Winner of the 2010 William C. Morris Award!In a tangle of life and death, love and loyalty, Blake will emerge with a more sharply defined snapshot ...
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Jan 04, 2012
Reynje
rated it: 
She flips through the photos, her face impassive. “Too bad about the flash burnout on this one.”Books like this remind me of why I love contemporary young adult fiction.
I look over at the shot she’s indicating. “The what?”
“The flash burnout. You got too close to the subject. So the flash overexposed her. Well, me, I mean.”
Flash Burnout is by no means a perfect book. Its frank approach to love, lust, death and drug abuse may not hold universal appeal with rea More...
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Apr 06, 2011
Sheela
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What I learned from this book as a writer:
This book made me aware of voice - of how certain combination of words, the use of slang, even the placement of punctuation can all contribute to the unique sound of a narrator. The narrator's voice will stay with me for a long time -- not the voice of LK Madigan, who I soon forgot about, but Blake, whose whole personality formed with perfect pitch.
I'm learning more about YA, too, as I read, about how voice might be the single mos More...
This book made me aware of voice - of how certain combination of words, the use of slang, even the placement of punctuation can all contribute to the unique sound of a narrator. The narrator's voice will stay with me for a long time -- not the voice of LK Madigan, who I soon forgot about, but Blake, whose whole personality formed with perfect pitch.
I'm learning more about YA, too, as I read, about how voice might be the single mos More...
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Dec 07, 2010
Kaitlyn
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this book is really good. i loved it. the main character Blake really shows how he feels and what he think. its so sweet. it gives a peep show of how teenage boys think and feel.you can learn how werid us girls seem to guys. I love how hes dosnt have a normal family but he dosnt let it affect him. the detail is really good.
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May 25, 2011
Erin
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I don’t think I ever expected to pick up a book about a 15-year-old boy and call it one of the best books I’ve ever read. Yet here I am doing just that.
I found out about Flash Burnout at Wordstock last weekend. I heard the author speak about the book during a teen-book session (I had gone to see a different author). L.K. Madigan really didn’t impress me. She’s new to writing, she’s a 40-something soccer mom, and yeah. The one thing that really caught my attention about her book was tha More...
I found out about Flash Burnout at Wordstock last weekend. I heard the author speak about the book during a teen-book session (I had gone to see a different author). L.K. Madigan really didn’t impress me. She’s new to writing, she’s a 40-something soccer mom, and yeah. The one thing that really caught my attention about her book was tha More...
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Nov 08, 2011
I love, love, loved this book. This story doesn't require suspended disbelief, which is a nice change of pace occasionally. It's incredibly authentic. The characters are perfectly fleshed out. Blake is in love with Shannon, who seems rather self-sufficient, and he's friends with Marissa, who needs him. He's a regular boy, but he's kind, and he tries to act with intention. This is, for anyone of any age, easier said than done. There's something inherently honest in adolescent boys' inner monologu
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Feb 27, 2011
Three words; gritty, pretty & bizarre
There was just something so very unique about this story. I couldn't stop turning the pages, even though on the surface the plot isn't something I'd think of as a "page turner".
Madigan seamlessly blends humor with more serious matters. She's somehow realistically channeled the mind of a teenage boy (to me anyway) that most authors even the male ones, have a hard time doing. The characterization was fantastic. Even the most mi More...
There was just something so very unique about this story. I couldn't stop turning the pages, even though on the surface the plot isn't something I'd think of as a "page turner".
Madigan seamlessly blends humor with more serious matters. She's somehow realistically channeled the mind of a teenage boy (to me anyway) that most authors even the male ones, have a hard time doing. The characterization was fantastic. Even the most mi More...
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Dec 23, 2011
Kelly
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Sometimes "witty" characters just aren't as funny as they're meant to be, so I was curious if Blake would feel authentic. And to my surprise, he did. Blake scores himself everyday on how many times he makes people laugh, especially his girlfriend, Shannon. She's perfect. Totally. Not only does she think he's hysterical, but she's hot and not psycho, and she likes to make out with him. But Blake's photography partner, Marissa, needs a friend, and he's there to help as she tries to get h
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Sep 20, 2011
Doreen
rated it:
Having been a high school librarian for several years, I have read many books which portray the inner life of high school students. It has been many, many years since I myself was in high school, and I was NEVER a high school boy, but this novel gives me as close a realistic picture inside the brain of a H.S. boy as I can remember ever reading. Blake's father is a forensic scientist, his mother is a hospital chaplain, and his older brother Garrett refuses to drive him places other than school, c
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Jul 27, 2011
Barky
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jun 08, 2011
Mrs. Foley
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This is a Gateway nominee for 2011-2012. Interesting photography terms, etc. start each chapter. The relationships explored seem honest and are probably quite common (although it has been awhile since I was a teenager!). :)
Review from Booklist:
Fifteen-year-old Blake believes he has the perfect set-up a gorgeous girlfriend (Shannon) and a friend who shares his love for photography who just happens to be a girl (Marissa). But a chance photo op of a street person begins the unr More...
Review from Booklist:
Fifteen-year-old Blake believes he has the perfect set-up a gorgeous girlfriend (Shannon) and a friend who shares his love for photography who just happens to be a girl (Marissa). But a chance photo op of a street person begins the unr More...
May 01, 2011
Ningerbil
rated it:
Blake is 15, with a good homelife, a girlfriend and good circle of friends. Life becomes complicated when one of his friends and fellow photography student, Marissa, needs his help due to her less than stellar home life. Her mother is addicted to Meth and wanders in and out of her daughter's life. Marissa wants to help, and Blake wants to help her. But he finds that juggling a girlfriend and a friend more challenging than he could ever anticipate. This is a very enjoyable, fairly clean book. I r
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Mar 27, 2011
Lisa
rated it:
Brief synopsis: Blake is a teenage boy with a girlfriend (Shannon) and a girl friend (Marissa). As part of a photo class assignment, he unwittingly takes a picture of Marissa's long-lost, meth addicted mother. And so the roller coaster ride begins...
This was one of those books that I kept reading to see what comes next but then I was so disappointed when the book is over. The ending was a bit more open ended than I would've liked, but I'm a "dot all the i's and cross all the t's" More...
This was one of those books that I kept reading to see what comes next but then I was so disappointed when the book is over. The ending was a bit more open ended than I would've liked, but I'm a "dot all the i's and cross all the t's" More...
Feb 27, 2011
Black Dog
rated it:
One of the things I appreciated about Flash Burnout is the novel’s setting: Portland, Oregon. Overall, it felt like the Portland I know. It weaved a quirky local event—zoobombing, called “hurtle” in the book—into the story arc.
Protagonist Blake has two major hobbies: photography, and comedy. He also has two girls in his life: his girlfriend, who’s cute, has a good sense of humor, and he hopes to sleep with. Then there’s Marissa, his friend from photography, whose work is “pretty” as op More...
Protagonist Blake has two major hobbies: photography, and comedy. He also has two girls in his life: his girlfriend, who’s cute, has a good sense of humor, and he hopes to sleep with. Then there’s Marissa, his friend from photography, whose work is “pretty” as op More...
Feb 13, 2011
Krista
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jan 12, 2011
Novel
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Flash Burnout is a rarity among YA novels for a number of reasons.
1. It’s edgy and realistic: No vamps, no zombies, nary a faery, but the subject matter does include a number of difficult subjects including drug addition, parental abandonment and sex (parents, don’t cover your eyes yet). I love vamps as much as the next reader, but it’s refreshing to visit real problems in the real world — there are no potions, runes or spells to undo the choices the characters make.
What’s mo More...
1. It’s edgy and realistic: No vamps, no zombies, nary a faery, but the subject matter does include a number of difficult subjects including drug addition, parental abandonment and sex (parents, don’t cover your eyes yet). I love vamps as much as the next reader, but it’s refreshing to visit real problems in the real world — there are no potions, runes or spells to undo the choices the characters make.
What’s mo More...
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Dec 22, 2010
Diane
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Blake, Marissa, and Shannon are sophomores in high school. Blake is good at photography, likes to make people laugh, grossed out by his father's job (he's a medical examiner), in love with Shannon, and Marissa's best friend. Marissa is also a photographer, fun to be with, and is trying to cope with some serious family problems. Shannon is beautful and sweet, in love with Blake, and jealous of his relationship with Marissa.
This is a wonderful, funny, realistic, heart-warming and h More...
This is a wonderful, funny, realistic, heart-warming and h More...
Jun 11, 2010
Autumn
rated it:
This was another great book I’ve read. It's hard for me to find a good book and stay interested in it enough to finish the entire book. This story tends to be mostly about a Fifteen year old boy named Blake who’s madly in love with his girlfriend Shannon but finds himself always saying the wrong thing, or always wanting to crack a joke at a time of awkwardness. He has a passion for photography so one day he took a picture of a haggard old woman laying on the side of the street, and later came to
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Jun 02, 2010
Vicki
rated it:
If I could give the first half of this book three stars, and the second half four stars, that's exactly what I'd do. Blake is a 15 going on 16 year old, and has a pretty amazing life. Two really cool parents, who manage to parent but not over or underdo it (a pretty damn near impossible feat, I'm beginning to believe), a pretty, kind of interesting girlfriend, and a group of pals. He dreams of being a comedian, and is a fair photographer. That's mainly what he has in common with his friend M
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May 30, 2010
elissa
rated it:
4 1/2 stars. Near perfect, for what it is, which to me is a high school slice of life that's an excellent look ahead for middle schoolers. It has sex, drugs, language, and music, BUT they're all so tastefully done that I'd hope that any parent who tried to object would just look like a total doofus. Morris committee made an excellent call on this one. I personally liked Hold Still slightly better, but I can see why this would win over that. They have in common the photography as art and hea
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Feb 12, 2010
Yvonne
rated it:
Flash Burnout by L.K. Madigan gets into the mind of fifteen-year-old Blake who is struggling to balance his perfect girlfriend Shannon and his photo partner and friend Marissa who happens to be a girl. He constantly gets in hot-water by saying or not saying the right thing. After taking a photo of a worn-down, drug addict on the street for his photography class (Blake always sticks to gritty photos), he discovers more about Marissa – that woman was her missing mother. As Blake learns more about
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Jan 23, 2010
AnnaBnana
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jan 20, 2010
Aaron
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This one is really well-named since I felt totally burned out from the subplots by the time I was done. Blake is 15 years old and in his sophomore year in high school. Most people find him to be quite humorous, and he is quite happy with his developing relationship with his girlfriend Shannon. It is probably not surprising to most readers that between his age and his relationship status that he is considering taking things to the next level with Shannon, but he is willing to wait even as he seem
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Oct 14, 2009
Jaclyn
rated it:
Once I started reading this book I had trouble putting it down, even though, on the surface, the plot doesn't sound like one I would find page turning.
What I loved about this book was the depth of characterization. I know Lisa, and sometimes that makes it very hard to get lost in a book. When you know the author, you see too much of them in the pages to forget that you're reading a story. But I did get lost in the characters. They were so complex. At first I thought Blake's older br More...
What I loved about this book was the depth of characterization. I know Lisa, and sometimes that makes it very hard to get lost in a book. When you know the author, you see too much of them in the pages to forget that you're reading a story. But I did get lost in the characters. They were so complex. At first I thought Blake's older br More...
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Sep 01, 2009
Kristin
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Flash Burnout by L.K. Madigan gets into the mind of fifteen-year-old Blake who is struggling to balance his perfect girlfriend Shannon and his photo partner and friend Marissa who happens to be a girl. After taking a photo of a worn-down, drug addict on the street for his photography class (Blake always sticks to gritty photos), he discovers more about Marissa – that woman was her missing mother. As Blake learns more about Marissa, their relationship changes, and Blake begins to realize that tho
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Jul 05, 2009
Jennifer
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Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com
Blake is trying to understand relationships. He has a girlfriend and he is also the friend of a girl. Both relationships are important to him, but he realizes balancing them requires artful skill much like in his hobby of photography. There are rules to follow and one mistake can cause everything to go out of focus.
Blake is a cool character. He dreams of life as a stand-up comic and uses almost ever More...
Blake is trying to understand relationships. He has a girlfriend and he is also the friend of a girl. Both relationships are important to him, but he realizes balancing them requires artful skill much like in his hobby of photography. There are rules to follow and one mistake can cause everything to go out of focus.
Blake is a cool character. He dreams of life as a stand-up comic and uses almost ever More...
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Jan 06, 2012
Chelsea
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FLASH BURNOUT REVIEW
If you like books about people being caught cheating on then you will LOVE this book a lot. And if you like to take photos then you will also like this book too.
Flash Burnout is a book about this guy who is in photo taking class and his best friend is a girl named Marissa and they hangout in house all the time and he does have a girlfriend (which she doesn’t know what’s going on between Blake and Marissa).
Til one day she is with hi More...
If you like books about people being caught cheating on then you will LOVE this book a lot. And if you like to take photos then you will also like this book too.
Flash Burnout is a book about this guy who is in photo taking class and his best friend is a girl named Marissa and they hangout in house all the time and he does have a girlfriend (which she doesn’t know what’s going on between Blake and Marissa).
Til one day she is with hi More...
Sep 09, 2011
Kat
rated it:
Blake is your typical middle-class American teenage boy. He lives in Portland, OR with his parents and his jocky older brother Garrett, and he recently acquired a sweet GF named Shannon. Among the standard teenage boy fare, Blake's hobbies include photography and cracking jokes. He secretly keeps a mental tally of how many daily laughs he gets from his sarcastic quips in hopes that he'll be a stand-up comic someday. Life seems great until one day in Photo class, Blake shows one of his gritty pic
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May 10, 2010
Tabitha
rated it:
Blake is a typical teenage boy, filled with hormones and rampant thoughts about sex. He also aspires to be a stand up comic, and does his best to make everyone around him laugh. He makes for a funny, interesting character that many teenage boys will relate to.
There were a few times, however, that his voice sounded too teen-girl. Such as "Oh no she didn't!" That phrase is begging for a 'snap' at the end of it, and I don't know any teen boys who would do that. :) He als More...
There were a few times, however, that his voice sounded too teen-girl. Such as "Oh no she didn't!" That phrase is begging for a 'snap' at the end of it, and I don't know any teen boys who would do that. :) He als More...
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Feb 27, 2010
Diana
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Fifteen-year-old Blake, a talented photographer with very supportive parents has two girls in his life. Marissa is his photography class partner who takes pretty photos thus the teacher calls them gritty and pretty. Shannon is his perfect girlfriend who is pretty, smart, and popular. She is also a very nice person. His dad is a medical examiner who likes to work on tools so it is not unusual to find a head saw that needs repairs on the kitchen table. His mother is a hospital chaplain who is very
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Jan 10, 2011
Lauren
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This book crept up on me. The first quarter or so took a while to get through, and I wasn't sure if I was terribly interested in the story. But soon enough, I couldn't get Blake and Shannon and Marissa out of my head, and last night I put down the book at a tense moment and went to sleep wondering how everything would turn out for the three main characters. I liked how the ending left several points unresolved, but left Blake in a place where you could be sure he'd start working things out for h
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