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bookdingo's review
5.0
I blindly began reading this book earlier in the week. All I knew about it is that Chuck Wendig wrote it, and folks were comparing it to Veronica Mars. Well, I've never seen that show, so there you go. Everything in Atlanta's life is messy and chaotic. She returns to school two months before the summer break after an awful incident took her away for awhile. People speculate about her, but she tries to stay cool and mind her business until one day she spies a fellow student getting bullied and whips out her bear mace. Y'know, LIKE YA DO. This begins a series of dark and dangerous events that take Atlanta and her new friends into circles you'd never want to find yourself in. Have I been generic enough yet?
You'll find in this book: hate crimes, racism, white pride, dog fighting, animal abuse in addition to dog fighting, talk of rape, drug use, teen cynicism and apathy, troubled family life AND THAT'S NOT ALL. There's also friendship, hardcore challenges, a strong "take no shit" female protagonist, and some awesome red hair.
Just go read it. You don't need for me to tell you anymore about it.
You'll find in this book: hate crimes, racism, white pride, dog fighting, animal abuse in addition to dog fighting, talk of rape, drug use, teen cynicism and apathy, troubled family life AND THAT'S NOT ALL. There's also friendship, hardcore challenges, a strong "take no shit" female protagonist, and some awesome red hair.
Just go read it. You don't need for me to tell you anymore about it.
ewbanh's review
5.0
Yikes! Had to put it down several times because it just got way too intense for me. Still, it’s very well written. Violent and dark, but balanced.
calicocatkin's review
4.0
This is a three-and-a-half star for me. It's not the sort of thing I normally read - it's very brutal and violent, and the choppy, fast-paced prose reflects that. However I found myself pretty gripped by this story and rooting for the main character, imperfect though she was. The other characterisation was a bit thin, however. This was an easy read in the sense that it's not dense at all, but I would caution readers that there are a fair amount of really hard slurs used, and hate/bigotry-based violence throughout. Also child abuse mentioned and animal abuse depicted. I found it a really tough read in this regard. The payoff of seeing these awful characters get their comeuppance is very satisfying, but I wouldn't blame anyone for not wanting to read this book. I will be reading the sequel, but probably taking a break to read something less bleak in between.
morebookspleaseblog's review
3.0
I received a copy from NetGalley for an honest review... I liked the book, but there were some moments that were dark. It touches on some sensitive subjects that are still important to this day and time. But the message at the end is uplifting and encouraging.
samanthabryant's review
3.0
I'm pretty ambivalent about this book. Things I liked:
-The problems the kids were facing felt more real than such things often do. These weren't cute or easily solved problems, but deep and complicated bullying and social standing kinds of issues
-Atlanta, the title character, had been through trauma, and her mixture of healthy and unhealthy coping mechanisms felt real to me. She was neither Pollyanna nor Wednesday Addams. Her PTSD reactions were powerfully portrayed
-The way that all the characters were gray, in that bad guys had good points and good guys had bad points. (I liked this AND also thought it might be part of the problem with the story).
-The writing itself. I still admire the author's way around a sentence and his really creative metaphors when describing feelings or even just scenery. Lots of sentences I would have wanted to highlight, if I were the kind of monster who wrote in books.
Things I didn't like:
-The relentless darkness. So few moments of light of any sort, even when Atlanta was making friends. As a reader, I could have used some uplift once in a while. Reading it felt brutal enough that I sometimes considered not finishing the book at all.
-The graphic dog related violence (DO NOT READ THIS BOOK IF ANIMALS BEING HARMED IS A TRIGGER FOR YOU)
-The overarching messages about dealing with bullies. Not that I need a book to have a "message" per se, but this one is an issues-related book and seemed to want to take a stand of some sort about bullying. The mixing in of adult villains muddied those waters, and at the end, I wasn't sure what the moral heart of the story was. This is the main thing that left me feeling ambivalent . . .and maybe the *is* the point: the ambivalence. But it didn't have a satisfying feeling of clarity.
-The epilogue/ending: I can't tell you what it is without spoiling the book, but I will say that this part felt tacked on to me and didn't build naturally out of events of the book. Too pat.
So, there you go. I liked it, but couldn't love it or hate it. The murky morality might have been the point, but it made it a harder read.
-The problems the kids were facing felt more real than such things often do. These weren't cute or easily solved problems, but deep and complicated bullying and social standing kinds of issues
-Atlanta, the title character, had been through trauma, and her mixture of healthy and unhealthy coping mechanisms felt real to me. She was neither Pollyanna nor Wednesday Addams. Her PTSD reactions were powerfully portrayed
-The way that all the characters were gray, in that bad guys had good points and good guys had bad points. (I liked this AND also thought it might be part of the problem with the story).
-The writing itself. I still admire the author's way around a sentence and his really creative metaphors when describing feelings or even just scenery. Lots of sentences I would have wanted to highlight, if I were the kind of monster who wrote in books.
Things I didn't like:
-The relentless darkness. So few moments of light of any sort, even when Atlanta was making friends. As a reader, I could have used some uplift once in a while. Reading it felt brutal enough that I sometimes considered not finishing the book at all.
-The graphic dog related violence (DO NOT READ THIS BOOK IF ANIMALS BEING HARMED IS A TRIGGER FOR YOU)
-The overarching messages about dealing with bullies. Not that I need a book to have a "message" per se, but this one is an issues-related book and seemed to want to take a stand of some sort about bullying. The mixing in of adult villains muddied those waters, and at the end, I wasn't sure what the moral heart of the story was. This is the main thing that left me feeling ambivalent . . .and maybe the *is* the point: the ambivalence. But it didn't have a satisfying feeling of clarity.
-The epilogue/ending: I can't tell you what it is without spoiling the book, but I will say that this part felt tacked on to me and didn't build naturally out of events of the book. Too pat.
So, there you go. I liked it, but couldn't love it or hate it. The murky morality might have been the point, but it made it a harder read.
stephgraves's review against another edition
I had to stop reading this, it's too upsetting.
It's not that it's badly written--it's actually excellent.
I might go back to it. The heroine is awesome.
But it is about some deeply disturbing shit, and animal cruelty is one of those things I can't stomach, so I just need t walk away for a bit. Or possibly forever. We will see.
It's not that it's badly written--it's actually excellent.
I might go back to it. The heroine is awesome.
But it is about some deeply disturbing shit, and animal cruelty is one of those things I can't stomach, so I just need t walk away for a bit. Or possibly forever. We will see.
wlreed312's review
4.0
Tag Line - You don't mess with Atlanta Burns.
As the book unfolds, you learn why, a little at a time. The book opens with a description of a girl waking up with the smell of gunpowder in her nose. Brief paragraph, but it draws you in. You want to know what happened to this girl. You want to know what made her into someone so hard and tender at the same time. The pacing on the back story is really well done, and I just wanted to hug Atlanta (not that I think she'd really let me).
I loved this book. One of my favorite things about it is Atlanta is such a royally fucked up character. For reasons that are completely justified. But she still has a big heart. The mess she gets herself into is predicated on the fact she sees someone being bullied and stops to help him. Which earns her the anger of some folks that she probably should have stayed away from. I love the phrases Wendig uses. "Up here, middle of Pennsylvania, her accent sticks out like a bent and broken toe". I love the characters, the way they build their own little family. I love the heart at the center of the book. Atlanta has been compared to Veronica Mars, and the comparison has merit. Sassy, wounded, tough. And awesome.
I'd say the only reason this doesn't get five stars is because of the dog fighting. It's essential to the plot, but it's pretty graphic and I honestly had to skim a chapter or two. It's definitely necessary to the story, but it was just a little too graphic for me. So, be warned if you're an animal lover.
As the book unfolds, you learn why, a little at a time. The book opens with a description of a girl waking up with the smell of gunpowder in her nose. Brief paragraph, but it draws you in. You want to know what happened to this girl. You want to know what made her into someone so hard and tender at the same time. The pacing on the back story is really well done, and I just wanted to hug Atlanta (not that I think she'd really let me).
I loved this book. One of my favorite things about it is Atlanta is such a royally fucked up character. For reasons that are completely justified. But she still has a big heart. The mess she gets herself into is predicated on the fact she sees someone being bullied and stops to help him. Which earns her the anger of some folks that she probably should have stayed away from. I love the phrases Wendig uses. "Up here, middle of Pennsylvania, her accent sticks out like a bent and broken toe". I love the characters, the way they build their own little family. I love the heart at the center of the book. Atlanta has been compared to Veronica Mars, and the comparison has merit. Sassy, wounded, tough. And awesome.
I'd say the only reason this doesn't get five stars is because of the dog fighting. It's essential to the plot, but it's pretty graphic and I honestly had to skim a chapter or two. It's definitely necessary to the story, but it was just a little too graphic for me. So, be warned if you're an animal lover.
parnassusreads's review
5.0
As the back of the book says, Atlanta Burns is someone you don’t want to mess with. The people who have tried, well, it doesn’t turn out so good for them. Unfortunately, it never really seems to turn out so good for Atlanta either. As the begrudgingly appointed defender of the weak and the small, Atlanta takes on the bullies of her town: the mean kids at her high school who pick on her new friend Shane, the white supremacists who tortured her friend Chris, the dogfighters who kidnap house dogs for bait. All of these things are related and the power behind them runs so deep that every time Atlanta wins one fight, she has to face three more. In a place where none of the adults are trustworthy, how do you deal with those who want to do you and your friends harm?
The answer, at least for Atlanta is to harm them first. The first time she had to do this gained her the reputation of She-Who-Is-Not-To-Be-Fucked-With in her small town. For some, it works; she’s a pariah in her school and none of her former friends will talk to her anymore. For others, she’s a redheaded goddess of vengeance sent to deliver them from their bullies. Atlanta doesn’t really know how to deal with this new reputation of hers but she uses it blithely when necessary. Part of her just wants to be a normal teenage kid who does normal teenage kid things. But severe PTSD, a wrecked home life, and her status as outcast crush those idle fantasies. Another part of her, the part that wins out, likes being an agent of justice, one who punishes those who deserve it – and in her life there are many.
Most of this she accomplishes with her Winchester .410 scatter shot riffle. It got her out of a bad situation before and now she sleeps with it under her bed. The gun is her proof and symbol of power in a place where kids like her and her misfit friends regularly have it violently taken from them. When Atlanta has had enough, she in turn violently takes it back.
Atlanta is much in keeping with other Wendig heroes, such as Miriam Black of Blackbirds. This might cause consternation among the gatekeepers of young adult literature. Atlanta swears, there’s a quibble about different kinds of racism, there’s explicit descriptions of sexual torture, there’s the rhetoric of white supremacists, there’s violence against people and animals, there’s depictions of drug abuse and underage drinking – basically everything kids aren’t supposed to be exposed to. And yet they are. Already I’ve seen reviews that say Wendig is giving a bad example of how to deal with bullies, that violence isn’t the right answer to violence, etc. My concern there is the role of fiction and stories. Do writers and their authors have a moral imperative to teach – to show a “right way” of dealing with the world?
That’s a pretty massive question, one that has a long history of answers. My answer here is a solid No. The only obligation authors have is to tell a story to the best of their ability. And Wendig tells a damn good story in Atlanta Burns. Wendig doesn’t dismiss the moral quandaries of his characters though. Their actions have consequences, many of them unforeseen and part of Atlanta’s character growth is her dealing with and adapting to those consequences. She a girl in shit situations, doing the best she can, the best way she knows how. It’s hard to judge her for that but easy to root for her success. I sincerely hope to see more of Atlanta Burns in the future.
The answer, at least for Atlanta is to harm them first. The first time she had to do this gained her the reputation of She-Who-Is-Not-To-Be-Fucked-With in her small town. For some, it works; she’s a pariah in her school and none of her former friends will talk to her anymore. For others, she’s a redheaded goddess of vengeance sent to deliver them from their bullies. Atlanta doesn’t really know how to deal with this new reputation of hers but she uses it blithely when necessary. Part of her just wants to be a normal teenage kid who does normal teenage kid things. But severe PTSD, a wrecked home life, and her status as outcast crush those idle fantasies. Another part of her, the part that wins out, likes being an agent of justice, one who punishes those who deserve it – and in her life there are many.
Most of this she accomplishes with her Winchester .410 scatter shot riffle. It got her out of a bad situation before and now she sleeps with it under her bed. The gun is her proof and symbol of power in a place where kids like her and her misfit friends regularly have it violently taken from them. When Atlanta has had enough, she in turn violently takes it back.
Atlanta is much in keeping with other Wendig heroes, such as Miriam Black of Blackbirds. This might cause consternation among the gatekeepers of young adult literature. Atlanta swears, there’s a quibble about different kinds of racism, there’s explicit descriptions of sexual torture, there’s the rhetoric of white supremacists, there’s violence against people and animals, there’s depictions of drug abuse and underage drinking – basically everything kids aren’t supposed to be exposed to. And yet they are. Already I’ve seen reviews that say Wendig is giving a bad example of how to deal with bullies, that violence isn’t the right answer to violence, etc. My concern there is the role of fiction and stories. Do writers and their authors have a moral imperative to teach – to show a “right way” of dealing with the world?
That’s a pretty massive question, one that has a long history of answers. My answer here is a solid No. The only obligation authors have is to tell a story to the best of their ability. And Wendig tells a damn good story in Atlanta Burns. Wendig doesn’t dismiss the moral quandaries of his characters though. Their actions have consequences, many of them unforeseen and part of Atlanta’s character growth is her dealing with and adapting to those consequences. She a girl in shit situations, doing the best she can, the best way she knows how. It’s hard to judge her for that but easy to root for her success. I sincerely hope to see more of Atlanta Burns in the future.
evavroslin's review
5.0
I'm not a huge fan of YA, but I'm a huge Chuck Wendig fan, so when he released this novel I wasn't sure what to expect, but I wanted to give it a shot. I'm glad I did because for those who have enjoyed the Miriam Black books and wonder if this would be their bag, I think it really is. I read this book from the lens of a reader who wanted a good story as opposed to be someone concerned about whether it was too graphic for teens. Yes, this book addresses mature subjects such as physical violence, weapons, crime, animal abuse, drug use, rape, and yes, it does contain a fair amount of profanity but it's an action-packed read that will appeal to teens and adults alike.
Many folks believe that YA should try hard to pull its punches and to not be so graphic and I would agree to a certain extent, but in this case, "Atlanta Burns" is a damn compelling story featuring a teenage protagonist who is a refreshing change of pace from all the boy-obsessed, Internet-a-holic female main characters that one usually finds in YA. Atlanta has much bigger and far more serious, life-threatening problems on her plate than worrying about whether some guy in her English class likes her or not. She comes with a complicated past, is a far cry from the goodie two shoes protagonists we usually see, and even though she is something of an anti-hero who goes by her own moral code, she's an underdog and easy to root for.
Fans of "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and "Veronica Mars" will definitely get a kick out of this book.
Many folks believe that YA should try hard to pull its punches and to not be so graphic and I would agree to a certain extent, but in this case, "Atlanta Burns" is a damn compelling story featuring a teenage protagonist who is a refreshing change of pace from all the boy-obsessed, Internet-a-holic female main characters that one usually finds in YA. Atlanta has much bigger and far more serious, life-threatening problems on her plate than worrying about whether some guy in her English class likes her or not. She comes with a complicated past, is a far cry from the goodie two shoes protagonists we usually see, and even though she is something of an anti-hero who goes by her own moral code, she's an underdog and easy to root for.
Fans of "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and "Veronica Mars" will definitely get a kick out of this book.
elinrss's review
3.0
I’ve been following Chuck Wendig’s blog and twitter for years, and have read a few of his writing advice books since then. I only recently realised that I had not, in fact, read one of his books. Which is where Atlanta Burns comes in. He writes blog posts like he writes books, I have to say, and while at times that makes it hilarious if frankly, quite rude, at other times it seems like the author accidentally let too much of his personality seep into his characters, and it feels a little out of place. While a little blunt and clumsy at times, it delivers its “fuck you” message to bullies well, and Atlanta is a well written main character and the perfect one for this story.
I do wish the message of the book had been something a little less like a teenage drama performance against bullying, but since it was done well, and I read it in half a day, I really can’t complain.
I do wish the message of the book had been something a little less like a teenage drama performance against bullying, but since it was done well, and I read it in half a day, I really can’t complain.