After We Burned

May 15, 2025
Four high schoolers in small-town Colorado grapple with secrets and corruption. Theo Robinson is a kindhearted student reporter, Kelsey Fink is a popular perfectionist, Payton Davis is a troubled loner, and Eden Randall was an artistic outcast. In their first-person points of view, which move forward and backward in time, they share their experiences connected to the fire that burned down their school and killed Eden. When the teens' worlds collide, they create a plan to inform the world of the secret traumas they and their classmates have endured. After the fire, Theo, who's trans and was one of Eden's best friends, begins investigating alongside Payton. Payton and Eden were in love, and they'd wanted to leave their abusive home lives for a fresh start, a dream cut short by Eden's death. Meanwhile, the students' unity splinters as they hide information and disagree about what to disclose. Nijkamp's latest is a topical assessment of the ways power and prestige can enable and cover up violence. Unfortunately, the narrators' voices blend together, and the dialogue lacks personality, with characters speaking in cliches and indulging in exposition. Complexity and specificity are often sacrificed in favor of messaging. The twists and turns keep the story moving at a solid pace, but the mystery feels undercooked. Main characters read white, and there's racial diversity in the supporting cast. A clear-eyed exploration about exposing hidden injustice that falls short in characterization. (content note)(Thriller. 14-18)

COPYRIGHT(2025) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

May 1, 2025
Grades 9-12 The night Eden and her girlfriend, Payton, try to run away, Eden breaks into her high school to get out of the rain, setting off a chain reaction that will bring Fenix, Colorado, to a flash point. How a fire destroyed Pierce High School that night, though, is only part of the story. Told from shifting points of view, including Eden's (who readers find out early on has died in that fire), this latest outing from bestselling Nijkamp lives up to her well-earned reputation, weaving a plot full of twists and oozing with a dark, atmospheric undercurrent, which is telegraphed in thoughtful trigger warnings. There is heavy symbolism surrounding the idea of rebirth by fire, especially regarding Payton's journey, which is nearly too heartbreaking for words. Almost every adult acts horribly throughout, which makes the few who help the narrators seem angelic. The simple act of telling the full truth seems impossible in this setting--whoever starts the fire, whoever screams the truth, will not make it out unscathed. A chilling mystery for readers looking for gritty depth.

COPYRIGHT(2025) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.