Burn Baby Burn
Age 14+
General Fiction
While violence runs rampant throughout New York, a teenage girl faces danger within her own home in Meg Medina's riveting coming-of-age novel.
Nora Lopez is seventeen during the infamous New York summer of 1977, when the city is besieged by arson, a massive blackout, and a serial killer named Son of Sam who shoots young women on the streets. Nora’s family life isn’t going so well either: her bullying brother, Hector, is growing more threatening by the day, her mother is helpless and falling behind on the rent, and her father calls only on holidays. All Nora wants is to turn eighteen and be on her own. And while there is a cute new guy who started working with her at the deli, is dating even worth the risk when the killer likes picking off couples who stay out too late? Award-winning author Meg Medina transports us to a time when New York seemed balanced on a knife-edge, with tempers and temperatures running high, to share the story of a young woman who discovers that the greatest dangers are often closer than we like to admit — and the hardest to accept.
Creators
Meg Medina is the author of the Newbery Medal–winning book Merci Suárez Changes Gears, which was also a 2018 Kirkus Prize finalist. Her young adult novels include Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass, which won the 2014 Pura Belpré Author Award; Burn Baby Burn, which was long-listed for the National Book Award; and The Girl Who Could Silence the Wind. She is also the author of picture books Mango, Abuela, and Me, illustrated by Angela Dominguez, which was a Pura Belpré Author Award Honor Book, and Tía Isa Wants a Car, illustrated by Claudio Muñoz, which won the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award. The daughter of Cuban immigrants, she grew up in Queens, New York, and now lives in Richmond, Virginia.
Reviews
I really liked Burn Baby Burn and I’d definitely recommend it.
My Life in Books
In a story of resilience set against a fascinating historical backdrop, Medina brings to life the difficulties that Nora faces with courage and thoughtfulness.
Read Plus
As far as YA fiction goes, this is a finely honed piece of writing. Meg Medina is obviously a writer who knows how to craft a believable, absorbing story with perfectly timed pacing and no filler.
The Bookshelf Gargoyle
I loved reading about the characters and their relationships with Nora, and I found the overall story line really intriguing and I was constantly interested in what was going to happen next.
Read Books Read
The novel could have become an angst-ridden disaster story, but instead it reveals a strength – of character, of location, of past times – that is forward-focused and inspiring. Highly recommended.
Reading Time
I really liked Burn Baby Burn and I’d definitely recommend it.
My Life in Books
In a story of resilience set against a fascinating historical backdrop, Medina brings to life the difficulties that Nora faces with courage and thoughtfulness.
Read Plus