Fires Burning Underground

by Nancy McCabe

It's Anny's first day of middle school and, after years of being homeschooled, her first day of public school ever. In art, Larissa asks what kind of ESP is her telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, or telekinesis? Tracy asks how she gay, straight, bi, asexual, pan, trans, or confused? And thus kicks off a school year for Anny in which she' ll navigate a path between childhood and adolescence, imagination and identity. In a year of turmoil and transition, with a new awareness of loss after the death of a friend, Anny struggles to find meaning in tragedy, to come to terms with her questions about her sexuality, and to figure out how to negotiate her own ever-shifting new friendships. And when her oldest friend's life is in danger, she must summon up her wits, imagination, and the ghosts that haunt her to save them both.

Genres: Middle Grade, Childrens

156 pages, Paperback

Published April 8, 2025

Reviews

[Carli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to @booksforwardpr for the advance copy of this book. It’s out on 4.8.25! All opinions are my own.
•
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. I like how this story is short but packs a lot in, and it is relatable for middle school students. Any starts public school after being homeschooled by her very conservative Christian parents. Now surrounded by a diverse population, she begins to wonder if maybe there is more than one “right” way when it comes to who she can be attracted to. In addition, a boy from her church died in a fire right before school started. In dealing with all this, she is looking for a best friend, someone to connect with in a way she can’t with her mother, who seems to simply parrot what she hears at church without really thinking about what she’s saying. I recommend this for school libraries serving readers in grades 6+.

[The Page Ladies Book Club · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fires Burning Underground is a thoughtful and relatable story about what it means to grow up. Between ghost stories, Ouija boards, shifting friendships, and big questions about who she really is, Anny is just trying to make sense of it all. Anny's character is real, funny, vulnerable, honest and you can’t help but root for her as she faces loss, change, and the awkwardness of growing up discovering who you are. McCabe does a beautiful job capturing the emotional rollercoaster of adolescence, making this a touching and memorable read that many young readers will be able to relate to. Thank you Books Forward PR and Nancy McCabe for sharing this book with me!

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

E ARC provided by the publisher

Anny starts middle school after years of being homeschooled. The transition goes fairly smoothly; she has a best friend, Ella, and makes new acquaintances in Tracy and Larissa. There are some bumps, like figuring out what to wear and how to navigate lockers and class changes. Anny is dealing with the death of a boy who went to her church, Robert, in a house fire. She didn't know him well, but suspected he might have had a crush on her. This is an odd thought, because she thinks that she might be gay. Since her family is very religious and her mother in particular has repeatedly opined that homosexuality is a sin and a choice that people make, Anny is very uncomfortable and doesn't know quite what to do with her feelings. She only knows at this point that she has no interest in discussing crushes on boys, and her friends are starting to notice. She and Larissa enjoy hanging out, and are obsessed with the Ouija board, which Anny's mother says could lead to demon possession, as well as ESP. They run experiments in school, trying to guess what the other is thinking, and are enthralled when a mind reader speaks at their school. They sometimes think about contacting Robert. While Anny and Larissa get along fairly well, they do have some miscommunication; when Anny becomes obsessed with replicating the pillow that she makes for Family and Consumer Science, with the idea of selling some of the 15 she creates at a craft fair, Larissa unkindly dismisses them, leading Anny to think that Larissa might like to control her a little too much. The two also plan a treasure hunt for Ella's birthday, which is an interesting idea that doesn't work out too well. Anny also isn't terribly supportive when Larissa has a crush on their art teacher. Robert's death hangs over Anny's thoughts for quite some time, which ends up being a good thing when Ella's house also catches fire, and Anny is able to stop her from going back into the house to get her dog. Anny's transition to public school, and her questioning of her sexual identity, sometimes causes difficulties, but she manages to navigate her new experiences fairly well.
Strengths: It is always interesting to see books that portray the transition from homeschooling to public school, and there aren't many of them. I appreciated that Anny had a close relationship with her parents, but didn't necessarily agree with their opinions. The friendships were realistically portrayed, as were the various tween obsessions. While there aren't a lot of fatal fires, there are a few; we lost a high schooler in my community several years ago, so it was interesting to see the effect on the community portrayed, and the fire safety tips were appreciated. Anny's questions about her own sexual identity will resonate with young readers who are trying to figure out their own.
Weaknesses: While there is no specification about when this book is set, it seems to be set in the early 2000s, maybe around 2005. There are a lot of cultural references like television shows and book series that would make most sense at that time, since there are also references to Facebook, Etsy, and texting. The obsession with ESP seemed like something more suited to the 1970s. However, there are discussions of terms relating to sexual identity (pan, ace, demisexual) that I don't know were in use twenty years ago, so I was a bit confused. Perhaps I missed something.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed Butler's Rabbit, Rabbit or Hitchcock's One True Way for the exploration of sexual identity, or Springstubb's How to Tell a True Story for discussions about the aftermath of a house fire.

[The Book Nerd's Corner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A middle grade novella featuring a young girl as she tackles middle school, her identity, and the everchanging friendships that she has found herself thrust in the middle of.

After being homeschooled her entire life, Anny is starting her first day of middle school. Not only is she adapting to a new school system, she is also learning to navigate teen drama, discover her sexual identity, and move on from the death of someone she knew. Many things can change over the course of a year, and Anny is about to discover some things aren't meant to stay the same.

For a novella, this middle grade story certainly packs a punch. It captures the nuances of tween drama, shifting relationships, and self-identity. Anny also deals with grief, fear of missing out, and the anxiety of being different than her peers. These are all things that most children go through in their adolescence, so these aspects of this book are on point.

In my opinion, this book is super "Are You There God? It's Me Margaret." coded. Anny's family is super religious, and she also questions elements of her faith. "Fires Burning Underground" really focuses on sexual identity, which is not a huge theme in Judy Blume's book. The scenes where the girls would have sleep overs had super similar vibes to Margaret's experiences; in many ways, it felt like this book was set in the seventies. The kids are addicted to ESP (extrasensory perception), technology was nearly nonexistent, and the entire town that Anny lived in felt rather old school. I'm not saying this is necessarily a bad thing, it just may not be the most accurate picture of most kids' experiences in this day and age.

I think my favorite part of this book is the intersection between sexual identity and religion. This is a topic that I always take interest in; I am passionate about supporting LGBTQIA+ rights (i.e. human rights). Living in a rural smallish town, I see my community constantly holding onto these outdated mindsets that divides humanity over issues that shouldn't even be others' concern. It makes me so sad that Anny's parents ignored her for several weeks just because she was *questioning* her identity. She's only twelve years old, and it breaks my heart that kids in the real world have to deal with these stresses on a daily basis. Also, shout-out for introducing all types of identities to children including demisexual and pansexual.

I really appreciate that McCabe allowed the page count to remain as short as it is. She wraps it up nicely as soon as she checks all the boxes that need to be checked. I would have been alarmed if this story drug on, so I'm glad that this one is a novella that introduces middle schoolers to many topics and prompts them to do more research on their own if their interest is piqued.

Quick note, there is a character who is oddly infatuated with one of her teachers in this book. I find this to be quite weird (especially because these kids are middle schoolers), but I've also lived through similar experiences with kids in my class, so I know this happens. The teacher has no part in this, so it's not creepy or weird, but it's definitely something I have to mention.

Overall, "Fires Burning Underground" is a middle grade novella that showcases how tough middle school can be. It tackles the complexities of many types of relationships, challenges outdated religious ideas, and captures the mischievous nature of young kids so well. It's definitely not a perfect book, but people are far from perfect, aren't they?

[Marian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won a copy of Fires Burning Underground from LibraryThing for review. Here's the review.

FBU and I had a bit of a weird start. I remember requesting it and thinking it'd be a pretty normal, straightforward book, all things considered. Then I got the copy in my hand and read the back synopsis and my brain went weird because for whatever reason, I thought this:
In art, Larissa asks what kind of ESP is her favorite: telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, or telekinesis? Tracy asks how she identifies: gay, straight, bi, asexual, pan, trans, or confused?
meant we'd be in an alternate reality where ESP is totally a normal thing and the identifying bit was also more normalized than it is now.

This is not that book, though I would dearly love to read that book.

As it is, Fires Burning Underground follows Anny (one of my quibbles is I hate this spelling) as she makes the leap from homeschooling to middle school. The transition from homeschool to 'regular' school's gotta be tough at any age but middle school? Sweet baby Zeus, that's tough.

Anny tries to make new friends and figure out who she is, all while realizing her parents may not be quite who she always thought they were. Pretty standard fare for a middle grade book, but FBU manages to nail the awkward adolescent anxiety to such a degree that I started to get flashbacks. Anny walks the line between lovably clueless and painfully awkward and you just want to give her a good hug and maybe get her to a decent therapist because she has questions and fears her parents are absolutely not equipped to deal with on their own.

There's a death that happens off page right as the book starts and the way it hangs overhead feels a little too realistic (in that Anny has no way to really deal with her feelings of wanting to talk about it and what it means and also feeling like maybe she's co-opting grief she's not entitled to) but it does mostly come together by the end of the book.

I waffled on how to rate this, as a lot of Anny's thoughts go in circles, so there's a fair amount of repetition, but it's also very true to life annnnnnnnnnd I'm not the target age. So I rounded up to four stars, since I think the people this is actually for will love it and it'll stick with them. As for Anny, I hope she finds more Ellas in her life as she grows older.

[Stephanie Tournas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short novel is a moving lo0k at a middle schooler’s self-discovery. Anny had always been homeschooled, so starting public middle school is a huge adjustment. And it comes at just the time when she starts wondering whether she likes girls or boys or…? Typical micro-aggressions abound in the cafeteria, like “That’s so gay!”, and even though she is an unknown at school, they contribute to her feelings of dread. Her very religious parents don’t help her feelings of isolation, since they have told her that she’s too smart to choose (sic) the gay “lifestyle.” When Anny meets Larissa, it feels like she has found a kindred spirit, someone who wants to be friends and not get into the confusing relationship game. Then Larissa wants to play the Ouija Board, and Anny is worried that her mother may be right; that the game can announce someone’s confusion over sexuality and invite demonic possession (really!)

It was hard to put down this coming of age story. It feels like the kids at school and even the bible-thumping parents were characterized honestly and with affection. Anny is a thoughtful kid who is just looking for her people. She wants to figure out her sexuality, but in her own time, without the quick labelling that tends to happen in middle school. You know things are going to work out for her when she has the epiphany that maybe her mom is wrong about gayness. Readers will love this moment of self awareness that helps her get through the drama about Larissa’s eventual flakiness and the other girls’ judginess. Kids will certainly identify with Anny’s feeling that she’s the only one who’s unsure of who they are. Her first person narration is a wonderful vehicle for getting into the mind of a 12-year old trying to figure things out. I love that, although the story is about figuring out who you are, another person doesn’t supply the answer. Anny reasons it out herself.

[Lonna Pierce · Rating 2 out of 5]

Short but intense, this story of a formerly homeschooled 7th grader starting public middle school is a stream of consciousness novel about her self-critical thoughts and ever-present worries. She’s confused by hot-and-cold friendships with boy-crazy Tracy and inconsistent Larissa. With Anny endlessly obsessing over failed conversations, it’s a frustrating if realistic read. The book opens with the tragic death of Robert, a boy her age she knows who went back into his burning house and succumbed, alongside his father, to smoke inhalation. Nightmares ensue. Larissa brings an Ouija board to a sleepover and more anxieties occur from Anny’s religious parents and her own concerns about communicating with spirits, the dead, etc. There are also frequent musings and mean-spirited teasing about sexual identities, shame, silent treatment, and lack of confidence. Phew! Not an easy read, but it does have a satisfying ending.

[Laurie Schneider · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author Nancy McCabe perfectly captures the emotional highs and lows of the middle-school years in FIRES BURNING UNDERGROUND. Seventh-grader Anny, formerly homeschooled, finds the social landscape of middle-school baffling and frustrating as she tries to make friends at a time when she herself is struggling to figure out who she is and how to discern between attraction and friendship. When a boy from church dies in a house fire, Anny fears his restless spirit is sending her messages through the Ouija board one of her new school friends convinced her to try. But are the messages coming from Robert or her own unquiet spirit? Amid the gossip and changing alliances, awkward school lunches and crushes, Anny proves to be far braver than she thinks, and finally, wise enough to grant herself the grace and time she needs to become her wonderful self.

[Griffin Wold · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute middle grade novel about exploring your identity and discovering who you are. It maintained my interest throughout the book, and overall had a good time with it. The blurb definitely didn't do the book justice.

I do wish however, that the book had been a little longer to allow for more character development. The characters (including the parents) were all really mean to each other, and had the book been a bit longer, it would have allowed for more growth in communication and the characters learning how to treat each other better.

[Patrick O'Dowd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fires Burning Underground by Nancy McCabe is a deeply thoughtful and compelling YA novel about navigating the tricky space between childhood and adolescence. Anny’s first year of public school is full of self-discovery, from grappling with her sexuality to dealing with the loss of a friend. McCabe beautifully captures the messiness of growing up, the confusion, and the hope. This story about identity, friendship, and resilience will stay with you long after you’ve finished. Highly recommend!

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story captured the angst of being an early teen, trying to figure out who you are in the world and struggling to create new, meaningful, relationships in a new school. I liked the setup of conflict with the parents, trying out new beliefs and thoughts that don't match parental expectations, then the eventual resolution. I expect that many will be able to relate to the shifting alligences of young girls on the brink of puberty.

[Cathlina Bergman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Middle grade book. Homeschool girl starts public middle school. (The wildest public middle school I've ever heard of: every kid has a shaved head or piercings. The school assembly brings in a mind reader.) A lot of friend drama that is very realistic!. I’m just not sure who the audience is. Content seems too mature for middle grades. Plenty of content to make parents nervous (ouija boards, LGBTQ, etc.). Almost more of an adult-looking-back reflection.

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anny is starting middle school after a lifetime of homeschooling, and all she wants is a best friend. This has a lot of ideas and a lot to say, but I feel like a lot of it got dropped--like the boy from church, her sexuality, etc. The bumpiness of not maturing emotionally as fast as peers felt right, but I'm not quite sure who the reader for this is in my community.

[Aspen James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed every second of this book, so much so that I finished it in one weekend. The pacing was perfect, the plot was light, yet emotional, and the ending was unexpected when it could’ve easily been a cliche.