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Burning Bright: A Contemporary Romance about Redemption and Survival
Three years ago, Samantha Gray killed her parents.
Haunted by their deaths, she hides her scars behind sarcasm and vintage t-shirts, counting the days until she can escape her foster home in Alegria, Arizona. Then she meets Ben, a California boy whose filmmaker parents constructed a big cat sanctuary outside of town. She's hesitant to get close, terrified he'll learn her secret.
When Ben introduces Sam to Solomon, a Bengal tiger on borrowed time whose gruesome history eerily mirrors her own, she must decide whether she’s strong enough to overcome her past and save not only Solomon’s life, but her own. And to do that, she'll need to tell Ben the truth.
Haunted by their deaths, she hides her scars behind sarcasm and vintage t-shirts, counting the days until she can escape her foster home in Alegria, Arizona. Then she meets Ben, a California boy whose filmmaker parents constructed a big cat sanctuary outside of town. She's hesitant to get close, terrified he'll learn her secret.
When Ben introduces Sam to Solomon, a Bengal tiger on borrowed time whose gruesome history eerily mirrors her own, she must decide whether she’s strong enough to overcome her past and save not only Solomon’s life, but her own. And to do that, she'll need to tell Ben the truth.
317 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 27, 2016
9 people are currently reading
223 people want to read
About the author
Chanda Stafford
11 books47 followersChanda Stafford teaches middle and high school English. She loves traveling and currently lives in Michigan with her husband and a menagerie of rescued dogs and cats.
When she’s not reading or writing, Chanda enjoys old zombie movies, authentic Italian food, and comic books.
When she’s not reading or writing, Chanda enjoys old zombie movies, authentic Italian food, and comic books.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 5, 2016
Full review up at: http://bookhavenblog.blogspot.com/201...
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March 31, 2016
Check out my blog for my full review
March 11, 2016
3.5 Stars.
I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
So, I accidentally just deleted my review... and its super late, so if its a bad review... I'm sorry?
When I saw a chance to read an ARC of this book I was simply ecstatic, I mean, come on, take a gander at that cover? Isn't it just beautiful? Isn't it? Anyways on the plus side the book is great as well...
In all honestly when I first picked up this book I was expecting some light and fun read YA chic lit. But in all honesty this book deals with some pretty intense stuff, and I am happy to say that the author deals with this issues really quite well, but there were still certain events that made this book hard to read.
The book is about Sam Gray, who lives with some pretty horrible foster parents. She has a best friend and has to deal with school, as well as work. Everything changes when she's introduced to Ben Ramirez and the Bengal Tiger that is at his parents Cat Sanctuary.
The main character Sam is quite a complex character. She didn't necessarily have the nicest personality, but that had a lot to do with the events of the past. She was a really easy character to read about in the novel, and the problems that the author dealt with were real issues of today, and the author dealt with these issues amazingly. On the other hand, Sam's some of the decisions that she made, confused me, and left me somewhat miffed at her. Also, the suspense of her past was kind of lost to me, due to all the events of that occurred in the novel.
Ben was an interesting character. I wanted to love his character, I honestly did. There were parts where he interacted with Sam that left me 'awwing'. However all of this got overshadowed by the fact that early on in the book, I wanted to swat him over the head and ask him to make a decision. It actually really annoyed me. But after all of that drama Ben's all right and quite a cute boy and seriously romantic.
The only other minor problem I had with the novel was Sam's best friend and her relationship. I really wasn't sure how their friendship lasted, especially after certain events...
This book was a lovely, with the few exceptions that left me really annoyed, but as soon I was able to look past it, I found a gem!
I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
So, I accidentally just deleted my review... and its super late, so if its a bad review... I'm sorry?
When I saw a chance to read an ARC of this book I was simply ecstatic, I mean, come on, take a gander at that cover? Isn't it just beautiful? Isn't it? Anyways on the plus side the book is great as well...
In all honestly when I first picked up this book I was expecting some light and fun read YA chic lit. But in all honesty this book deals with some pretty intense stuff, and I am happy to say that the author deals with this issues really quite well, but there were still certain events that made this book hard to read.
The book is about Sam Gray, who lives with some pretty horrible foster parents. She has a best friend and has to deal with school, as well as work. Everything changes when she's introduced to Ben Ramirez and the Bengal Tiger that is at his parents Cat Sanctuary.
The main character Sam is quite a complex character. She didn't necessarily have the nicest personality, but that had a lot to do with the events of the past. She was a really easy character to read about in the novel, and the problems that the author dealt with were real issues of today, and the author dealt with these issues amazingly. On the other hand, Sam's some of the decisions that she made, confused me, and left me somewhat miffed at her. Also, the suspense of her past was kind of lost to me, due to all the events of that occurred in the novel.
Ben was an interesting character. I wanted to love his character, I honestly did. There were parts where he interacted with Sam that left me 'awwing'. However all of this got overshadowed by the fact that early on in the book, I wanted to swat him over the head and ask him to make a decision. It actually really annoyed me. But after all of that drama Ben's all right and quite a cute boy and seriously romantic.
The only other minor problem I had with the novel was Sam's best friend and her relationship. I really wasn't sure how their friendship lasted, especially after certain events...
This book was a lovely, with the few exceptions that left me really annoyed, but as soon I was able to look past it, I found a gem!
July 2, 2018
Read this review and more on my blog.The Book Return Blog
Sam is haunted by her parents death. She is at fault for what happened to them. Her punishment is to live with abusive foster parents that only care about the stipend she brings them. Sam's life changes when she meets California boy, Ben.
Ben is the son of movie star turned animal conservationist parents. What will happen when Sam becomes wrapped up in Ben's world.
To me there is two separate plots to, 'Burning Bright'. The first is Sam's gritty struggle to survive. She lives in a tent so as not to have to live in her foster-parents house. She is in constant fear of her foster-father. Sam also has to work in a second-hand store in order to pay for essentials such as clothing and food. She sees this as a penance for what she did to her parents. What happened to Sam's parents is not revealed until the end of the book but it is implied that she is someway caused their parent's deaths. This section of the story was my favorite. It delved into the world of foster care. It felt real and different and it kept me wanting to find out how the story turned out. I also enjoyed the mystery behind Sam's past. I really loved the setting of Arizona. The climate and the heat highlighted the intense drama of Sam's life.
The second plot involves Ben and his family running a large cat sanctuary. The sanctuary takes in, Solomon, a tiger that has been labeled ,'a man killer'. Sam identifies with the tiger and tries to save him. Despite being an avid animal lover, I just couldn't get into this part of the story. It felt totally separate from Sam's slice of life story. It just didn't have the gritty reality that Sam's other plot had and I just didn't connect with this part of the story. I also didn't connect with Ben or his parents. Ben's mother seemed to act rather hot and cold to Sam and it left me confused about her character.
I enjoyed 'Burning Bright.' I really enjoyed this as a teenager in foster care story and I loved Sam as a character. I would love to have a continuation of Sam's story.
Sam is haunted by her parents death. She is at fault for what happened to them. Her punishment is to live with abusive foster parents that only care about the stipend she brings them. Sam's life changes when she meets California boy, Ben.
Ben is the son of movie star turned animal conservationist parents. What will happen when Sam becomes wrapped up in Ben's world.
To me there is two separate plots to, 'Burning Bright'. The first is Sam's gritty struggle to survive. She lives in a tent so as not to have to live in her foster-parents house. She is in constant fear of her foster-father. Sam also has to work in a second-hand store in order to pay for essentials such as clothing and food. She sees this as a penance for what she did to her parents. What happened to Sam's parents is not revealed until the end of the book but it is implied that she is someway caused their parent's deaths. This section of the story was my favorite. It delved into the world of foster care. It felt real and different and it kept me wanting to find out how the story turned out. I also enjoyed the mystery behind Sam's past. I really loved the setting of Arizona. The climate and the heat highlighted the intense drama of Sam's life.
The second plot involves Ben and his family running a large cat sanctuary. The sanctuary takes in, Solomon, a tiger that has been labeled ,'a man killer'. Sam identifies with the tiger and tries to save him. Despite being an avid animal lover, I just couldn't get into this part of the story. It felt totally separate from Sam's slice of life story. It just didn't have the gritty reality that Sam's other plot had and I just didn't connect with this part of the story. I also didn't connect with Ben or his parents. Ben's mother seemed to act rather hot and cold to Sam and it left me confused about her character.
I enjoyed 'Burning Bright.' I really enjoyed this as a teenager in foster care story and I loved Sam as a character. I would love to have a continuation of Sam's story.
March 30, 2016
I signed up to review this book because...well the cover got me. I did in fact judge a book by it's cover and I'm glad I did!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. It's written well and caught my attention pretty swiftly. The characters are all pretty well developed and interesting. The way Stafford connected Solomon to Sam was pretty nice and didn't feel forced at all. I was kind of afraid it would be some sort of cheesy "She's wild like a tiger" plot device, but was in fact a really touching element that caught me off guard (in a good way!)
If I had to make a gripe about this book I'd say that I'd really would have liked more about Emily and Sam's friendship. How they met, how they became friends, etc. It was briefly touched upon, but I would have loved a bit more depth.
That's pretty much it. I really enjoyed Burning Bright and would recommend it!
January 11, 2018
What happened to Sam
Absolutely loved this book about a troubled orphaned teenage girl and what she has to deal with.Her foster parents are just in it for the money they get from the state and treat her bad her classmates at school all ridicule her daily for being different. This is something that truly happens to some kids that have lost their parents and to go to foster care . She wears long sleeves to cover her scarred arms and shoulders so this make her classmates pick on her because she dresses different. I would whole heartedly recommend to book to everyone
Absolutely loved this book about a troubled orphaned teenage girl and what she has to deal with.Her foster parents are just in it for the money they get from the state and treat her bad her classmates at school all ridicule her daily for being different. This is something that truly happens to some kids that have lost their parents and to go to foster care . She wears long sleeves to cover her scarred arms and shoulders so this make her classmates pick on her because she dresses different. I would whole heartedly recommend to book to everyone
May 21, 2018
Last year I went to the Alpena bookfair. I picked up Burning Bright there and met the author. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. A young girl Samantha Grey hasn't had it easy. She believes she killed her parents, and to top it off her only surviving relatives call the cops on her. In survival mode and living with unfit foster parents she's attempting to survive with the help of her best friend, Emily. She meets a boy named Ben, and slowly she starts to open up a part of herself she's kept hidden.
March 10, 2018
Amazing book!!!!
Absolutely loved this book!!!!! It reminded me of a friend of mines struggles in the foster home she grew up in. Chanda writes the best books...I can not wait for her to write more!!!! I have read everything she has written and they have all been wonderful books!!!!!
Absolutely loved this book!!!!! It reminded me of a friend of mines struggles in the foster home she grew up in. Chanda writes the best books...I can not wait for her to write more!!!! I have read everything she has written and they have all been wonderful books!!!!!
July 10, 2017
Sweet
I really,enjoyed reading Burning Bright. The storyline was wonderful and found that the integration of the cat sanctuary was sweet! I fell in love with Sam, just because of how she seemed real to me. Loved the ending!
I really,enjoyed reading Burning Bright. The storyline was wonderful and found that the integration of the cat sanctuary was sweet! I fell in love with Sam, just because of how she seemed real to me. Loved the ending!
April 3, 2016
Burning Bright by Chanda Stafford is a different type of young adult novel from the author’s last two. Stafford has published two books in a dystopian trilogy prior to this novel. Upon first reading the blurb about this book, it seemed to be a big switch from her previous work, but I was not disappointed.
Burning Bright has a very unique voice in its narrative, which is told through the perspective of teenage girl who is equal parts snarky, damaged, conflicted, and terrified of her own emotions and capabilities. Though these are often the type of heroines in YA books, I found myself identifying a great deal with Samantha Gray. I found her to be an incredibly realistic and three-dimensional character. I could see parts of myself as well as parts of my students (I teach middle and high school) in here. Stafford has created a unique character, that is as redeeming as she is flawed. Gray has a strong personality, and can be abrasive at times, but is truly one of the most honest and loyal teenage characters I’ve seen in a while.
This novel is a romance, but its male protagonist is also flawed and ends up complimenting his heroine rather than being her knight in shining armor. It is nice to see Stafford continue with a strong female heroine who doesn’t need to be saved, but rather be shown/guided towards her true capabilities. This is a much more realistic type of romance in my opinion, and the type I prefer to read.
Primarily set in the author’s preferred scenery, the Southwestern United States, the events in Burning Bright take place in a humorous small town that has many vivid, colorful, and interesting characters. In addition to these interesting human characters, there is a new animal that plays an important role in this text. Solomon, a tiger, runs parallel to Sam in many ways. There is strong symbolism between the two characters, which adds new depths to the story’s conflicts. It is clear the author did painstaking research in her inclusion of big cats in this novel. The animals seem incredibly realistic and are not humanized at all.
Burning Bright seems to be a freer spirited novel than Stafford’s last two. It shows her depth and skill as a writer and makes me curious and eager to see what she is going to produce next.
Burning Bright has a very unique voice in its narrative, which is told through the perspective of teenage girl who is equal parts snarky, damaged, conflicted, and terrified of her own emotions and capabilities. Though these are often the type of heroines in YA books, I found myself identifying a great deal with Samantha Gray. I found her to be an incredibly realistic and three-dimensional character. I could see parts of myself as well as parts of my students (I teach middle and high school) in here. Stafford has created a unique character, that is as redeeming as she is flawed. Gray has a strong personality, and can be abrasive at times, but is truly one of the most honest and loyal teenage characters I’ve seen in a while.
This novel is a romance, but its male protagonist is also flawed and ends up complimenting his heroine rather than being her knight in shining armor. It is nice to see Stafford continue with a strong female heroine who doesn’t need to be saved, but rather be shown/guided towards her true capabilities. This is a much more realistic type of romance in my opinion, and the type I prefer to read.
Primarily set in the author’s preferred scenery, the Southwestern United States, the events in Burning Bright take place in a humorous small town that has many vivid, colorful, and interesting characters. In addition to these interesting human characters, there is a new animal that plays an important role in this text. Solomon, a tiger, runs parallel to Sam in many ways. There is strong symbolism between the two characters, which adds new depths to the story’s conflicts. It is clear the author did painstaking research in her inclusion of big cats in this novel. The animals seem incredibly realistic and are not humanized at all.
Burning Bright seems to be a freer spirited novel than Stafford’s last two. It shows her depth and skill as a writer and makes me curious and eager to see what she is going to produce next.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews