There is not one iota, one shred of this book that is believable within the realm of science. I plodded through the book to see if the author would attempt to piece together some element of plausibility, not nope -- nothing. ( )

17 year old Tora Reynolds is living in an underground shelter created by her scientist father after the sun, which has become a red giant, has made Earth almost uninhabitable. A family friend, Marcus, shows up to supposedly help Tora, but he really just wants access to the weapons that Tora's dad created. When Marcus finds out that Tora is the only person who can fire them, that messes up his plan, so he leaves and comes back later with a small but powerful group determined to gain control of the weapons. One of the group members, James, is not what he appears, and Tora, despite her determination to remain aloof, finds herself very attracted to him.
This is book one of what promises to be a great series. ( )

Seventeen year old Tora Reynolds faces an incredibly bleak future. When an attempt to deflect an asteroid that was headed directly at Earth goes awry, sending it into the sun, it speeds up the nuclear process, shortening its life immensely. As a result, the seas dried up, most people caught in the daytime were fried and small compounds became the last bastions of humanity.
The government, called the Coalition following the disaster, scared and focused on finding an alternative Earth, had her father develop some secret super weapons in case they encountered hostile species. When he realized the government had ulterior motives, her father keyed the weapons to her energy waves, preventing anyone else from firing them. He took the money he got and built a super strong, secret bunker where he moved his family and the weapons. Unfortunately Tora's mom and sister died when trapped outside and her father was murdered by the government. She believes that she's the last person on a dying planet.
When her old family friend, Marcus, appears and tells her the government was successful in finding a clone to Earth, she's immediately suspicious and his attempt to get the weapons validates her distrust. She drives him away, but is more convinced than ever she's going to die alone.
When he returns with others to wrest the weapons from her, she can't figure out James, one of the accompanying mercenaries. He's kind, then cool, but hints at as much pain in his past as she has in hers. They're ambushed by a Coalition ship, intent on getting her and the weapons. What follows is tense, high adventure of the best kind, leading to a cliffhanger ending that screams for a sequel.
This is an excellent YA entry into the Dystopian fantasy/science fiction genre. There's violence, but even mature tweens won't find that a deal breaker. Great addition to any library. ( )

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: This novel was enjoyable, with slight problems, but it left me wanting the sequel after a sudden twist. It’s a dark setting, but the main character’s witty, spitfire personality lightened the mood.

Opening Sentence: Six months and counting, yet not a whisper of a fellow human to be found.

The Review:

Meet Tora: living alone, possibly the last survivor on the planet Earth. Her family is dead. The sun is turning red giant years before scheduled and her father left her a bunch of evil guns that she’s somehow expected to protect from the almighty, corrupt Consortium government. Using her WAR machine to collect water from the air, she gets barely a cup or so a day of water, and she can’t venture outside without a suit in the daytime. Even in the night, storms rage ruthlessly. But soon, she’ll meet some people — some trustworthy, some only using her, who claim they can get her to the newly discovered planet.

Tora is a fun character. She’s witty, sarcastic, determined, and strong — she never gives up. Though her situation sucks, she fights to make it better. Sometimes her spitfire attitude can screw up her position even more, especially when she’s screaming strings of profanities at her captors, but it was also funny to watch. I could compare her to a more hotheaded version of Katniss, from The Hunger Games (as you all know). I also loved how she wasn’t all strength, and had weaknesses and things that hurt her, namely the memories of her family. Her father, she looked up to, for standing up to the Consortium, and his bravery in general. Her mother she didn’t look up to, because towards the end she was addicted to the pain medications and hated life, but Tora misses her all the same. But most of all is Tora’s sister. We get so many memories through Tora’s point of view about how bubbly and sweet her sister was, how kind and hopeful, and the two were very close. Now Tora’s all alone in a burning Earth and trying to keep it together. Her efforts are admirable, if I say so myself, even if she messes up every so often.

There are two love interests, and for me, it was a clear choice. James and another one who comes later, Alec. I didn’t trust James in the slightest. Certain revelations made me appreciate him a tiny bit more, but I still think Alec is a clear winner. He’s funnier, more loyal, and get this — he took care of a dog on the burning earth, sharing his meager supply of water so it didn’t die. Tora likes them both, though I don’t know what she sees in James, beside his “hotness”. He has the shyer, quiet vibe. Alec is more open and witty.

When I was reading this book I was 48 percent through and excited because a huge plot twist had just went down. But, apparently my PDF had two versions of the story, the same versions, just one after another. This made it 50% longer. I was upset when I realized I’d have to wait to read the second because I genuinely enjoyed Burn Out.

Finally, something I would like to address. On Goodreads, I scrolled down to see the average feelings of the reviewers and look at the synopsis before diving into the novel. A few reviews absolutely bashed Burn Out for being unrealistic. I respect their opinions, and definitely there are parts of Burn Out that don’t make much sense from a scientific standpoint, so I agree a little. However, isn’t the point of science fiction, fantasy, and dystopian YA to be unrealistic? Isn’t that what makes a book interesting, pushing the boundaries at new and unique, even if it doesn’t make complete sense? My conclusion — even if Burn Out was unrealistic, I don’t see any reason you shouldn’t read it. I enjoyed the characters and the plotline.

This novel was funny and unique. The ideas, especially for the weapons and some of the newer machinery, were very interesting. It was enjoyable as a whole, easy to read and be hooked into. It’s also a very quick book, or at least seems like it. If you’re a fan of space travel and dystopian novels than chances are, you will enjoy this to some degree. Yes, there were a few problems. The unrealistic elements, of which I have addressed already. Also, some scenes were a tad confusing and I would have to read again to fully understand. In the end, I still found this book lots of fun to read. Plus, look at the cover! It’s so bright and exciting! Little creepy, lots of color — just how I like it.

Notable Scene:

Markus watched my face, which I kept blank. Rage bubbled deep down inside but stayed buried, where emotions should stay. Rage was useless, hope only brought pain, and love ended in death.

He cleared his throat. “I think it’s safe to say the human race will continue, although I know you don’t think that’s necessarily a good thing.

FTC Advisory: Egmont USA/Random House provided me with a copy of Burn Out. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ( )

Too many generalizations.Liked the plot. ( )