about the many things that are crashing and falling apart, but seriously I don’t think he is paying attention to all the blessings that are in disguise. I honestly wouldn’t know how I’d act if I were in his position but I think I’d rather spend time with family members than with Lala if I were him.

Overall, I’d say this is a story that is a little outside of my comfort zone. While I quite like the setting of this story, everything does seem to take on a gloomy feel for the most part. I’m just glad that not all characters suffer from despondency. Ben’s little brother is a ray of sunshine and I like that he seems wise and intelligent for his age.

I don’t know if this may be something that you’d be interested but I’m including the card illustration of the reading that Lala gives Ben on my blog post. (Note: “The Lovers” card depicts a pair of nude couple. Do not look up the image if you are uncomfortable with tarot cards.)

--

Originally posted on Leisure Reads

A copy of the book was provided by publisher for review purposes.

[Damaris (GoodChoiceReading) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Burning is such a cute story! From the blurb I thought it would be a bit paranormal, but it's definitely contemporary.

Burning is about two teens who are trying to discover themselves. They have no clue what’s next for them, and what's out in the real world aside from what they've learned growing up. One meeting and they both realize they want more out of life. They also have this chemistry and pull to one another that take them both by surprise.

Lala and her family camp out right outside of Ben's town for the festival that is taking place called, The Burning Man. It's a popular festival and a great way for Lala and her family to make some money telling fortunes.

You can tell from the first couple of pages inside of Lala's mind that she feels like a bird in a cage. She wants more from life, but has learned to accept the way things are. She loves her family and they are all she's ever known. Their way of living isn't normal to others, but to Lala it is. The first time she meets Ben she begins to see things differently. She doesn't understand why he is all she thinks about, or why she craves another meeting with him. These feelings are so foreign to her. Eventually she gives in and her curiosity gets the best of her.

I loved how the author describes the world of the Gypsies. I don't know much about Gypsies except from what I've seen on television, so I am not sure how much of it was true, but Elana K. Arnold did a great job creating Lala's world and going into details about their way of living. I was very intrigued and found myself looking up Gypsies on google. (Yes, I am a dork like that. LOL!)

The romance between Ben and Lala is an instant one, but when you learn Lala's story you sort of understand it. Ben was a sweetheart and every girls dream. He's gentle, emotional, and manly at the same time.

My only issue was the ending. I am not sure if this is a series or not, but the ending is definitely not a HEA. It wasn't a horrible ending, but not one I saw coming at all. I would have liked it to end differently. It leaves room for a second book, though, so we’ll have to wait and see. It seems everything is a series these days.

This is my first book by Elana K. Arnold and it won't be my last.

A Good Choice for Reading!

[Pamela (slytherpuff) · Rating 4 out of 5]

See more of my reviews at Bettering Me Up.

I freely admit that my main reason for requesting this NetGalley was the cover. It completely captivated me and is the kind of artwork I would put on the walls. (Not that I ever could, since The Husband and I have completely different tastes in art and it's nearly impossible for us to agree on anything. Hmph.)

I also freely admit that I know a girl named Lala. And I can't stand her. So I had a big ol' frowny face when I started reading. It's unfair to the story, but I do have to say that it colored my opinion of the character.

The other reason I requested Burning? I wanted to learn something new.

The Burning Man Festival--during which this novel takes place--is an event I didn't know too much about. I pictured it as a place where a left-wing, alternative, radical crowd gathers for a week of drunken, naked activities. Which it is, but it's also about art and community. (PSA: be careful when Googling pictures, even if Safe Search is on.)

Arnold's writing is beautiful, even when it ventures into a more historical narrative than a contemporary novel.

Ben and Lala -- the protagonists and love interests -- stayed true to their characters throughout the story. I questioned a couple of moments, like when Ben discusses not having sex with his ex-girlfriend. What teenage boy is going to say no to getting laid the moment his girlfriend says she's ready? But overall, the characters felt real.

I've read in other reviews that a lot of people don't like the ending. I'm going against the grain here: I loved it. It's not an outcome that I expected, which upped my review from three stars to three-and-a-half.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

[Medeia Sharif · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ben Stanley has some big changes ahead of him. His entire family is moving out of a mining community since the mine is closing down. Even the neighbors are leaving; the place is becoming a ghost town. Ben not only is part of this move, but soon he’s going to a college out of state on a scholarship. He’s going to be away from family and friends for the first time. The novel opens when the Burning Man festival is occurring. The festival brings in all types of people. One of them is Gypsies.

Lala White is one of these Gypsies. Her family sets up their tents and trailer not too far from the festival. Her job is to read fortunes. When Ben Stanley and his friends walk in to have Ben’s fortune read, the chemistry between the two is undeniable. Lala interprets tarot cards for Ben, but the cards are also revealing her fate. But what can happen when Ben is going off to college and Lala is arranged to be married to someone from her own culture? If Lala wants to be with Ben, she’s going to have to go against everything she was raised to believe.

I was at first lukewarm about this novel. The beginning was very slow, but enduring that buildup was worth it. The yearning both Ben and Lala have for each other is intense and romantic. They’re young, inexperienced, and conflicted. Reading the scenes of them together felt like I was intruding on something beautiful and private—that’s how real the characters became to me while I read the novel. I liked how the author drew parallels between the tarot cards, Lala’s culture, the festival, and the teenage couple. The chapters are in alternating POV. At first I thought Lala sounded too grownup and formal, but I got used to her voice when the novel picked up speed. I received the galley from NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably a 3.5-star or so for me. There's a ton to like about this book and the ending in particular is fabulous and perfect for these characters. (It's quite abrupt, which will likely bother some folks.) This also is one of the better dual POV, first-person narratives I've read. Both Ben and Lala sound authentic and the voices are very distinct. The whole notion of breaking free is woven nicely through this story (including in the side-stories with each main character's relationship with their respective siblings.). Also of interest to me is the way Lala kind of uses Ben, and I do believe that response to this story would be different if the gender roles were reversed. This isn't a criticism, it's an observation, as the characters both needed to go where they went together in order to move forward, Ben from his dying town and Lala from a way of life that wouldn't work for her, despite her love for her family and culture.

I did, however, strongly dislike the constant info-dumping early in the novel regarding Romani (Gypsy) culture. This could have been woven into the characters' interactions rather than having Lala speak directly to the reader. I also have a big issue with the marketing of this book, particularly the tagline. I'll try to gather my thoughts on that and explain more about why it feels so off, but it bothered me.

One could make an argument that this has a "new adult" vibe in a way that a lot of books actually marketed that way don't, given that it's an intense exploration of 18 year olds trying to figure out the sort of adults they want to be...

[Dalene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elana K. Arnold has done it again! For "Sacred" I thought it had too much religion. I felt that it was the main focus of the book. While I did enjoy the story, I feel that Arnold was able to captivate the Gypsy lifestyle but it didn't change the story. I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of "Burning" weeks before the release. When I wasn't reading "Burning" I was thinking about it. The novel was captivating and very different from anything I have ever read. It stands alone from all other YA novels, as well as the special Arnold who can captivate an audience into a new world. I found myself loving Ben from the first page. Lala was so different than any other female in a YA novel that I couldn't wait to read more about her world. Elana? You captivated me with this amazing read!!

[❤ Aly ❤ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been going between a 3 and a 4. I liked the story, but did not like the ending. Unique story!

Lala is a gypsy. She makes money by telling fortunes. Her parents have found someone able to pay the bride fee of 15 thousand for her. Ben is going off to college on a scholarship for track. His friends convince Ben to get his fortune told and the rest is history. <\spoiler>

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow--I really liked this one--it's an unusual YA read-- a coming of age story told from the perspective of an all American boy, dealing with all American problems and a Gypsy girl-- living a very traditional Gypsy upbringing--two people who couldn't be more different yet still alike in so many ways. The romance kept me reading but I also really liked the ending. And I liked how though it seemed to start out more as Ben's story, by the end it was more Lala's journey that impressed me. Thank you, Racquel from The Book Barbie's for this recommendation:))

[Stacee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was quite an interesting story. I loved how it spanned just a few days. I would have liked a bit more of an ending, but I think it fit perfectly with what the story was actually about.

The alternating POVs were written so differently, it was perfection. Elana captured two entirely different characters, I always wanted more of the chapter I was finishing.

**Thank you to NetGalley for providing the arc in exchange for an honest review**

[Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed Lala's back story and learnt a lot about the Romani culture. I wasn't convinced wholly by the love story but I don't think I am exactly the books target audience. I would really recommend this to young adults as it is unique and a refreshing addition to the genre.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a great coming of age/love story. What really made it for me however was the ending. I think it was beautifully done and not the typical end of summer romance route.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

My original review of this title can be found here on The Book Hookup.

**Disclaimer:** An eARC of these title was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. However, that did not influence this review in any way. All thoughts, quotes, and opinions will be of this version and not of the published edition.

♥ Quick Thoughts and Rating: Actual rating of 2.5 stars! I'm not sure what I expected to read before opening this book, but I know with a certainty that it wasn't what I actually read. Burning wasn't a terrible book by any means, however I didn't find it highly compelling either. Perhaps it just didn't speak to me, didn't resonate with me, like it seemed to do with the many other readers that rated it much higher than myself.

♥ The Lowdown: It's clearly detailed in the summary above. But, if you're needing it from me...

Ben, a small town guy whose community livelihood is being called to a halt after the housing market crashed and the corporate crooks that own his little town is shutting down the mines and giving everyone the boot so they can board the small town of nearly five hundred up for good. But Ben has always been running toward something, or away from it depending on the viewpoint, and that has landed him with a track scholarship at a California university, away from everything he's ever known, his family and two best friends included.

Lala is a gypsy girl from a gypsy family that takes pride in traditions handed down for generations that trace all the way back to Europe. She's faithful to her family and loyal to her obligations, even the ones that state she's to be married in a couple of weeks, just a day after her eighteenth birthday, to a guy that her parents arranged for her. She used to feel comfort in knowing her place in her family and with her people, what her future held, but now that the window of being her own person is narrowing, she's finding that her once hopeful future comes with a weight she isn't sure she wants to shoulder.

So, when her brother-in-law suggests that try their hand at the girls reading fortunes outside the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert, her path crosses with Ben, and both of their lives change from a single set of tarot cards and one interaction.

♥ Review: So, let's be honest, I requested this novel because A) the cover is just really freaking pretty, and B) it had a description of "a sizzling love story between a small-town boy, a Gypsy girl and the summer that changes them forever" on NetGalley, and I wanted to be all over that. However, this was just one of those novels that slipped through the cracks and a lot of time has passed since 2013, but here we are now and I've finally finished it. I guess I want to somewhat preface this next part of my review by saying this likely won't be in depth or passionate because I generally find it extremely difficult to review titles that fall around the 3-star range. Typically, I feel totally indifferent about them, meaning there wasn't one or several things that tipped the scale one way or the other for better or worse, and that was very much the case with this novel. It seemed all my pros and cons balanced one another out, and I closed this novel feeling very "meh" about it, but I could see why others would possibly like it more (or really dislike it, too).

I guess the best I can do is touch on the highest and lowest points, and yet even though I just finished it, I can't for the life of me remember all of my opinions. (I should have taken better notes.) For me, the characters were written really well, very distinct voices and clear transitions from one POV to the next, but I never really felt a connection--between the characters and myself as well as between the characters themselves--or even really liked them all that much. Their narratives were also quite repetitive and I'd get bored easily after certain comments kept making appearances, namely Ben's guilt and Lala's family ties and logistics of how they operated in their daily lives. Secondly, this novel doesn't take place over an entire summer, rather a couple of days, and so we're talking crazy insta-love that somehow doesn't end up in a happily ever after??? Which, I guess I both appreciated--because, hello, real life talk--and felt disappointed in, mostly because he was ready to give up everything he'd ever worked toward his whole life to be with her and she'd given up her family and entire way of life only to decide that she wanted to spread her wings and be free of all the guys and commitments. I just...I don't know, man. It felt oddly lackluster, but a little refreshing. (Talk about conflicting emotions, huh? I got them by bucketloads a'plenty with this one.) Lastly, I feel like this book tried and failed to tackle way too many subjects. There was the town closing, Ben's younger brother was gay and they were just touching on that, Lala was unsatisfied with her life and impending nuptials, the forbidden love, Burning Man festivities, fraying friendships, relationships, families, epic douche showdowns, and then all the self-reflecting and discovering themselves that our two narrators do and go through. It was just so much that I don't feel like the author was able to focus clearly on each topic to give it the time and attention it deserved. Yet, I do want to comment on how together Ben's little brother was and how confident he was with who he was and what he wanted from life, and I loved that. Loved him. Go James, you little cute badass rockstar! (But he's only 12 and seemed to have more together than anyone else in the novel, so...) Lastly, the ending was wide-assed open. I can handle a few bows left flapping in the wind, untied, but there were ribbons and strings dangling all over the place with this one. Perhaps it was meant to be left open in case she ever decided to show what journey awaited these two and if they'd ever find their way back to each other, but as it stands now, I just would have liked a fraction of some type of definitive closure.

♥ Teaser Quote:

I think often there is no good way out of something. No nice, easy ending or neat resolution, no clear way to set things right. That works in stories, in children's fairy tales, but not in real life.

Not everything can be fixed. And perhaps not everything should be.
~quote taken from the eARC of Burning at 99%

♥ Rec it? Maybe? I don't know, really, because I can see the argument for either side- find reasons why people will like it-maybe even love it-and why others would hate it. I guess it's a matter of personal preference, and if you find that yours have matched similarly with mine before, I'd have to say I would skip this. I left this novel feeling quite apathetic and like it just wasn't my cup of tea. But perhaps this was just the wrong book on the wrong day and had my mood been different, who knows how differently this review of mine would read.

♥ A very special thanks to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

[BookHookup · Rating 3 out of 5]

The original review of this title can be found here on The Book Hookup.

Christina's Review:

**Disclaimer:** An eARC of these title was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. However, that did not influence this review in any way. All thoughts, quotes, and opinions will be of this version and not of the published edition.

♥ Quick Thoughts and Rating: Actual rating of 2.5 stars! I'm not sure what I expected to read before opening this book, but I know with a certainty that it wasn't what I actually read. Burning wasn't a terrible book by any means, however I didn't find it highly compelling either. Perhaps it just didn't speak to me, didn't resonate with me, like it seemed to do with the many other readers that rated it much higher than myself.

♥ The Lowdown: It's clearly detailed in the summary above. But, if you're needing it from me...

Ben, a small town guy whose community livelihood is being called to a halt after the housing market crashed and the corporate crooks that own his little town is shutting down the mines and giving everyone the boot so they can board the small town of nearly five hundred up for good. But Ben has always been running toward something, or away from it depending on the viewpoint, and that has landed him with a track scholarship at a California university, away from everything he's ever known, his family and two best friends included.

Lala is a gypsy girl from a gypsy family that takes pride in traditions handed down for generations that trace all the way back to Europe. She's faithful to her family and loyal to her obligations, even the ones that state she's to be married in a couple of weeks, just a day after her eighteenth birthday, to a guy that her parents arranged for her. She used to feel comfort in knowing her place in her family and with her people, what her future held, but now that the window of being her own person is narrowing, she's finding that her once hopeful future comes with a weight she isn't sure she wants to shoulder.

So, when her brother-in-law suggests that try their hand at the girls reading fortunes outside the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert, her path crosses with Ben, and both of their lives change from a single set of tarot cards and one interaction.

♥ Review: So, let's be honest, I requested this novel because A) the cover is just really freaking pretty, and B) it had a description of "a sizzling love story between a small-town boy, a Gypsy girl and the summer that changes them forever" on NetGalley, and I wanted to be all over that. However, this was just one of those novels that slipped through the cracks and a lot of time has passed since 2013, but here we are now and I've finally finished it. I guess I want to somewhat preface this next part of my review by saying this likely won't be in depth or passionate because I generally find it extremely difficult to review titles that fall around the 3-star range. Typically, I feel totally indifferent about them, meaning there wasn't one or several things that tipped the scale one way or the other for better or worse, and that was very much the case with this novel. It seemed all my pros and cons balanced one another out, and I closed this novel feeling very "meh" about it, but I could see why others would possibly like it more (or really dislike it, too).

I guess the best I can do is touch on the highest and lowest points, and yet even though I just finished it, I can't for the life of me remember all of my opinions. (I should have taken better notes.) For me, the characters were written really well, very distinct voices and clear transitions from one POV to the next, but I never really felt a connection--between the characters and myself as well as between the characters themselves--or even really liked them all that much. Their narratives were also quite repetitive and I'd get bored easily after certain comments kept making appearances, namely Ben's guilt and Lala's family ties and logistics of how they operated in their daily lives. Secondly, this novel doesn't take place over an entire summer, rather a couple of days, and so we're talking crazy insta-love that somehow doesn't end up in a happily ever after??? Which, I guess I both appreciated--because, hello, real life talk--and felt disappointed in, mostly because he was ready to give up everything he'd ever worked toward his whole life to be with her and she'd given up her family and entire way of life only to decide that she wanted to spread her wings and be free of all the guys and commitments. I just...I don't know, man. It felt oddly lackluster, but a little refreshing. (Talk about conflicting emotions, huh? I got them by bucketloads a'plenty with this one.) Lastly, I feel like this book tried and failed to tackle way too many subjects. There was the town closing, Ben's younger brother was gay and they were just touching on that, Lala was unsatisfied with her life and impending nuptials, the forbidden love, Burning Man festivities, fraying friendships, relationships, families, epic douche showdowns, and then all the self-reflecting and discovering themselves that our two narrators do and go through. It was just so much that I don't feel like the author was able to focus clearly on each topic to give it the time and attention it deserved. Yet, I do want to comment on how together Ben's little brother was and how confident he was with who he was and what he wanted from life, and I loved that. Loved him. Go James, you little cute badass rockstar! (But he's only 12 and seemed to have more together than anyone else in the novel, so...) Lastly, the ending was wide-assed open. I can handle a few bows left flapping in the wind, untied, but there were ribbons and strings dangling all over the place with this one. Perhaps it was meant to be left open in case she ever decided to show what journey awaited these two and if they'd ever find their way back to each other, but as it stands now, I just would have liked a fraction of some type of definitive closure.

♥ Teaser Quote:

I think often there is no good way out of something. No nice, easy ending or neat resolution, no clear way to set things right. That works in stories, in children's fairy tales, but not in real life.

Not everything can be fixed. And perhaps not everything should be.
~quote taken from the eARC of Burning at 99%

♥ Rec it? Maybe? I don't know, really, because I can see the argument for either side- find reasons why people will like it-maybe even love it-and why others would hate it. I guess it's a matter of personal preference, and if you find that yours have matched similarly with mine before, I'd have to say I would skip this. I left this novel feeling quite apathetic and like it just wasn't my cup of tea. But perhaps this was just the wrong book on the wrong day and had my mood been different, who knows how differently this review of mine would read.

♥ A very special thanks to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The elusive 5-star rating. It's been a long time since I've given a book 5 stars (3 months, actually, The Sea of Tranquility) and I was craving a 5-star book. A totally "me" book where I could just completely lose myself. Burning is not a either of those things, but still I loved it.

There are two things in those book that are usually major turn-offs for me. First, dialect. Lala speaks very formal version of English (I think at one point Ben says something like she learned English from reading old books) that took me a while to settle into, but once I did, instead of being bothered by it, I completely loved it. Rather than distracting me I felt like it made Lala a more well-rounded character. It also really set her sections apart from Ben's.

Second, magic. Things like gypsies and fortune-tellers usually are in fairy-tales, they're things that I think most people today see as old-fashioned and magical. I'm not usually a fan of books about magic or books that are written in very fairy-tale-esque ways. But it really works here. And the reason that is, I think, is because there is this whimsical feeling, but the story and the situations are so rooted in reality.

Everything in this book feels so real. I loved the set up for Ben's town. The town, called Gypsum, was home to a gypsum mine, it was a mine town, so the mining company owned everything in the town. Gypsum, as I learned is used in making dry-wall for construction so while the American housing market boomed the town thrived, but with the recession gypsum isn't needed so the mining company shuts down the mine and the town. Literally everyone has to leave the town and a fence will be placed around it, sealing it off forever. I grew up on Long Island, there's no way you could ever just seal off a town on Long Island, it's unfathomable to me. The idea that Ben and all his friends are leaving their childhood home and will NEVER be able to return again is so heartbreaking. I absolutely loved this set up.

And Lala's family is so real, too. I admit I was really skeptical about what a modern day gypsy would be like. But I totally bought it. I want to do more research into modern day gypsies, but the culture described in the book actually reminded me a lot of Orthodox Jews: big families, specific rules for dress, women and men having very clear-cut roles, and separation from the rest of society. Maybe my familiarity with Orthodox Jewish culture made me more willing to accept that modren day Gypsy communities exist.

Let's get to the story, because it's pretty steller. The author does an amazing job of giving us background on both Lala (PS: What kind of name is that? Like the MTV DJ? The whole time I was reading I called her Leila.) and Ben. At times I thought there was too much background, after about 150 pages I was definitely anxious for the action to get started. But I think the background, even though there were some strange tangents, was worth it. I really felt like I knew Ben and Lala inside and out.

The sexual tension and attraction between Ben and Lala is done so well. It's probably some of the best chemistry I've come across. And I am usually more a fan of the slow-burn romance, but I thought this was just great. I also really loved how Lala calls him "Ben Stanley" in her head and even sometimes to his face. I love people when people's first and last names can go together like that. (I am so weird.)

Now for the bad. Part of me feels that Lala really did a complete 180 about her views on Gypsy culture. At the beginning of the book she was very proud and almost defensive about her people's customs and way of living, but halfway through the book she has all these reservations. I don't think Ben caused them all, I think they were there before and maybe the reason she was so defensive was because she was scared of this change that was occurring inside of her, but it still kind of bothered me. One more negative thing, I feel like Ben got the short end of the stick at the end of the book. The story ends on a Lala chapter, and it has to end on one of their chapters, but I really wanted to know how Ben felt about how things wrapped up. The ending was more like a book about Lala coming of age and discovering who she is (which it was), but it kind of totally cut out Ben's coming of age and discovering who he is.

But I also really loved the ending. I cried (because I liked it) and I thought it was perfect.

One last thing: Burning Man, the festival the book kind of revolves around, sounds like my idea of hell. It takes place in the boiling hot desert (I hate the heat), it's packed with people (I hate crowds), and the people who go sound like they're trying way too hard (Lala says how they're trying to act like Gypsies but fail miserably). But watching a giant wooden man burn does sound really cool.

Bottom Line: I absolutely loved this book. The story is so interesting and the set-up is unlike I've ever read before. The author spends a lot of time on background, which drove me a little nuts, but it was worth it to feel like I really knew the characters. And the chemistry between Ben and Lala was amazing, which made for a great romance.

[Tatiana]

Yeah, this hasn’t aged well.