Book Review: Burned

Burned is a really a hard book to describe. Basically the story follows a few different families. The stories of each family intersects with the lives of the others. I can't even begin to describe each character or even each family, all their stories are so interwoven and it's all too complicated. Think of the movies Crash or Love, Actually. For this reason the book, at first, was very confusing. 

Another thing about this book was it is very depressing. The things that happen in this book were just very heavy. It wasn't a bad book, but it took me a few days to read it, even though I could have probably finished it in a day. But, I could only handle it in little bits and pieces. Maybe it's because I'm partial to Christian books where there may be very tense scenes or brief moments of tragedy, but I know in the end all will be good and well. In this book I wasn't really sure. Thanks to the opening scene, we know at least one character turns out well and fulfills his dream. This is another thing, the book jumps settings. One chapter it's 2009, next it's 1997, next it's 2006. The opening scene is set in 2037.

I don't really know who I'd recommend this book to and last I checked on Amazon, a Kindle edition in the US is a whopping $14.99. I mean, wow. I'd say save your money, maybe it'd be free one day. Even though, I did find myself wanting to know more about the characters and getting involved in the story, I just can't say what type of reader might enjoy this book. 

I"m giving Burned 3 out of 5 stars, even though I feel more like 2 out of 5 stars is what I want to give it. It was interesting enough and did have me turning the pages and I don't think it's fair to penalize it just because it was a bit stressful to read thanks to some of the material in it.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book courtesy of NetGalley and Random House Australia Pty Ltd. in exchange for a honest review.