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Burn Baby Burn
A Kirkus Prize Finalist * A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Nominee * A National Book Award Long List Selection * An American Library Association Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults Selection * A Booklist Editors’ Choice * A Horn Book Fanfare Selection * A Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Book of the Year *A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year * A BookPage Best Children’s Book of the Year
While violence runs rampant throughout New York, a teenage girl faces danger within her own home in Meg Medina's riveting coming-of-age novel.
Nora Lopez is seventeen during the infamous New York summer of 1977, when the city is besieged by arson, a massive blackout, and a serial killer named Son of Sam who shoots young women on the streets. Nora’s family life isn’t going so well either: her bullying brother, Hector, is growing more threatening by the day, her mother is helpless and falling behind on the rent, and her father calls only on holidays. All Nora wants is to turn eighteen and be on her own. And while there is a cute new guy who started working with her at the deli, is dating even worth the risk when the killer likes picking off couples who stay out too late? Award-winning author Meg Medina transports us to a time when New York seemed balanced on a knife-edge, with tempers and temperatures running high, to share the story of a young woman who discovers that the greatest dangers are often closer than we like to admit — and the hardest to accept.
310 pages, Hardcover
First published March 8, 2016
189 people are currently reading
7588 people want to read
About the author
Meg Medina
29 books683 followersMeg Medina served as the 2023-2024 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. She is the author of the Newbery Medal–winning book Merci Suárez Changes Gears, which was also a 2018 Kirkus Prize finalist, and which was followed by two more acclaimed books about the Suárez family: Merci Suárez Can’t Dance and Merci Suárez Plays It Cool. Her young adult novels include Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass, which won the 2014 Pura Belpré Author Award, and which was published in 2023 as a graphic novel illustrated by Mel Valentine Vargas; Burn Baby Burn, which was long-listed for the National Book Award; and The Girl Who Could Silence the Wind. She is also the author of picture books No More Señora Mimí / No más Señora Mimí, Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away / Evelyn del Rey se muda, illustrated by Sonia Sánchez, Jumpstart’s 2020 Read for the Record selection; Mango, Abuela, and Me, illustrated by Angela Dominguez, which was a Pura Belpré Author Award Honor Book; and Tía Isa Wants a Car, illustrated by Claudio Muñoz, which won the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award; and biographies for young readers She Persisted: Sonia Sotomayor and She Persisted: Pura Belpré, the latter with Marilisa Jiménez García.
The daughter of Cuban immigrants, she grew up in Queens, New York, and now lives in Richmond, Virginia.
The daughter of Cuban immigrants, she grew up in Queens, New York, and now lives in Richmond, Virginia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 947 reviews
September 13, 2024
The air is hot and even heavier than it should be in the summer of 1977. Heat seems to emanate from the streets of New York City. The collective tension of the people is palpable. The threat of the serial killer known as ‘Son of Sam’ hangs over everyone’s head.
Nora Lopez tries to ignore the utter madness of the outside world. She wants only to stick to the routine that’s yielded the best results for the latter part of her seventeen years. Working at Salerno’s deli, hanging with her best bud, Kathleen, and keeping her head down. Occasionally, hoping that things at home haven’t gotten worse.
Hope may spring eternal, but it’s not nearly enough to change her younger brother, Hector. Mami fully expects for Nora to keep her demon-spawn-sibling out of trouble. Without being tough on him. His senseless vandalism and pyromania tendencies are just symptoms of growing pains, after all.
Nora knew that Hector was into more than mischief, but even she was stunned to discover how devious and diabolical he really is. Misplaced responsibility moves everything in Nora’s life to the back-burner at first, but soon balloons out of control and becomes wholly consuming.
In a situation where there are options, but none of them are good and others are downright dangerous, Nora refuses to choose. Instead, she goes her own way, with an entirely unexpected, brilliantly brave action. Maybe that is one small fire, extinguished. Or perhaps she’s only fanned the flames and is about to be engulfed in an inferno.
I read Ms. Medina’s Burn Baby Burn a few years ago and I absolutely loved it. I didn’t review it then because I was too affected to articulate all of the reasons I wanted everyone else to read it, too. In spite of how much time has passed and how many other books I’ve read, parts of Nora’s story continue to pop into my head. I recently re-read it and realized that I would be remiss if I did not (finally) take the time to properly recommend this historical fiction phenomenon.
This review was written for Buried Under Books by jv poore.
Nora Lopez tries to ignore the utter madness of the outside world. She wants only to stick to the routine that’s yielded the best results for the latter part of her seventeen years. Working at Salerno’s deli, hanging with her best bud, Kathleen, and keeping her head down. Occasionally, hoping that things at home haven’t gotten worse.
Hope may spring eternal, but it’s not nearly enough to change her younger brother, Hector. Mami fully expects for Nora to keep her demon-spawn-sibling out of trouble. Without being tough on him. His senseless vandalism and pyromania tendencies are just symptoms of growing pains, after all.
Nora knew that Hector was into more than mischief, but even she was stunned to discover how devious and diabolical he really is. Misplaced responsibility moves everything in Nora’s life to the back-burner at first, but soon balloons out of control and becomes wholly consuming.
In a situation where there are options, but none of them are good and others are downright dangerous, Nora refuses to choose. Instead, she goes her own way, with an entirely unexpected, brilliantly brave action. Maybe that is one small fire, extinguished. Or perhaps she’s only fanned the flames and is about to be engulfed in an inferno.
I read Ms. Medina’s Burn Baby Burn a few years ago and I absolutely loved it. I didn’t review it then because I was too affected to articulate all of the reasons I wanted everyone else to read it, too. In spite of how much time has passed and how many other books I’ve read, parts of Nora’s story continue to pop into my head. I recently re-read it and realized that I would be remiss if I did not (finally) take the time to properly recommend this historical fiction phenomenon.
This review was written for Buried Under Books by jv poore.
February 25, 2022
Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medina is a 2016 Candlewick Press publication.
This book has been on and off my TBR list for a long time. The main reason I waffled on it was the YA label attached to it, but I kept coming back to it because of the era of time the story is set in, and the serial killer theme running in the background.
The story is set in New York in 1977. That summer was insane- boiling hot with blackouts and the infamous 'Son of Sam' serial killer terrorizing the city. It is against this backdrop that seventeen-year-old Nora Lopez navigates her last year of high school, living with a highly dysfunctional family. With her parents now divorced, Nora’s mother, a Cuban immigrant, makes all males into authority figures, even her own son, Hector, who has turned to drug dealing and theft, turning violent towards his own family.
Nora’s father is too busy with his new family to check in and needs to be reminded to send child support.
Meanwhile, Nora spends time with her best friend, begins dating a nice guy, holds down a part-time job and applies to get into college, all while looking out for Hector, and scrounging for her meals, as her mother faces cutbacks at work.
As Hector increasingly spirals out of control, Nora struggles to survive in the gritty, dog eat dog environment of a city in the grips of violence and terror.
While I lived far from New York in 1977, this book reminded me of the news segments I watched which followed the tension of those times. Son of Sam was a truly terrifying killer and had the entire city on edge. But that’s not all that was going on back then and the author did a great job of recreating that atmosphere. I also got a kick out the brand names and music mentioned in the story. Anyone else remember Sassoon jeans?
The story is not really about Son of Sam- for the record. It’s a story of a teenage girl on the cusp of adulthood, who must work to keep herself from falling into a vicious cycle. She must stand up for herself, against those who would rather keep her from succeeding, and fight to make it out of a toxic environment to have a better life for herself. I’m glad I ultimately decided to give the book a chance. While it is a YA novel to the extent that teenage Nora is the main character, it is really a book I feel is just as much, if not more so, for adults. The author still takes pains to keep the book in the right lane without sacrificing the dark and gritty tones.
Overall, this was a good book, with well-drawn characterizations and a positive, inspirational ending.
3.5 rounded up
This book has been on and off my TBR list for a long time. The main reason I waffled on it was the YA label attached to it, but I kept coming back to it because of the era of time the story is set in, and the serial killer theme running in the background.
The story is set in New York in 1977. That summer was insane- boiling hot with blackouts and the infamous 'Son of Sam' serial killer terrorizing the city. It is against this backdrop that seventeen-year-old Nora Lopez navigates her last year of high school, living with a highly dysfunctional family. With her parents now divorced, Nora’s mother, a Cuban immigrant, makes all males into authority figures, even her own son, Hector, who has turned to drug dealing and theft, turning violent towards his own family.
Nora’s father is too busy with his new family to check in and needs to be reminded to send child support.
Meanwhile, Nora spends time with her best friend, begins dating a nice guy, holds down a part-time job and applies to get into college, all while looking out for Hector, and scrounging for her meals, as her mother faces cutbacks at work.
As Hector increasingly spirals out of control, Nora struggles to survive in the gritty, dog eat dog environment of a city in the grips of violence and terror.
While I lived far from New York in 1977, this book reminded me of the news segments I watched which followed the tension of those times. Son of Sam was a truly terrifying killer and had the entire city on edge. But that’s not all that was going on back then and the author did a great job of recreating that atmosphere. I also got a kick out the brand names and music mentioned in the story. Anyone else remember Sassoon jeans?
The story is not really about Son of Sam- for the record. It’s a story of a teenage girl on the cusp of adulthood, who must work to keep herself from falling into a vicious cycle. She must stand up for herself, against those who would rather keep her from succeeding, and fight to make it out of a toxic environment to have a better life for herself. I’m glad I ultimately decided to give the book a chance. While it is a YA novel to the extent that teenage Nora is the main character, it is really a book I feel is just as much, if not more so, for adults. The author still takes pains to keep the book in the right lane without sacrificing the dark and gritty tones.
Overall, this was a good book, with well-drawn characterizations and a positive, inspirational ending.
3.5 rounded up
April 15, 2018
***NO SPOILERS***
Burn Baby Burn promises to be not just any young-adult tale. No, this one is set against New York’s worst summer: 1977, when Son of Sam was on a killing spree. It’s an exciting angle--except it takes a back seat to other big issues.
Medina’s goal was to bring this terrifying time to vivid life by depicting likable teen narrator Nora Lopez living amidst this chaos (with some notable adjustments to her normal routine to ensure her safety). It’s unfortunate, therefore, that the Son of Sam angle is weak, never feeling terribly threatening. Nora finds herself in unsafe situations plenty of times. Clearly, Medina was going for the highest level of suspense, but at no time does Son of Sam feel like he’s just a hair’s breadth away. Medina could have worked some real magic here, mixing nonfiction with fiction, putting Nora at the scene of one of the crimes and making Son of Sam more of a character, but alas; this is no young-adult combined with a generous dash of crime-thriller.
This is decidedly young-adult, and what’s given the most attention is the narrator’s sweet romantic relationship and her struggles at home with her mom and brother Hector. Burn Baby Burn does go deep by touching on the issue of race, but that’s very much only touched upon, an opportunity squandered when the narrator is Hispanic.
The book does a much better job portraying the hardship of life in a poor and dysfunctional family. The mother character is well-drawn as a scared, helpless figure who expects her daughter to act as mother to combative Hector, who’s also very well-drawn. The hopelessness and fear in this little family is palpable.
It’s odd, then, that Burn Baby Burn ends the way it does. For a story rife with so much worry, pain, fear, and sadness, how Medina wrapped it up is ludicrous. Here she wrote something that’s very much grounded in hardcore, ugly reality but ended it all on a happily-ever-after note. The result is a story that’s not nearly as powerful as Medina was aiming for.
If read for its characters and not for any thrills, this is an engaging story. The situations and real-world conflicts feel real and honest. The characters have chemistry and are enjoyable to read about. It’s particularly heartwarming to see a lifelong friendship portrayed, as with Nora and her childhood friend. The romance is functional and realistic.
The Son of Sam storyline has nothing at all to do with any of this. That’s a separate story that Medina tried to mesh with Nora’s, to give Nora’s more edge, to educate her readers, to bring 1977 more to life. The real star of this book is Nora, and it should be read to know her.
NOTE: I received this as an Advanced Reader Copy from LibraryThing in January 2016.
Burn Baby Burn promises to be not just any young-adult tale. No, this one is set against New York’s worst summer: 1977, when Son of Sam was on a killing spree. It’s an exciting angle--except it takes a back seat to other big issues.
Medina’s goal was to bring this terrifying time to vivid life by depicting likable teen narrator Nora Lopez living amidst this chaos (with some notable adjustments to her normal routine to ensure her safety). It’s unfortunate, therefore, that the Son of Sam angle is weak, never feeling terribly threatening. Nora finds herself in unsafe situations plenty of times. Clearly, Medina was going for the highest level of suspense, but at no time does Son of Sam feel like he’s just a hair’s breadth away. Medina could have worked some real magic here, mixing nonfiction with fiction, putting Nora at the scene of one of the crimes and making Son of Sam more of a character, but alas; this is no young-adult combined with a generous dash of crime-thriller.
This is decidedly young-adult, and what’s given the most attention is the narrator’s sweet romantic relationship and her struggles at home with her mom and brother Hector. Burn Baby Burn does go deep by touching on the issue of race, but that’s very much only touched upon, an opportunity squandered when the narrator is Hispanic.
The book does a much better job portraying the hardship of life in a poor and dysfunctional family. The mother character is well-drawn as a scared, helpless figure who expects her daughter to act as mother to combative Hector, who’s also very well-drawn. The hopelessness and fear in this little family is palpable.
It’s odd, then, that Burn Baby Burn ends the way it does. For a story rife with so much worry, pain, fear, and sadness, how Medina wrapped it up is ludicrous. Here she wrote something that’s very much grounded in hardcore, ugly reality but ended it all on a happily-ever-after note. The result is a story that’s not nearly as powerful as Medina was aiming for.
If read for its characters and not for any thrills, this is an engaging story. The situations and real-world conflicts feel real and honest. The characters have chemistry and are enjoyable to read about. It’s particularly heartwarming to see a lifelong friendship portrayed, as with Nora and her childhood friend. The romance is functional and realistic.
The Son of Sam storyline has nothing at all to do with any of this. That’s a separate story that Medina tried to mesh with Nora’s, to give Nora’s more edge, to educate her readers, to bring 1977 more to life. The real star of this book is Nora, and it should be read to know her.
NOTE: I received this as an Advanced Reader Copy from LibraryThing in January 2016.
May 8, 2017
HELLO FROM THE CRACKS IN THE SIDE-
WALKS OF NYC AND FROM THE ANTS
THAT DWELL IN THESE CRACKS AND
FEED IN THE DRIED BLOOD OF THE DEAD
THAT HAS SETTLED INTO THE CRACKS.
( Poem sent to the New York Daily News by Son of Sam)
I was close to Nora López's age in 1977, though tucked away as I was in a Pennsylvania suburb, the Son of Sam murders seemed a world away. For 17-year-old Queens resident, Nora, the shootings might easily be happening on the very street where she lives. And, considering the killer has a penchant for girls with long, dark hair, Nora is terrified to go out at night.
"What if he's out there?" Kathleen says suddenly, which surprises me. Where's her safety-in-numbers theory?
Eddie puffs himself up. "I'll protect you." He puts his arm around Kathleen's shoulder, but she hardly looks comforted.
"Your chest deflects bullets?" I ask him.
Nora doesn't seem to realize that the real threat to her well being lies within her own household - her violent, and increasingly volatile, younger brother.
Though the story looms large in the background, this isn't really a book about the Son of Sam killings - for that, look to Jimmy Breslin's .44. Instead, we have the story of an unforgettable senior year in the life of one urban teenage girl . . . and I liked it way more than I thought I would.
With no money saved up for college, the future is looking bleak for Nora after graduation. Her father is out of the picture, spending all his time with his second family. Her mother holds down a manufacturing job that could disappear at any moment. And, her unstable brother looks to be headed for prison. Luckily, her best friend lives nearby, several of her teachers believe in her, and then there's a budding romance with a new guy at the deli where she works part-time.
If only there wasn't the constant worry over the murders . . .
As Sam played his games with the NYPD, summer roared in, and the temperatures begin to rise. Things came to a head in mid-July when a blackout hit the city, resulting in widespread looting and arson.
Medina made a bold choice by placing her character in the midst of the panic that occurred that night, and it paid off in a well written, compelling scene that moves the story to an inevitable conclusion. The book wraps up rather quickly after this. We all know that David Berkowitz is caught; I like that Nora is disappointed when the monster is unmasked - . . . just a paunchy mail clerk with frizzy hair and girlish lips. Still, in a wise-beyond-her-years statement, she manages to correlate the Sam story with her own life - Maybe the things that scare us seem more powerful that they truly are when we keep them secret.
This was an interesting read for me - an old lady revisiting some of her formative years. The book will be going on our young adult shelf at the local library, and I'll be curious to see what some actual young adults think of it. Who knows - maybe they won't read it. Maybe it'll become a cult favorite with old broads like me. Whatever happens, it deserves to be read.
Whew!
I have now exorcised my disco demons. Let's hope I'll be able to get Disco Inferno out of my head.
Burn that mother down!
March 31, 2016
3.5 stars
Latina main character, troubled family, romance, feminist movement, disco, 70s New York, a serial killer, a blackout, fires.
This is a perfectly fine YA novel that hits all the right buttons and checks all the right boxes and teaches all the right lessons (hence, I guess, 4 starred reviews in major publications). The family part was probably the most interesting to me.
However, this is not the kind of book that I would ever be compelled to read again. No aspect of it was truly memorable.
Latina main character, troubled family, romance, feminist movement, disco, 70s New York, a serial killer, a blackout, fires.
This is a perfectly fine YA novel that hits all the right buttons and checks all the right boxes and teaches all the right lessons (hence, I guess, 4 starred reviews in major publications). The family part was probably the most interesting to me.
However, this is not the kind of book that I would ever be compelled to read again. No aspect of it was truly memorable.
Read
December 8, 2015I try not to read books too ahead of their publishing date because then I’m shouting at people that they have to read a book that they have to wait to read BUT this book had too many boxes checked off for me that I couldn’t wait. I tried and failed, especially after doing the just-one-page because I ended up not being able to stop turning the pages. I was hooked from the beginning with Nora, a high school senior about to graduate, living in New York during the summer of Sam (1977). And while there’s a serial killer on the loose outside (killing girls with long brown hair like Nora’s) at home Nora is dealing with her younger brother’s violent/pyromaniac behavior and her mother’s refusal to accept how bad things have gotten which leaves her no place to feel safe. This was such a great coming-of-age story perfectly set during one of the scariest times in New York city history. — Jamie Canaves
from The Best Books We Read In November: http://bookriot.com/2015/11/30/riot-r...
from The Best Books We Read In November: http://bookriot.com/2015/11/30/riot-r...
March 15, 2018
I loved this book.
Read
December 7, 2015I'm not usually a fan of New York novels. I think for the most part they reach a really niche market. Medina, though, takes this in a place that made me really invested, as it's about the historical summer of 1977 when the city was burning and a serial killer named Son of Sam is on the loose. Nora, our narrator, is Latina, and her best friend is a white girl. Both of them are deeply invested in feminism, but what Medina does is offer a look at the ways feminism isn't necessarily inclusive, either in the late 70s or now. It's smart in the approach.
But the thing that kept me reading was Nora's family. Her younger brother Hector is getting himself in trouble, and their mother doesn't seem to care. She's doting on him, rather than looking at the problems he's facing. But when he becomes criminal in a way that she can't deny anymore, things fall even harder on Nora for not speaking up more when she had the chance. It's nuanced and thought-provoking, with a side of a deadbeat father that resonated in a hard way for me.
There aren't many YA books set in this time period, and Medina adds a really great one here.
But the thing that kept me reading was Nora's family. Her younger brother Hector is getting himself in trouble, and their mother doesn't seem to care. She's doting on him, rather than looking at the problems he's facing. But when he becomes criminal in a way that she can't deny anymore, things fall even harder on Nora for not speaking up more when she had the chance. It's nuanced and thought-provoking, with a side of a deadbeat father that resonated in a hard way for me.
There aren't many YA books set in this time period, and Medina adds a really great one here.
March 17, 2016
When I heard of this book, I was very eager to read it. Hey, I was around during this time, 1977, and living in Philadelphia, and remember the news and the terrifying environment created by the Son of Sam murders. I wanted to read how author Meg Medina covered that time period.
As I started this book, I was caught realizing the main character, Nora Lopez, was a teenage girl of seventeen, almost eighteen, and Nora was realizing some very hard truths. My first reaction was "oh, great, a young adult book!" I don't hate YA but I don't read very many YA books. This book is described as historical fiction and in the end, that was very true. Author Meg Medina did capture the times very well. A time where young couples became afraid to be out after dark. A time when young women with long dark hair wanted to hide their hair. And, yes, there was a stray dog in the neighborhood. Again, an excellent capturing of that summer.
I originally gave this book 4 stars because I didn't want to like it but after pondering this story for awhile, the truth is I really enjoyed it. And a nod to the author who at the end in the author's note states she was not out to exploit the victims and their families with this novel, congratulations to you. Highly recommend!
As I started this book, I was caught realizing the main character, Nora Lopez, was a teenage girl of seventeen, almost eighteen, and Nora was realizing some very hard truths. My first reaction was "oh, great, a young adult book!" I don't hate YA but I don't read very many YA books. This book is described as historical fiction and in the end, that was very true. Author Meg Medina did capture the times very well. A time where young couples became afraid to be out after dark. A time when young women with long dark hair wanted to hide their hair. And, yes, there was a stray dog in the neighborhood. Again, an excellent capturing of that summer.
I originally gave this book 4 stars because I didn't want to like it but after pondering this story for awhile, the truth is I really enjoyed it. And a nod to the author who at the end in the author's note states she was not out to exploit the victims and their families with this novel, congratulations to you. Highly recommend!
October 19, 2016
Read for the second time. Enjoyed it even more this go around. While I found the historical setting interesting, what I enjoyed most were the characters--complex and honest.
October 2, 2018
Going into this, I wasn't sure what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised. The thriller element wasn't as stone as I'd hoped it would be but that ended up not to matter. It was the characters, their relationships, their private lives and uncertainty of it all that had me totally hooked. I really enjoy each character and thought the different levels of relationships portrayed throughout were so interesting to follow and to be a part of. I loved the scope of different topics this book discussed. From race, to love, to family, murder, to friendships, to poverty, it had it all and more and neither subject was neglected or smoothed over. Overall this was an enjoyable reading experience of a story I hadn't expected.
September 11, 2020
I liked this book. It takes place in New York during 1977: Son of Sam is killing innocent couples; a power outage leads to looting and rioting; New York City faced a record number of homicides. This is the year Nora graduates and figures out what to do with her life.
Her mother gets laid off and her brother, Hector, is getting mixed up in all the wrong things. Nora is expected to pick up more shifts at the store where she works and help to keep her brother in line (she's the older sister after all). A new college student, Pablo, gets hired at the store and now Nora has to add romance to the mix of her tumultuous year.
I like the many pop culture references in the book (Freddie Prinze - Chico and the Man) and the way Medina weaves the Son of Sam murders into the narrative. They provide road signs for the narrative, but they are not intrusive.
I've had the pleasure of meeting Meg Medina and she signed this copy for my daughter. I definitely want to check out more of her books now.
Her mother gets laid off and her brother, Hector, is getting mixed up in all the wrong things. Nora is expected to pick up more shifts at the store where she works and help to keep her brother in line (she's the older sister after all). A new college student, Pablo, gets hired at the store and now Nora has to add romance to the mix of her tumultuous year.
I like the many pop culture references in the book (Freddie Prinze - Chico and the Man) and the way Medina weaves the Son of Sam murders into the narrative. They provide road signs for the narrative, but they are not intrusive.
I've had the pleasure of meeting Meg Medina and she signed this copy for my daughter. I definitely want to check out more of her books now.
July 5, 2017
It was OK, I guess? I expected more fire, given the title. Burn Baby Burn is more of a slow simmer, though, without much payoff. I sped through it in an afternoon, and while it was not a bad book with which to pass the time sitting outside, it also wasn’t too remarkable.
There were a few places that Meg Medina made me angry—in a good way. It’s 1977. Nora Lopez is 17, and when she should be thinking about life after high school, she is instead forced to hold her family together. Her mother is on the brink of losing her job at a packaging tape factory; she also can’t control Nora’s younger brother, Hector. He’s getting involved with the criminal element, doing and even dealing drugs. Nora’s mother turns to Nora—the good daughter, the obedient daughter, the daughter who speaks English—both to “support” Hector and intercede on the family’s behalf with the various English-speaking authorities. Nora is tired, understandably, of all this weight on her shoulders; she really just wants to save up her money so she can find a place of her own, and maybe date the hot new guy her boss hired to stock shelves and clean.
Medina’s portrayal of Nora’s family, and in particular Nora’s relationship with her mother, angered me. I was just so uncomfortable with the way her mother inveigled her into doing things her mother should be doing. As someone who was lucky enough to grow up with supportive, progressive parents, I haven’t lived Nora’s experience—but Medina’s portrayal seems to capture, as far as I can tell from my perspective, how a teenage girl might react in this situation. Nora loves her family and wants to support them, but she also has her own dreams and goals. The tension between these states is almost viscerally painful here, particularly as we approach the climax and the questions of arson, looting, and rioting come to the forefront.
Perhaps my lack of enthusiasm also stems from having watched The Get Down, which just seems to show 1977 New York City to a much better degree. Medina tries to capture the spirit of the year (which, at only 27 years old, I never witnessed myself). But we never really see that much beyond the narrow slice of people Nora interacts with. And most of the characters beyond Nora herself seem very flat, undergoing little in the way of character development throughout the book.
The ending is also particularly unsatisfying. After a dramatic, almost violent confrontation that threatens to blow apart Nora’s family, Medina wraps everything up and puts a bow on it. While there are no promises, the resolution is unusually simple considering the complexity of Nora’s situation. Don’t get me wrong—I’m not looking for a sad ending here, because we need stories about teenagers in poverty and teenagers of colour who get happy endings. It’s just discordant, given what happens to Nora, that everything comes together so neatly for her.
The romance in Burn Baby Burn is … OK, I guess? It has some subtlety to it; I appreciate how Medina has Nora articulate her sexual desire but remain wary of fooling around with Pablo until she gets to know him better, thanks to her past experiences. I like that both of them make mistakes and assumptions. They act like two teenagers trying to figure one another out, or at least this is what I would think it’s like. Yet, as with other aspects of the story, nothing about the romance really stands out.
Burn Baby Burn tries to be a character-driven novel for a YA audience. It succeeds, in the sense that it meets this definition. But aside from my reaction to Nora’s relationship with her mother, I didn’t get riled up or passionate about this story. It didn’t stir my emotions or speak to me. While I can’t claim it will be like this for everyone—maybe you’ll love it—my experience was decidedly lukewarm. It’s well-written, but it’s just not very memorable.
There were a few places that Meg Medina made me angry—in a good way. It’s 1977. Nora Lopez is 17, and when she should be thinking about life after high school, she is instead forced to hold her family together. Her mother is on the brink of losing her job at a packaging tape factory; she also can’t control Nora’s younger brother, Hector. He’s getting involved with the criminal element, doing and even dealing drugs. Nora’s mother turns to Nora—the good daughter, the obedient daughter, the daughter who speaks English—both to “support” Hector and intercede on the family’s behalf with the various English-speaking authorities. Nora is tired, understandably, of all this weight on her shoulders; she really just wants to save up her money so she can find a place of her own, and maybe date the hot new guy her boss hired to stock shelves and clean.
Medina’s portrayal of Nora’s family, and in particular Nora’s relationship with her mother, angered me. I was just so uncomfortable with the way her mother inveigled her into doing things her mother should be doing. As someone who was lucky enough to grow up with supportive, progressive parents, I haven’t lived Nora’s experience—but Medina’s portrayal seems to capture, as far as I can tell from my perspective, how a teenage girl might react in this situation. Nora loves her family and wants to support them, but she also has her own dreams and goals. The tension between these states is almost viscerally painful here, particularly as we approach the climax and the questions of arson, looting, and rioting come to the forefront.
Perhaps my lack of enthusiasm also stems from having watched The Get Down, which just seems to show 1977 New York City to a much better degree. Medina tries to capture the spirit of the year (which, at only 27 years old, I never witnessed myself). But we never really see that much beyond the narrow slice of people Nora interacts with. And most of the characters beyond Nora herself seem very flat, undergoing little in the way of character development throughout the book.
The ending is also particularly unsatisfying. After a dramatic, almost violent confrontation that threatens to blow apart Nora’s family, Medina wraps everything up and puts a bow on it. While there are no promises, the resolution is unusually simple considering the complexity of Nora’s situation. Don’t get me wrong—I’m not looking for a sad ending here, because we need stories about teenagers in poverty and teenagers of colour who get happy endings. It’s just discordant, given what happens to Nora, that everything comes together so neatly for her.
The romance in Burn Baby Burn is … OK, I guess? It has some subtlety to it; I appreciate how Medina has Nora articulate her sexual desire but remain wary of fooling around with Pablo until she gets to know him better, thanks to her past experiences. I like that both of them make mistakes and assumptions. They act like two teenagers trying to figure one another out, or at least this is what I would think it’s like. Yet, as with other aspects of the story, nothing about the romance really stands out.
Burn Baby Burn tries to be a character-driven novel for a YA audience. It succeeds, in the sense that it meets this definition. But aside from my reaction to Nora’s relationship with her mother, I didn’t get riled up or passionate about this story. It didn’t stir my emotions or speak to me. While I can’t claim it will be like this for everyone—maybe you’ll love it—my experience was decidedly lukewarm. It’s well-written, but it’s just not very memorable.
July 2, 2016
4.5 stars but worth rounding up - an ambitious project, really well done. I'd love some teen feedback on this one - recent historical fiction / coming-of-age stories can be a tough sell sometimes, and I wonder if this one might have more adult-recommending-to-teens appeal than teens gravitating to it on their own.
Especially strong: the narrative voice kept solidly to Nora's relatively innocent perspective without feeling like it was talking down.
Especially strong: the narrative voice kept solidly to Nora's relatively innocent perspective without feeling like it was talking down.
Read
February 12, 2017This is sooooo much better than Yaqui Delgado. Also, it's just good. A great example of how people of color can exist in ALL historical fiction, not just Issue Books, and it also gets points for being about kids who may or may not go to college, but it's not guaranteed--AND that doesn't make you an underachiever, a loser, or unintelligent. This book is a great way to upset most socioeconomics narratives in YA.
March 31, 2016
Grade: D
One Word: Bleak
Nora eagerly anticipates graduating from high school and moving out of the apartment she shares with her abusive brother and ineffectual, depressed mother. Son of Sam is on the loose, arsons burn buildings too close to home and money for rent and food is scarce. A new love interest and her supportive best friend give Nora some respite from her dismal home life and lack of support from her parents.
I was a teenager in 1977 and remember the hunt for Son of Sam, but I grew up middle in a small town and never had Nora's very real fears. I thought I would enjoy BURN BABY BURN more. It was a very slow read for me, mostly because I felt bored with the story. I almost DNF.
Positives:
-Diversity of race and socioeconomic class
-Pablo, Sal, Kathleen, Stiller and Kathleen's parents
-Feminism, ERA
-The accurate portrayal of sexism and sexual harassment
Negatives:
-Meg Medina seemed to throw in a lot of unnecessary references from the 70s. For instance, I never talked to my friends about Wella Balsam vs Prell shampoo.
-Hector and Mima were one dimensional characters
-Nora's passivity was understandable to a certain extent due to the era and culture, but I can't believe she would keep quiet about certain things.
-Even the "payoff" lacks luster
Medina isn't a bad writer, I enjoyed a lot of her sentences and phrases, but I didn't feel invested in Nora. I can understand keeping the abuse secret due to shame and lack of resources, but once Hector's behaviors began affecting others, I couldn't respect her silence.
THEMES: historical fiction, abuse, dating, diversity, friendship, family, coming of age
I can't think of a reason to recommend BURN BABY BURN.
One Word: Bleak
Nora eagerly anticipates graduating from high school and moving out of the apartment she shares with her abusive brother and ineffectual, depressed mother. Son of Sam is on the loose, arsons burn buildings too close to home and money for rent and food is scarce. A new love interest and her supportive best friend give Nora some respite from her dismal home life and lack of support from her parents.
I was a teenager in 1977 and remember the hunt for Son of Sam, but I grew up middle in a small town and never had Nora's very real fears. I thought I would enjoy BURN BABY BURN more. It was a very slow read for me, mostly because I felt bored with the story. I almost DNF.
Positives:
-Diversity of race and socioeconomic class
-Pablo, Sal, Kathleen, Stiller and Kathleen's parents
-Feminism, ERA
-The accurate portrayal of sexism and sexual harassment
Negatives:
-Meg Medina seemed to throw in a lot of unnecessary references from the 70s. For instance, I never talked to my friends about Wella Balsam vs Prell shampoo.
-Hector and Mima were one dimensional characters
-Nora's passivity was understandable to a certain extent due to the era and culture, but I can't believe she would keep quiet about certain things.
-Even the "payoff" lacks luster
Medina isn't a bad writer, I enjoyed a lot of her sentences and phrases, but I didn't feel invested in Nora. I can understand keeping the abuse secret due to shame and lack of resources, but once Hector's behaviors began affecting others, I couldn't respect her silence.
THEMES: historical fiction, abuse, dating, diversity, friendship, family, coming of age
I can't think of a reason to recommend BURN BABY BURN.
September 29, 2016
I really enjoyed this. I haven't read a whole lot of non-contemporary YA (or that isn't SF-Fantasy) and the setting in this is so strong and important it's almost a character on its own. I loved seeing blips of the women's movement through the eyes of Nora and Kathleen! Nora was a great character, and I'm glad I got the chance to see the world through her eyes - even when it was bleak. I wanted to give this book a hug when it was over. ❤️
This quote kind of says it all (from the Author's Note): "But for me, this novel is a celebration of people who find their strength even in the worst circumstances. I wrote this story because young people everywhere sometimes find that they have to fuel their hope against a bleak backdrop and outpourings of rage."
This quote kind of says it all (from the Author's Note): "But for me, this novel is a celebration of people who find their strength even in the worst circumstances. I wrote this story because young people everywhere sometimes find that they have to fuel their hope against a bleak backdrop and outpourings of rage."
June 16, 2018
What a great, compelling read! The characters and the setting are both so rich, with a plot that pulls you forward. I especially appreciated a straightforward and nuanced depiction of growing up with an abusive sibling.
September 15, 2016
One of the best YA novels I've ever read. Burn Baby Burn is on the National Book Award Long List and deserves to win. Review coming later.
November 3, 2018
This was an excellent story about a really rough time in New York’s history.
August 24, 2016
Meg Medina is one of my favorite YA authors writing today. I really, REALLY liked her book YAQUI DELGADO WANTS TO KICK YOUR ASS, and shout my love for it to the hills and any patron who will listen to me. So when I saw that Medina had written a new book called BURN BABY BURN and that it took place during the Summer of Son of Sam in Queens, New York, I ripped it off the shelf at work and hoarded it like dragon's gold.
Nora Lopez is starting out the last semester of high school, and she can't wait to turn eighteen and get out of her apartment. While she loves her friend Kathleen and does well in school, she's more focused on freedom from her mother and her brother Hector. Hector has been violently out of control for a long time, and her mother shifts from ignoring his problems to blaming Nora for not being a good big sister. Her father is far too occupied with his new family to be of any help. Nora feels trapped. When she meets Pedro at her job, she starts to think about the possibilities beyond just getting away. But there's a serial killer targeting couples in cars in New York, putting everyone on edge. As a hot, hot summer starts to arrive, tensions on Nora's home and in Queens itself start to boil over.
I had gone into this book thinking that it was going to be more of a focus on Son of Sam than it was, but even though it wasn't I still really liked BURN BABY BURN. Medina does a very good job of using the time and place to her advantage, as Nora is a teen girl on the edge of adulthood during a very tumultuous time for women and minorities in NYC. Using Summer of Sam as a time was great, because Nora is not only in fear of him, but more in fear of her brother Hector, whose violence is also unpredictable and intensely scary. Nora's struggle is also about loyalty to her family, as she loves her brother and mother, but also deeply resents them, and fears them, in Hector's case. Her mother comes from a culture where family and blood is everything and always first, but for Nora that is putting both their lives in serious danger. Because Hector is dangerous, easily one of the scariest characters I've seen in a YA book. And Medina is also very good at making it clear that it isn't necessarily his fault that he's like this, that he may have just been born this way (the abnormal psych B.A. in me was thinking conduct disorder), which makes it all the more upsetting and scary. I had a hard time with Nora's mother too, whose loyalty to her son was constantly putting Nora in danger WHILE GUILTING HER FOR FEELING AFRAID, but this may very well be a cultural difference in how family is valued, so I did my very best not to be too judgmental. Nora was a very good protagonist, who makes a lot of choices and mistakes that I think many teenage girls in her situation would. Also, I really liked that her passion is woodworking and building things!! It would be so easy to have her passion be something less STEM oriented (not that there's anything wrong with that, as I am very much the artsy booky type), but I loved Nora's passion for woodwork. Such a great choice. And finally, the tension was on point in this book, and it built in a perfect way for the big final climax of tragedy and violence that came forth. It felt very real to Queens during Son of Sam's reign of terror.
I really liked BURN BABY BURN. It's a wonderful family drama and examination of society during the 1970s. Meg Medina does it again!!!!
Nora Lopez is starting out the last semester of high school, and she can't wait to turn eighteen and get out of her apartment. While she loves her friend Kathleen and does well in school, she's more focused on freedom from her mother and her brother Hector. Hector has been violently out of control for a long time, and her mother shifts from ignoring his problems to blaming Nora for not being a good big sister. Her father is far too occupied with his new family to be of any help. Nora feels trapped. When she meets Pedro at her job, she starts to think about the possibilities beyond just getting away. But there's a serial killer targeting couples in cars in New York, putting everyone on edge. As a hot, hot summer starts to arrive, tensions on Nora's home and in Queens itself start to boil over.
I had gone into this book thinking that it was going to be more of a focus on Son of Sam than it was, but even though it wasn't I still really liked BURN BABY BURN. Medina does a very good job of using the time and place to her advantage, as Nora is a teen girl on the edge of adulthood during a very tumultuous time for women and minorities in NYC. Using Summer of Sam as a time was great, because Nora is not only in fear of him, but more in fear of her brother Hector, whose violence is also unpredictable and intensely scary. Nora's struggle is also about loyalty to her family, as she loves her brother and mother, but also deeply resents them, and fears them, in Hector's case. Her mother comes from a culture where family and blood is everything and always first, but for Nora that is putting both their lives in serious danger. Because Hector is dangerous, easily one of the scariest characters I've seen in a YA book. And Medina is also very good at making it clear that it isn't necessarily his fault that he's like this, that he may have just been born this way (the abnormal psych B.A. in me was thinking conduct disorder), which makes it all the more upsetting and scary. I had a hard time with Nora's mother too, whose loyalty to her son was constantly putting Nora in danger WHILE GUILTING HER FOR FEELING AFRAID, but this may very well be a cultural difference in how family is valued, so I did my very best not to be too judgmental. Nora was a very good protagonist, who makes a lot of choices and mistakes that I think many teenage girls in her situation would. Also, I really liked that her passion is woodworking and building things!! It would be so easy to have her passion be something less STEM oriented (not that there's anything wrong with that, as I am very much the artsy booky type), but I loved Nora's passion for woodwork. Such a great choice. And finally, the tension was on point in this book, and it built in a perfect way for the big final climax of tragedy and violence that came forth. It felt very real to Queens during Son of Sam's reign of terror.
I really liked BURN BABY BURN. It's a wonderful family drama and examination of society during the 1970s. Meg Medina does it again!!!!
December 15, 2018
YO THIS BOOK IS SO LIT. I found it in the YA at my local library and the synopsis on the back was intriguing so I checked it out, and I am so glad I did!!!
First, the plot and sociopolitical context are amazing. 18 year old cubana in Queens navigates poverty, an abusive brother, and teenage love while Son of Sam looks large, NYC is in financial ruin, a burgeoning feminist movement, and the 1977 blackout occurs. Medina puts a LOT of work into making the book as historically accurate as needed, dropping references to women leaders I’ve never heard of and disco tracks I don’t know. The text is super simple to read and very accessible.
I really, really appreciate that this book includes an example of when a sibling or children is violent, unstable, and abusive. This dynamic is very familiar to me and I didn’t realize it existed in other families before reading this, and I felt for Nora tremendously. Her character is extremely real and relatable, between dealing with her brother, navigating her crush, being ashamed to open up to her family, weighing college versus making a living. She’s one of the most real characters I’ve read in a while, to be honest, hence the 5 stars. Also, Medina does a really sick job of balancing the extremely violent relationship Nora experiences at home to the supportive relationship she has with Pablo and Kathleen’s family.
Also, the NYC in this book is the NYC my mom experiences and grew up in. The fear, uncertainty, and poverty in this book is similar to what she experienced. It’s crazy to compare this book and my mom’s memories to the ‘03 blackout I experienced and how I experience NYC. It was the murder capital of the world back then, and is the safest big city in America now. It’s fucking wild how much NYC has changed, and I’m so grateful that it has.
The book’s ending isn’t tidy. Nora has to make hard choices and Medina doesn’t sugarcoat any of it. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a short YA novel, who is interested in historical investigation or NYC-related texts, and anyone who likes romantic thrillers. It’s a great book!!! Frfr
First, the plot and sociopolitical context are amazing. 18 year old cubana in Queens navigates poverty, an abusive brother, and teenage love while Son of Sam looks large, NYC is in financial ruin, a burgeoning feminist movement, and the 1977 blackout occurs. Medina puts a LOT of work into making the book as historically accurate as needed, dropping references to women leaders I’ve never heard of and disco tracks I don’t know. The text is super simple to read and very accessible.
I really, really appreciate that this book includes an example of when a sibling or children is violent, unstable, and abusive. This dynamic is very familiar to me and I didn’t realize it existed in other families before reading this, and I felt for Nora tremendously. Her character is extremely real and relatable, between dealing with her brother, navigating her crush, being ashamed to open up to her family, weighing college versus making a living. She’s one of the most real characters I’ve read in a while, to be honest, hence the 5 stars. Also, Medina does a really sick job of balancing the extremely violent relationship Nora experiences at home to the supportive relationship she has with Pablo and Kathleen’s family.
Also, the NYC in this book is the NYC my mom experiences and grew up in. The fear, uncertainty, and poverty in this book is similar to what she experienced. It’s crazy to compare this book and my mom’s memories to the ‘03 blackout I experienced and how I experience NYC. It was the murder capital of the world back then, and is the safest big city in America now. It’s fucking wild how much NYC has changed, and I’m so grateful that it has.
The book’s ending isn’t tidy. Nora has to make hard choices and Medina doesn’t sugarcoat any of it. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a short YA novel, who is interested in historical investigation or NYC-related texts, and anyone who likes romantic thrillers. It’s a great book!!! Frfr
May 20, 2018
I'm so glad I finally got to this! It's the first book by Meg Medina I've read or listened to, and now I need to get all of them.
It's a nuanced, moving, and fast-paced young-adult novel. The narrative voice and the ways Meg Medina developed a detailed picture of 1977 in Sunnyside, Queens, were outstanding. There's a broke NYC, Son of Sam, disco, punk, a heatwave, and a black-out, but there are also little things like Alexander's department store and Huckapoo shirts.
The MC's decisions to keep important parts of her life to herself are both heartbreaking and believable. There's a kind of domestic violence I don't recall seeing portrayed in realistic YA fiction before, though I've known more than a few people who experienced it, so I was grateful to see it here. I also loved the MC's relationship with her best friend and that the MC was counseled to develop her talent with her hands and her ability to figure out mechanical problems after high school. Ugh, when I list things like this, I'm always afraid I'm making a book sound boring or like a series of very special lessons, which this totally isn't. The voice is compelling, there's a terrific balance of fun and snark in the mix, and Meg Medina builds dramatic tension beautifully.
This is own-voices for Cuban American representation.
It's a nuanced, moving, and fast-paced young-adult novel. The narrative voice and the ways Meg Medina developed a detailed picture of 1977 in Sunnyside, Queens, were outstanding. There's a broke NYC, Son of Sam, disco, punk, a heatwave, and a black-out, but there are also little things like Alexander's department store and Huckapoo shirts.
The MC's decisions to keep important parts of her life to herself are both heartbreaking and believable. There's a kind of domestic violence I don't recall seeing portrayed in realistic YA fiction before, though I've known more than a few people who experienced it, so I was grateful to see it here. I also loved the MC's relationship with her best friend and that the MC was counseled to develop her talent with her hands and her ability to figure out mechanical problems after high school. Ugh, when I list things like this, I'm always afraid I'm making a book sound boring or like a series of very special lessons, which this totally isn't. The voice is compelling, there's a terrific balance of fun and snark in the mix, and Meg Medina builds dramatic tension beautifully.
This is own-voices for Cuban American representation.
March 20, 2018
Reasons to love Meg Medina: She's an author from Richmond, Virginia, and her books are great.
If you're thinking of the disco song when you see the "Burn Baby Burn" title, you've got an idea of the time. Set in NYC in the 1970s, Nora Lopez is aching to move out of her mother's apartment, and get out of high school. With a stressful mother, and a violent, drug addicted brother, Nora's ready to get out. She spends the summer working, suffering through the vicious heatwave, and living in fear of the threat of the Son of Sam, a serial killer targeting young women with dark hair. And then there's the blackout. Nora struggles to reconcile her life with her family, a murderer on the lose, and trying to be a young woman figuring herself out.
I attended a presentation Medina gave about the book at the 2017 VCBF, and it was incredible. The thought process, and honesty of the novel (Medina was a teen herself growing up during Son of Sam) strike a nerve. This novel is intense and humorous. I find Medina's novels relatable and socially relevant (even when set in 1977).
--Amanda T.
If you're thinking of the disco song when you see the "Burn Baby Burn" title, you've got an idea of the time. Set in NYC in the 1970s, Nora Lopez is aching to move out of her mother's apartment, and get out of high school. With a stressful mother, and a violent, drug addicted brother, Nora's ready to get out. She spends the summer working, suffering through the vicious heatwave, and living in fear of the threat of the Son of Sam, a serial killer targeting young women with dark hair. And then there's the blackout. Nora struggles to reconcile her life with her family, a murderer on the lose, and trying to be a young woman figuring herself out.
I attended a presentation Medina gave about the book at the 2017 VCBF, and it was incredible. The thought process, and honesty of the novel (Medina was a teen herself growing up during Son of Sam) strike a nerve. This novel is intense and humorous. I find Medina's novels relatable and socially relevant (even when set in 1977).
--Amanda T.
August 14, 2016
Another great little book I picked up because I saw that a Goodreads friend had read it. This app has greatly improved the overall quality of the books I pick up to read. Thanks, friends.
I read this book this evening, it kept me up till one in the morning. One of the most effective parts of the writing was the author's ability to make danger ever-present and the fear people felt about the Son of Sam in NYC palpable. It is the fictionalized account of a young woman who isn't safe on the streets or in her home. It's a young adult fiction novel, a quick read and a satisfying story. It isn't overly dramatic or implausible. Definitely a worthwhile read.
I read this book this evening, it kept me up till one in the morning. One of the most effective parts of the writing was the author's ability to make danger ever-present and the fear people felt about the Son of Sam in NYC palpable. It is the fictionalized account of a young woman who isn't safe on the streets or in her home. It's a young adult fiction novel, a quick read and a satisfying story. It isn't overly dramatic or implausible. Definitely a worthwhile read.
February 10, 2020
Great character development and I actually felt like I was in NYC during the scary time of Summer of Sam! I even could feel the heat as the author described temperatures and how the characters were feeling, even though it’s freezing outside as I read it. Nora had such a frustrating family situation that was painful to read while also living in fear just going out at night with friends.
December 20, 2023
i skim read like the last 100 pages because it was so boring. the plot was rubbish, the characters were awful and the book only got interesting in like 2 chapters.
Do not recommend
Do not recommend
March 5, 2019
Meg Medina’s 2016 young adult novel Burn Baby Burn focuses on Nora Lopez. Nora is seventeen years old as the novel opens, and she’s ready to leave high school behind. Nora isn’t quite sure what she wants to do with her life, but she knows one thing: she wants to move out of the small apartment she shares with her mother, Mima, and her younger brother Hector.
Burn Baby Burn is set in Queens in 1977, one of the worst years in New York City’s history. The city was on the verge of bankruptcy, a 25-hour blackout on one of the hottest days of the year sparked rampant looting and arson, residents were terrorized by the serial killer eventually known as Son of Sam, and the Mets traded their ace pitcher Tom Seaver to the Reds. All of these events form the backdrop for Nora Lopez’s story, and they all play a role in the novel. (Yes, even Tom Seaver’s trade is mentioned.)
Author Meg Medina does a superb job of bringing Nora’s voice to life, and Nora is an engaging and witty guide to the trials and tribulations that she faces as the narrative unfolds. Medina grew up in New York City, and she grounds the novel in a sense of place that paints a vivid picture of a big city in crisis.
I read Burn Baby Burn as part of the city of Saint Paul’s Read Brave program, a citywide reading effort that in 2019 focused on the issue of housing. Nora’s family is living paycheck to paycheck, and to pay the rent they are dependent on the monthly child support checks that come from Nora’s father, who has remarried and lives in Manhattan. When those checks don’t come on time, it’s Nora’s job to call her father and be the go-between, since her parents aren’t on speaking terms.
There’s a lot of rich texture in Burn Baby Burn—Nora’s job at Sal’s Deli, her flirtation with Pablo, her handsome new co-worker at the Deli, Nora’s relationship with her best friend Kathleen, and Nora’s deteriorating relationship with her brother Hector, who has started using drugs. Burn Baby Burn is an excellent novel that deals with substantive issues. I liked hearing Nora’s voice as she detailed her complicated life, and I’d be eagerly on board if Medina ever wants to write a sequel and continue Nora’s tale.
Burn Baby Burn is set in Queens in 1977, one of the worst years in New York City’s history. The city was on the verge of bankruptcy, a 25-hour blackout on one of the hottest days of the year sparked rampant looting and arson, residents were terrorized by the serial killer eventually known as Son of Sam, and the Mets traded their ace pitcher Tom Seaver to the Reds. All of these events form the backdrop for Nora Lopez’s story, and they all play a role in the novel. (Yes, even Tom Seaver’s trade is mentioned.)
Author Meg Medina does a superb job of bringing Nora’s voice to life, and Nora is an engaging and witty guide to the trials and tribulations that she faces as the narrative unfolds. Medina grew up in New York City, and she grounds the novel in a sense of place that paints a vivid picture of a big city in crisis.
I read Burn Baby Burn as part of the city of Saint Paul’s Read Brave program, a citywide reading effort that in 2019 focused on the issue of housing. Nora’s family is living paycheck to paycheck, and to pay the rent they are dependent on the monthly child support checks that come from Nora’s father, who has remarried and lives in Manhattan. When those checks don’t come on time, it’s Nora’s job to call her father and be the go-between, since her parents aren’t on speaking terms.
There’s a lot of rich texture in Burn Baby Burn—Nora’s job at Sal’s Deli, her flirtation with Pablo, her handsome new co-worker at the Deli, Nora’s relationship with her best friend Kathleen, and Nora’s deteriorating relationship with her brother Hector, who has started using drugs. Burn Baby Burn is an excellent novel that deals with substantive issues. I liked hearing Nora’s voice as she detailed her complicated life, and I’d be eagerly on board if Medina ever wants to write a sequel and continue Nora’s tale.
March 20, 2020
Burn Baby Burn is the story of New York in 1977, and there's a serial killer named Son of Sam who is shooting young people, especially girls with brown hair. The book is narrated by Nora Lopez, a senior in high school who's parents are immigrants, and divorced. Other characters in the book include Papi, Nora's father, who is now staying with and has a child with another woman, Mami, Nora's mother, who works at a factory, Hector, Nora's brother, who smokes and does drugs and throws dangerously physical temper tantrums, Pablo, Nora's romantic interest, and Katherine, Nora's best friend.
One of the best things about this book is how deep and thoughtful character development is. There are chapters and pages dedicated just to show you what a character is like. Each of the people in the book feels like they could be right next door to you. They have fully distinct, and sometimes dark personalities, and how thought out each of them are makes the book better.
The story isn't actually that much about the serial killer, it's more of a subplot, but that aspect was strongly suggested in the blurb. The book, in my opinion, is more about living as an immigrant in a time where they are thought of as lower or less talented, and how to live a normal life with a strange home situation.
*Spoiler Alert* The book is about Nora and how she manages life when her Mami (mother) is so pampering of her "bad boy" brother Hector, how unloved and unappreciated she feels, her on-and-off relationship with Pablo, a guy who works at Sal's deli with her, and how she has to conceal all of these things with her best friend since Kindergarten, Katherine. The serial killer is brought up often but doesn't ever lead to any intimate experiences with it. There are multiple times where Nora narrates something along the lines of "it was dark, the serial killer could be lurking anywhere, a gunshot away from my death". Nothing ever happens to her.
At home, Nora is treated as a secondary person, as her Mami only has eyes for Hector. Even when Hector comes back home smelling like trash and smoke, and even when he's raging at his family and breaking all their furniture, Mami is still stuck on the belief that her son is still that amazing little boy he once was. She doesn't change this until one day, Hector asks for money, and Mami doesn't give it to him. Their family relies on the money given by Papi, who is living a much better life in a nice apartment with his kid from a different marriage. Papi only calls on holidays, which Nora resents slightly, and Nora also resents the fact that Papi does so well with his new kid and basically forgets about them. When Hector doesn't get the money he wants, he physically throws Mami over, and that's the only time Mami ever stands up to him, saying that he's a literal demon and that it's no wonder his dad left them.
Another part of the story includes Nora's effort to get into a good college, how she has to apply for financial aid, and how the people around her are going to much better colleges than she is because they can afford them. This part is very eye-opening to me, as people in our school are all privileged enough to basically go to whatever school they want, and how much it costs is secondary.
Towards the end of the book, Katherine and Nora get into a fight because Nora never told Katherine how bad her home situation was. This fight was resolved, and the book ends on a high note between the two, but I also found this part very interesting. Katherine lives a much nicer life than Nora, her mom is a woman rights advocate, and her dad is a firefighter. She can afford to go to UCLA, and sometimes, Nora gets envious of how much easier Katherine's life is compared to hers.
The serial killer is revealed to be a guy I don't even remember the name of. He's some random dude in New York and isn't remotely related to Nora in any way. There are parts of the book where it seems like Pablo, Nora's love interest, is the killer. This would have been a much more interesting and shocking reveal.
Pablo is the new guy working at Sal's deli, also Nora's workplace, and they fall in love. At one point, the landlord of Nora's apartment's son kisses Nora without consent, and Pablo sees this and misinterprets this as her cheating on him. They end the book as a couple, but I personally thought the way Pablo was described, he's not all that great.
That's the basic gist of the book, I gave it 4 stars just because there were some places for improvement. This is the part where I start criticizing again, yay.
As I said before, the book would have been so much more interesting if Pablo was the killer. The cover is of a disco globe burning, and Pablo literally gave Nora a necklace with a disco globe on it, so the over suggest something very opposite of what actually happened. In the book, Nora also says that the sketch of the killer looks like Pablo. Literally, everything is pointing towards Pablo, but no, it's some other dude I forgot the name of who doesn't show up anywhere but his arrest.
One of the bad things about the book is how annoyed you get that Mami still treats Hector like a prince when he's a brat to Nora and his mother. At the end of the book, Hector is arrested for breaking into a drugstore and selling those drugs. Throughout the whole book, he is manipulative, mean, bratty, hurtful, ignorant and a genuine jerk and I couldn't wait until Mami showed him up, but even when it happened, Hector didn't change. It was just annoying.
I liked the use of Spanish in the book during some dialogue and narration of thoughts, and it made you feel like Nora was talking personally to you. The title was also great. "Burn Baby Burn" doesn't show up until the end, in a conversation between Katherine and Nora, but it just makes so much sense for the book and really fits it.
The side characters were really great, and had their moments to shine, but weren't annoying or sidetracking the story. One of those characters is Stiller, an African-American woman who is a women rights advocate with Katherine's mom and isn't afraid to stand her ground. Even when Manny, the landlord of Stiller and Nora's apartment, Manny, is afraid of messing with her. When Sergio, the landlord's drug dealing son, acts inappropriately to Katherine, Stiller reprimands him and he's so obedient it's funny.
I also liked how there were many references to things at the time (1977), and that they included the racism there was against immigrants. When Nora is in Sal's deli working, a woman gossips to Nora about how the government should just get rid of all Latinos, because they were the problem, as she was oblivious to the fact Nora was Latino.
My last critique for this book is that although I applauded Meg Medina's character development, I didn't like how basic they made Katherine seem at times. So many characters were so deeply thought out and lovable, and Katherine was, but not to the extent that she isn't described as a basic white girl. Katherine is more privileged than Nora, but that doesn't allow us to hold anything against her or say she's a bad person.
I couldn't put this book down and finished it in really quickly. Although there are some improvements to be made, this book is a great representation of the time it's set in, and life in bad circumstances.
One of the best things about this book is how deep and thoughtful character development is. There are chapters and pages dedicated just to show you what a character is like. Each of the people in the book feels like they could be right next door to you. They have fully distinct, and sometimes dark personalities, and how thought out each of them are makes the book better.
The story isn't actually that much about the serial killer, it's more of a subplot, but that aspect was strongly suggested in the blurb. The book, in my opinion, is more about living as an immigrant in a time where they are thought of as lower or less talented, and how to live a normal life with a strange home situation.
*Spoiler Alert* The book is about Nora and how she manages life when her Mami (mother) is so pampering of her "bad boy" brother Hector, how unloved and unappreciated she feels, her on-and-off relationship with Pablo, a guy who works at Sal's deli with her, and how she has to conceal all of these things with her best friend since Kindergarten, Katherine. The serial killer is brought up often but doesn't ever lead to any intimate experiences with it. There are multiple times where Nora narrates something along the lines of "it was dark, the serial killer could be lurking anywhere, a gunshot away from my death". Nothing ever happens to her.
At home, Nora is treated as a secondary person, as her Mami only has eyes for Hector. Even when Hector comes back home smelling like trash and smoke, and even when he's raging at his family and breaking all their furniture, Mami is still stuck on the belief that her son is still that amazing little boy he once was. She doesn't change this until one day, Hector asks for money, and Mami doesn't give it to him. Their family relies on the money given by Papi, who is living a much better life in a nice apartment with his kid from a different marriage. Papi only calls on holidays, which Nora resents slightly, and Nora also resents the fact that Papi does so well with his new kid and basically forgets about them. When Hector doesn't get the money he wants, he physically throws Mami over, and that's the only time Mami ever stands up to him, saying that he's a literal demon and that it's no wonder his dad left them.
Another part of the story includes Nora's effort to get into a good college, how she has to apply for financial aid, and how the people around her are going to much better colleges than she is because they can afford them. This part is very eye-opening to me, as people in our school are all privileged enough to basically go to whatever school they want, and how much it costs is secondary.
Towards the end of the book, Katherine and Nora get into a fight because Nora never told Katherine how bad her home situation was. This fight was resolved, and the book ends on a high note between the two, but I also found this part very interesting. Katherine lives a much nicer life than Nora, her mom is a woman rights advocate, and her dad is a firefighter. She can afford to go to UCLA, and sometimes, Nora gets envious of how much easier Katherine's life is compared to hers.
The serial killer is revealed to be a guy I don't even remember the name of. He's some random dude in New York and isn't remotely related to Nora in any way. There are parts of the book where it seems like Pablo, Nora's love interest, is the killer. This would have been a much more interesting and shocking reveal.
Pablo is the new guy working at Sal's deli, also Nora's workplace, and they fall in love. At one point, the landlord of Nora's apartment's son kisses Nora without consent, and Pablo sees this and misinterprets this as her cheating on him. They end the book as a couple, but I personally thought the way Pablo was described, he's not all that great.
That's the basic gist of the book, I gave it 4 stars just because there were some places for improvement. This is the part where I start criticizing again, yay.
As I said before, the book would have been so much more interesting if Pablo was the killer. The cover is of a disco globe burning, and Pablo literally gave Nora a necklace with a disco globe on it, so the over suggest something very opposite of what actually happened. In the book, Nora also says that the sketch of the killer looks like Pablo. Literally, everything is pointing towards Pablo, but no, it's some other dude I forgot the name of who doesn't show up anywhere but his arrest.
One of the bad things about the book is how annoyed you get that Mami still treats Hector like a prince when he's a brat to Nora and his mother. At the end of the book, Hector is arrested for breaking into a drugstore and selling those drugs. Throughout the whole book, he is manipulative, mean, bratty, hurtful, ignorant and a genuine jerk and I couldn't wait until Mami showed him up, but even when it happened, Hector didn't change. It was just annoying.
I liked the use of Spanish in the book during some dialogue and narration of thoughts, and it made you feel like Nora was talking personally to you. The title was also great. "Burn Baby Burn" doesn't show up until the end, in a conversation between Katherine and Nora, but it just makes so much sense for the book and really fits it.
The side characters were really great, and had their moments to shine, but weren't annoying or sidetracking the story. One of those characters is Stiller, an African-American woman who is a women rights advocate with Katherine's mom and isn't afraid to stand her ground. Even when Manny, the landlord of Stiller and Nora's apartment, Manny, is afraid of messing with her. When Sergio, the landlord's drug dealing son, acts inappropriately to Katherine, Stiller reprimands him and he's so obedient it's funny.
I also liked how there were many references to things at the time (1977), and that they included the racism there was against immigrants. When Nora is in Sal's deli working, a woman gossips to Nora about how the government should just get rid of all Latinos, because they were the problem, as she was oblivious to the fact Nora was Latino.
My last critique for this book is that although I applauded Meg Medina's character development, I didn't like how basic they made Katherine seem at times. So many characters were so deeply thought out and lovable, and Katherine was, but not to the extent that she isn't described as a basic white girl. Katherine is more privileged than Nora, but that doesn't allow us to hold anything against her or say she's a bad person.
I couldn't put this book down and finished it in really quickly. Although there are some improvements to be made, this book is a great representation of the time it's set in, and life in bad circumstances.
September 7, 2024
It's not often that I read a YA novel set in the 1970s but Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medina was a good one. It's a bit different than what I expected, but the story really worked for me. I'll have to read more from this author in the future and maybe look for more YA set in this time period while I'm at it.
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