cover image Burn

Burn

Suzanne Phillips, . . Little, Brown, $16.99 (279pp) ISBN 978-0-316-00165-6

In precise, often excruciating detail, Phillips (Chloe Doe ) describes the downward spiral of an outcast at a school that is like a war zone. Cameron Grady is a sorely bullied freshman, the target of the football team, aka the “Red Coats”; he has become “a guy who's too afraid to bend over and tie his shoe, afraid he'll be a like a duck with his head underwater, afraid a Red Coat will pluck him out of the pond and pick apart his insides.” Cameron escapes by running, and by playing with fire, literally—burning matches, his skin and a large portion of the woods near his home. Like a fire, Cameron's anger is searing, and it grows out of control. Finally, he does the unthinkable, turning on the Red Coats' other target, a classmate with even fewer defenses than Cameron, and the consequences are fatal. Writing about redemption, the author challenges readers to consider who is a criminal and who is a victim, and how far a victim is allowed to go to stand up for himself. In an age of school violence, this thought-provoking, incisive story will have staying power. Ages 12–up. (Nov.)