3.5
Year on Fire
ByPublisher Description
New York Times bestselling author Julie Buxbaum explores the blinding power of lies, the tight grip of family secrets, and the magic of first love in this poignant novel about a trio of friends and the allure of romantic feelings that fractures their bond as they struggle to remain true to themselves while building back the grounding friendship on which they once relied.
It was a year on fire. They fell in love. Someone was bound to get burned.
The Spark: Just days before the start of junior year, a spontaneous kiss and then a lie shake the very foundation of the friendship between best friends Immie and Paige. Immie’s twin brother, Arch, knows something, only he’s not talking. Some loyalties run too deep to be broken by accidental betrayal.
The Fuel: Enter Rohan, new to Wood Valley High by way of London, who walks into school on the first day completely overwhelmed by his sudden move halfway around the world. When Paige calls dibs on him—he’s too cute to ignore—Immie is in no position to argue, certainly not after taking the fall for the disloyal kiss. Too bad for Immie that Ro feels like the best kind of familiar.
The Kindling: Former lab partners Arch and Jackson, Paige’s ex-boyfriend, have never considered themselves more than friends. But sometimes feelings can grow like flames fanned by the wind.
The Flames: When the girls’ bathroom at Wood Valley is set ablaze, no one doubts it’s arson. But in this bastion of privilege, who’d be angry enough to want to burn down the school? Answer: pretty much everyone.
It was a year on fire. They fell in love. Someone was bound to get burned.
The Spark: Just days before the start of junior year, a spontaneous kiss and then a lie shake the very foundation of the friendship between best friends Immie and Paige. Immie’s twin brother, Arch, knows something, only he’s not talking. Some loyalties run too deep to be broken by accidental betrayal.
The Fuel: Enter Rohan, new to Wood Valley High by way of London, who walks into school on the first day completely overwhelmed by his sudden move halfway around the world. When Paige calls dibs on him—he’s too cute to ignore—Immie is in no position to argue, certainly not after taking the fall for the disloyal kiss. Too bad for Immie that Ro feels like the best kind of familiar.
The Kindling: Former lab partners Arch and Jackson, Paige’s ex-boyfriend, have never considered themselves more than friends. But sometimes feelings can grow like flames fanned by the wind.
The Flames: When the girls’ bathroom at Wood Valley is set ablaze, no one doubts it’s arson. But in this bastion of privilege, who’d be angry enough to want to burn down the school? Answer: pretty much everyone.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesYear on Fire Reviews
3.5
“This book follows twins Immie and Arch, their friend Paige and newcomer Ro as they navigate the early months of Junior year at Wood Valley private school in L.A.
The twins have a long standing bond with Paige, but when a kiss at a party unleashes a series of events that affect all aspects of this relationship, their dynamic is deeply affected and their lives have to be reevaluated. Of course, this also affects the relationship with Ro, the newcomer from London both girls seem to like.
I had never read this author, but I really like the YA genre so decided to give it a try. Adolescent friendships tend to remind me of my own long standing bonds with HS friends, but it seems apparent I’m getting too old to appreciate what kids are dealing with today or maybe, as I think, this book is to PC for my taste.
The four main characters are dealing with the never changing growing pains pertinent to their ages and these are things I understand from this book, but I didn’t care for the delivery at all. From the 4 POVs to the repetitive understanding of the arsonist each of them seem to have, I didn’t feel this book and not once did I empathize with any of them.
1 star
*ARC by the publisher via NetGalley*”
About Julie Buxbaum
JULIE BUXBAUM is the New York Times bestselling author of the young adult novels Tell Me Three Things, What to Say Next, Hope and Other Punch Lines, and Admission. She also wrote the critically acclaimed The Opposite of Love and After You. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children. Visit her online at JulieBuxbaum.com and follow her on Twitter @juliebux and on Instagram at @ juliebuxbaum.
Other books by Julie Buxbaum
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