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Reviewed by:
  • Burn for Burn
  • Karen Coats
Han, Jenny . Burn for Burn; written by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian. Simon, 2012. [368p]. Trade ed. ISBN 978-1-4424-4075-3 $17.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-1-4424-4077-7 $9.99 Reviewed from galleys Ad Gr. 9-12.

After Kat, Lillia, and Mary suffer slights from friends on their island home, they band together to take revenge. Kat still stings from being wedged out of her three-way friendship with Rennie and Lillia years ago, especially since Rennie never neglects an opportunity to humiliate her publically. Lillia willingly pays the price for hanging with the popular crowd, but she feels betrayed when she is date-raped after Rennie drags her to a party, and she is determined to protect her little sister from a similar fate at the hands of the older boys she's attracting. An overweight Mary left the island after popular, athletic Reeve humiliated her to the point where she attempted suicide in junior high; now she's back and thin, but she still isn't getting the kind of attention from Reeve that she wants. As the girls plot their vengeance, however, they find that they may not have seen things as they really are. Hints at supernatural powers emanating from Mary are never developed, and an abrupt ending will either titillate or frustrate readers, depending on their ability to tolerate a huge buildup with a lack of resolution. However, Han and Vivian are seasoned veterans of the friendship drama; they manage an appealing premise with a well-paced plot and lots of juicy, atmospheric detail. Readers hungering for a little payback for social snubs may well find some vicarious satisfaction here.

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