A review by becandbooks
Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Power

5.0

Trigger warnings:
Spoilerfire, emotional parental abuse, gaslighting, generational abuse, body gore, blood, dead body (on-page), runaway child, death, child/infant death, gun violence (off-page), emesis (mentioned)


If you want atmospheric, tension-building horror and family secrets - this is your book.

I went into the book a little biased; I adored Power's debut book, Wilder Girls. And I was not disappointed in the slightest.

This is a story that revolves around the secrets of Margot's family, which she has never known. After discovering more lies and hidden family, Margot leaves the unstable environment with her single mother to find some answers. Which - of course - leads to a whole world of problems.

The story is dark and grisly, secretive and gory at times. Power writes a story that is shocking and will keep you guessing until the end.

"I will always wish I were hers, and I will always want to be only my own. I haven’t found a way yet to make the two fit.”


The characters as well are fantastically well-written. Margot, herself, has a great amount of depth as she struggles to find her place within her strange family. The dynamics explored with acquaintances/friend, Teresa, was brilliant and didn't feel forced or flat. And the gay rep! We love a book that makes someone's sexuality REAL without having to make it a core concept in the story.

My one disappointment was the ending wasn't everything for me. I liked it fine enough, but I felt it fell a little flat compared to the development in the rest of the story.

The audio narration for this book was spot on. I could not fault it if I tried - the narration was gripping and emotional from start to finish.

Absolutely check this book out if it sounds like your style. This is exactly the sort of horror I want more of in the YA sphere and Power just keeps on giving!

Note: Review copy received via NetGalley. This does not impact opinions within this review.

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Happy reading! ❤