ARC Review: Burn for Burn

Title: Burn for Burn
Series: Burn for Burn (#1)
Authors: Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian
Pages: 368
Release Date: September 18, 2012

BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY...
THEY GET EVEN.

Lillia has never had any problems dealing with boys who like her. Not until this summer, when one went too far. No way will she let the same thing happen to her little sister.

Kat is tired of the rumours, the insults, the cruel jokes. It all goes back to one person– her ex-best friend– and she's ready to make her pay.

Four years ago, Mary left Jar Island because of a boy. But she's not the same girl anymore. And she's ready to prove it to him.

Three very different girls who want the same thing: sweet, sweet revenge. And they won't stop until they each had a taste.

Hmmmm...... Okay, I only read this book because I was given the chance to read it for free, but I had fairly high expectations. The premise sounded pretty awesome, but the execution was not great at all, which was disappointing. Throughout the novel, I kept waiting for it to get better, but the story was choppy, and lacked a great climax.

I seem to have read quite a few books with dual narrators, or multiple characters telling the story from their point of view. Unlike 34 Pieces of You, I didn't think Burn for Burn really worked for this story. I'll admit I enjoyed the payback, but most of the time they realized that they didn't want it after all.

Kat. She was the typical bad girl who thinks the world hates her. I just felt like her character was too much of a stereotype to be believable. That's actually how I felt about all of the girls. They all displayed characteristics that were stereotypical of the character they were. Kat kind of bothered me with her anger and forceful nature.

Lilia. She, again, was a stereotypical popular girl who thought all of the boys should like her. Yes, she was a little better than her best friend, but I thought she was kind of shallow. I especially didn't like that all of the people they were seeking revenge on were some of her best friends, who she had known for years.

*SPOILERALERTSPOILERALERTSPOILERALERTSPOILERALERT*

Mary. She...well...Here's the thing. I don't feel like Mary's character was fully formed throughout the story. She may be a crazy girl who thinks she's a witch, or she may actually be a witch. If she IS a witch, she doesn't do ANYTHING about it. She doesn't tell anyone. Plus, this is not supposed to a fantasy/witchcraft book. It's supposed to be a realistic story about teenagers. As much as I would like to pretend I am a witch who goes to Hogwarts, it just isn't real.

Overall, the story was pretty thin, with weak genre boundaries. The characters and the ending were bleh. The climax could have been awesome, but it ended up barely being a cli. So, this book was really disappointing for me, I would give it a rating of two, maybe two and a half.