Burn Our Bodies Down

By: Rory Power

Narrated by: Lauren Ezzo

Oprah Magazine Autostraddle Pick

From the author of the New York Times best seller Wilder Girls comes a new twisty thriller about a girl whose past has always been a mystery - until she decides to return to her mother’s hometown...where history has a tendency to repeat itself.

Ever since Margot was born, it’s been just her and her mother. No answers to Margot’s questions about what came before. No history to hold on to. No relative to speak of. Just the two of them, stuck in their run-down apartment, struggling to get along.

But that’s not enough for Margot. She wants family. She wants a past. And she just found the key she needs to get it: A photograph, pointing her to a town called Phalene. Pointing her home. Only, when Margot gets there, it’s not what she bargained for.

Margot’s mother left for a reason. But was it to hide her past? Or was it to protect Margot from what’s still there?

The only thing Margot knows for sure is there’s poison in their family tree, and their roots are dug so deeply into Phalene that now that she’s there, she might never escape.

©2020 by Nike Power (P)2020 by Blackstone Publishing

Just WOW!

I absolutely loved every word of this book. scary, such a great mystery. Must read for sure.

Family mystery meets horror with queer MC!

This is my second reading, the first with the audiobook, and this story definitely holds. I have recommended this book to so many people - it’s such a slow burn mystery-horror with a queer MC. I’m glad to know my recommendation hasn’t changed.

It’s a story about longing to find your place in the world and what happens when that place ends up making you question your entire being. Margot runs away to the small town her mother grew up in, searching for answers to the questions she’s been asking her whole life. A fire on the family farm brings a mystery to life, a dead girl with Margot’s exact face, that she must unravel but the truth can be dangerous. The Nielsen secrets run deep with roots that spread far through the apricot groves and dying corn fields.

This is a true 5 star for me. It stuck with me & made me fall in love with Rory Power. I highly recommend Wilder Girls, as well.

Interesting

Unusual story, a bit hard to follow at times, the last few chapters were worth the listen. Performance by the narrator was grating for me as she presents the narrative as being in a constant state of breathless panic 90%of the time, even when it’s not applicable.

Narrator ruined it

The storyline is interesting enough but drags on to long to get to the point. The narrator was overly dramatic throughout the book and became so annoying to listen to. I did not feel like the end provided full closure which worries me a sequel will happen and that’s the last thing this book should have.

Crazy

Crazy, grim, scary, confusing, impactful, mind boggling, impossible, shocking, and worth it.
But the apricots? Still confused.