Having enjoyed the author's debut, Wilder Girls (and still wanting that sequel, can we get a sequel, Delacorte? Please and thanks), I was really looking forward to Burn Our Bodies Down, and it definitely did not disappoint! I am going to break it down into what I liked versus just the little things I didn't, so here we go!
The Stuff That Worked:
- ►Holy atmosphere! The author absolutely has a knack for writing eerie, mysterious settings and worlds. It takes place in small-town Midwest, with just the right amount of rurality to make you feel uneasy. Then we segue to a family farm which... look, Midwest farms are just kind of iffy. No neighbors for miles, who knows what you're gonna find in the crops, you know the drill. But even the way the author wrote the characters feels just enough "off" for it to be unsettling. Quite perfect, really.
- ►Obviously, I needed to know what was behind the mystery! From the start of the book, something just was not right in Margot's world. Her mom acted super bizarre, and Margot was so isolated. Then we meet dear old Grandma, and yep, curiouser and curiousier.
- ►It's so family focused, which is refreshing for a horror story. I mean- so often we've got missing classmates or friends or whatever, but in this case, pretty much the whole mystery was interwoven with Margot's family. Not only that, Margot's own focus was very family-oriented. She so desperately wanted to belong, to have a family unit. And sure, she was eager to make friends with peers too, but family was number one.
- ►Things get pretty bizarre and I liked it. I mean. I can't say anything else, obviously, but things take A Turn™ and I am here for those.
What Didn't:
- ►Bits moved kind of slowly, especially at first. I get that we needed to build up Margot's family background and home situation, but it seemed a little longer than necessary? I felt for Margot, but at the same time, I needed some stuff to happen. It was hard to connect to her when we were just living her regular life, so I was glad things got moving after about 20%.
Bottom Line: Atmospheric and family focused, this was certainly a unique mystery that I could not have predicted!