Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Power

Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Power
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Rory Power has done it again with Burn our Bodies Down, another captivating and unputdownable read about a teen girl trying to unravel the truth of her reality and take control of her life. Margot has lived a sheltered and tense life with her distant mother without so much as a mention of a father or any other family. So when she finds a lead on possible relatives and information about where she came from, she jumps on the chance to pursue it, but never could have imagined the sinister secrets that wait for her.
Margot is a brave character, and Power does a great job portraying the pain and confusion of a teenage girl who doesn't know who to trust and has never been able to break down her mother's walls to feel loved. Her grandmother is absolutely terrifying.

Thanks to the publisher for the review copy.

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Ordinary Girls by Jaquira Diaz

Ordinary Girls is a memoir by Jaquira Diaz that spans a wide range, beginning with her childhood in Puerto Rico and her family's move to Miami. Sadly, like so many ordinary girls, Jaquira experienced chronic instability, a culture that views women as sexual objects yet not beautiful unless they have the "right" skin tone or the "right" hair, and a family that was just not there for her in any way and even allowed her to be abused, but she never gave up on herself. Jaquira has such a strong voice that despite having a somewhat scattered structure and style, this was an enjoyable and powerful memoir. I read Educated around the same time and was struck by the fortitude of these two young women who were so drawn to books in chaotic environments and were able to carve a path for themselves while showing such empathy for their toxic parents and their younger selves.
I was torn on my 3 star rating because I really love Jaquira's intelligence, vulnerability, and even humor, but just didn't love the nonlinear structure of this book and wasn't able to get fully immersed.

Thank you to the publisher for inviting me to be part of the blog tour for this book. The paperback comes out today, June 16, 2020.