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The Burning Girl
A young woman trapped between worlds is forced to take sides in a war, take control of herself . . . and her power.
296 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 5, 2015
Rye wakes up in quarantine, covered in fever lesions and missing the last several years of her memory. Friendless and broke, she moves into a boarding house and takes a menial job to support herself. But something about her has changed...
My progress through this book went something like this:
Beginning: Wow, this seems really original and interesting, I wonder why it isn't rated more highly.
page 50: Oh, they are finding the secret stuff really fast. Too bad, I was enjoying the suspense of her having amnesia and not having a clue what was happening.
page 90: This hallucinatory fevered confusion is getting old fast.
2/3s thru: I wish people would stop storming out on each other. They're basically creating the plot episodes by stupidity here.
end: well, that was... um...
But still, like I said at first, interesting and original. The writing was decent and the characters were believably flawed, even if their actions weren't always. And kudos for having a horribly scarred heroine and not making it a huge whingefest about her looks.
My progress through this book went something like this:
Beginning: Wow, this seems really original and interesting, I wonder why it isn't rated more highly.
page 50: Oh, they are finding the secret stuff really fast. Too bad, I was enjoying the suspense of her having amnesia and not having a clue what was happening.
page 90: This hallucinatory fevered confusion is getting old fast.
2/3s thru: I wish people would stop storming out on each other. They're basically creating the plot episodes by stupidity here.
end: well, that was... um...
But still, like I said at first, interesting and original. The writing was decent and the characters were believably flawed, even if their actions weren't always. And kudos for having a horribly scarred heroine and not making it a huge whingefest about her looks.
April 6, 2012
The novel begins in the midst of the main character, Rye's story. Significant events have previously and dramatically impacted on her life, resulting in Rye now being physically, emotionally and mentally scarred. In effect, the novel begins after another story has ended.
The story's over arching theme appears to be distrust and miscommunication, and the inevitable misunderstands, disappointment and failures that result. The characters never quite manage to fully trust each other or communicate fully with each other. They are constantly second guessing each others motives. They are all obsessed with where they have been and where they are going, as a result they are like lost soles never content to live in the present for long, unable (in spite of a deep desire to do so) to form deep bonds of trust with anyone else.
This could quickly become static, however Ms Phillips mostly keeps the plot moving along briskly, introducing new characters, settings and events that shake up the story (and the readers complacency). Wisely, considering this is her first novel, Ms Phillips keeps the scope of the story fairly limited and self contained.
My one complaint is that with the ending. Not with the fact that Rye's own future is open ended and unresolved; her story continues after the end, much like it began before the beginning of the novel. Rather, that the description of the fall out of Rye's decision (to tell more would be too much of a spoiler) was too vague and incomplete to give me as sense of just what ultimately happened. But then this seems to dove tail with the above described theme of miscommunication, misunderstanding and disappointment. Definitely a SF novel for an adult reader.
The story's over arching theme appears to be distrust and miscommunication, and the inevitable misunderstands, disappointment and failures that result. The characters never quite manage to fully trust each other or communicate fully with each other. They are constantly second guessing each others motives. They are all obsessed with where they have been and where they are going, as a result they are like lost soles never content to live in the present for long, unable (in spite of a deep desire to do so) to form deep bonds of trust with anyone else.
This could quickly become static, however Ms Phillips mostly keeps the plot moving along briskly, introducing new characters, settings and events that shake up the story (and the readers complacency). Wisely, considering this is her first novel, Ms Phillips keeps the scope of the story fairly limited and self contained.
My one complaint is that with the ending. Not with the fact that Rye's own future is open ended and unresolved; her story continues after the end, much like it began before the beginning of the novel. Rather, that the description of the fall out of Rye's decision (to tell more would be too much of a spoiler) was too vague and incomplete to give me as sense of just what ultimately happened. But then this seems to dove tail with the above described theme of miscommunication, misunderstanding and disappointment. Definitely a SF novel for an adult reader.
August 24, 2014
Hmm. I think this is a first novel, so maybe Phillips will build up some plotting skills to go with her considerable talent for vivid imagery. As it was, I just found this to be an interesting premise and some nice writing with a story that didn't go very far or give much of a sense of progress or character growth.
November 7, 2010
Very strange and surreal book with a very atypical ending - but this is what I really liked and I guess why I enjoyed this book so much. This is not a book to read on the side, but one has to pay a lot of attention in order to get all the subplots and storylines, which are confusing and quite tangled.
July 31, 2012
I found this book fascinating but unfulfilling. Lots of obscure, confusing parts, repetition- I found myself getting impatient after reading half, wondering where was it going, what was this all about. And at the end I still really didn't know.
July 27, 2009
An unusual book. I liked the inclusion of synesthesia. I did get a bit confused over what an arcwright is.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews