Review: Burn for Burn

Title: Burn for Burn
Author: Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian
Release Date: September 18th, 2012
Pages: 368
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Description:
BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY...
THEY GET EVEN.

Lillia has never had any problems dealing with boys who like her. Not until this summer, when one went too far. No way will she let the same thing happen to her little sister.

Kat is tired of the rumours, the insults, the cruel jokes. It all goes back to one person– her ex-best friend– and she's ready to make her pay.

Four years ago, Mary left Jar Island because of a boy. But she's not the same girl anymore. And she's ready to prove it to him.

Three very different girls who want the same thing: sweet, sweet revenge. And they won't stop until they each had a taste.

Review:
You could probably imagine my excitement when I received this ARC in the mail... I was jumping up and down like I won a billion dollars. And I think my reaction was worth it because this book was just AH-MAZING. Think about it. Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian (Sidenote: I've actually never read a book by Ms. Vivian, but I'm sure that they're really great!)? Yeah, they're like a dynamic duo.  I'll try to make this review as spoiler-free as possible!  Basically, Burn for Burn follows Lillia, Kat, and Mary, and alternates with their points of view. They each have their own issues on their little island off of New York, are all completely different people, and they each find a way to get revenge on the people who have hurt them, whether it be in the past or the present.

Lillia, Kat, and Mary were all amazing characters. I think my favorite might be Lillia because while she's wealthy and popular, she still likes to do down to earth things unlike her snobby, but poor, BFF Rennie. Mary was a likable character, too. She was the sweet, quiet, and a bit insecure one who just came back to Jar Island after leaving several years before because of a traumatic incident. Kat was the total opposite of both Lillia and Mary. She was kind of like the bad girl of the group, but also had the creativity, the guts, and the brains to go through with the revengeful acts.

The way the whole story was set up was really cool, too. It started off as sort of an introduction, introducing us to Lillia, Kat, and Mary, along with the problems that they face. The beginning then leads into the plotting and the action which kept me captivated and held my attention all the way through to the end of the book.

One thing that I was a bit disappointed in was the lack of romance :( Romance really gets me hooked to a book and because Jenny Han wrote the Summer trilogy, I guess I kind of expected some sort of a romantic relationship to develop somewhere along the progress of the story. But then, in a way it put the focus on the three girls and their revenge on the three unsuspecting victims. And since I loved Burn for Burn without the intense romance, it just proves how great it is.

Overall, I fell in love with Burn for Burn. Even though it didn't have that romance aspect that Jenny Han brought in her Summer trilogy, it was still highly entertaining and addicting to read about what was going to happen next. Look out for it when it hits shelves September 18th! Mark your calenders! Pre-order it! Do whatever you need to do to remind yourself to get it! I'm sure that it will not disappoint.

Cover Review:
Love, love, LOVE the cover! It has that contemporary look and feel and has these light colors, but also maintains this mysteriousness. I'm definitely in love with the font for the title and author's names as well. Ahhh it's a way too cool cover!

Cleo :)

*Description and cover from goodreads.com
**Review copy received from Simon & Schuster (most likely through a giveaway... it was a very unexpected surprise)