Burning

Description

From Booklist Ben is college-bound, which is unusual in his town, which is literally shutting down, now that the company that owns it is closing the gypsum mine. Lala is a Roma girl, whose family has come to the desert (near Ben’s home, outside the Burning Man festival) to earn money fortune-telling. When Lala tells Ben’s fortune, something breaks open for both of them. Telling the story in alternating voices, they must decide if the paths they are on—college and arranged marriage—are what they want (or must do). Though Ben seems more real than Lala, whose stiltedly accented voice is a distraction, readers will definitely be caught up in their romance. The relationship is decided at the Burning Man festival, and readers will be unsure which way it will go till the very end. Grades 9-12. --Ilene Cooper Read more Review Kirkus Reviews, May 1, 2013:"Lyrical and inspirational."School Library Journal Teen, May 1, 2013:"No doubt, a great, unexpected ending." Read more See all Editorial Reviews