Reviews with content warning for Racism - Burn

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Burn by Patrick Ness

50 reviews

queenneehola's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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yvo_about_books's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

3.5

Finished reading: May 15th 2024

“Sometimes you just have to feel bad about a thing. Sometimes that's the only thing that makes you human.”

It's true that I don't read a lot of YA anymore, but I wasn't exactly mad when my TBR jar thought it was time I finally picked up Burn. It's been a couple of years since my last Patrick Ness book, and there is just something about his writing that always has me intrigued. Add the fact that I needed a book with dragons for the POPSUGAR challenge and the fact that the blurb sounded SO good, and I've actually been looking forward to this TBR jar pick. I can't deny that I somehow ended up having mixed thoughts though... It's not a bad read, but not my favorite among his books either. I think part of my issue is that there isn't enough worldbuilding for a book about dragons. In this case, Burn would have definitely benefitted from more instead of less pages; even just 50 pages of proper worldbuilding would have made such a difference in this story. The whole racism/homophobia/bigotry was also a bit too in-your-face, and I wasn't a fan of how it was incorporated into the plot. I understand that this story is set back in 1957 and things were different back then, but I don't think it adds any substantial to the story other than making you hate certain characters even more. I would have loved more focus on other elements instead... Like for example the dragons, the cult, the prophecy and the assassin. There is plently of action to be found along the way, and especially the second part is brutal. Definitely make sure to be ready for some extreme violence! As I've already become used to with Patrick Ness' books, Burn is another quirky and almost whimsical read, although the story is pretty brutal with heavy-hitting topics and violence at the same time. Not for everyone and it could have done with more development, but I'm personally still glad I finally read it.

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leftovergarlicbread's review against another edition

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emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Kept me super engaged and turning pages. All the plot twists were really good and unexpected but made sense. The author didnt just pull them out of his ass for shock factors alone. I liked the religious commentary with the dragon cult, and the comparisons you can make to a lot of bigger modern religions. The ending could have been a little bit better in my opinion i feel there wasnt really much of a cooldown. The climax ended and then the book ended almost immediately. I really really enjoyed how there was romance but it was VERY unforced. I also appreciate So Much that it wasnt between the two main characters. And that there was no love triangle. Overall a really fun and interesting read

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pinglee's review against another edition

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mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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winterwolf's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

This book was a roller coaster ride of emotion and mystery. It kept me on my toes and had me shocked in almost every chapter. This is the second book I've read by Patrick Ness and I have to say he is an incredible writer. The characters are very diverse, which is hard to find. Highly recommend this book.

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msreedy's review against another edition

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funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a good read! I never know what to expect from a Patrick Ness novel, and this one was no exception. It's not necessarily a harrowing tale of dragons and adventure, but it has its tense, heartbreaking moments, and the pacing was fairly quick, though I did settle on "medium" because the setup sometimes slowed things down, but I think it balanced very nicely. I'm not sure that I'll go on recommending it to everyone I know, but it's an incredibly unique book that I enjoyed quite a bit. I both love and loathe Ness's penchant for leaving readers with so many questions.

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smuttymcbookface's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

There was a lot to love about Burn. Patrick Ness did an amazing job of building relatable, unremarkable characters who can achieve amazing things. He gave glimpses into hardships and good people forced to struggle for a living, and mixed in this wonderful fantastical plot amongst it all.

My biggest gripe with this book was around the 60% mark, when things finally started to happen. I found the events just a little too ridiculous, even for a fantasy, and then the swapping POVs when city-wide annihilations were happening just didn't feel right. I found myself counting down for certain chapters to end so I could move on, or rolling my eyes at some of the explanations given for why things were happening.

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