Burning Blog Tour: Review & Giveaway

Welcome to my stop on the Burning Official Blog Tour, being hosted by Book Nerd Tours! To check out the rest of the tour, click on the banner above. Today I have my review of the book and don't forget to scroll to the bottom of the post to enter the awesome tour wide giveaway!

Burning

Author: Elana K. Arnold

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Release Date: June 11, 2013

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Description:

Ben: Having just graduated from high school, Ben is set to leave Gypsum, Nevada. It's good timing since the gypsum mine that is the lifeblood of the area is closing, shutting the whole town down with it. Ben is lucky: he's headed to San Diego, where he's got a track scholarship at the University of California. But his best friends, Pete and Hog Boy, don't have college to look forward to, so to make them happy, Ben goes with them to check out the hot chick parked on the side of Highway 447. 

Lala: She and her Gypsy family earn money by telling fortunes. Some customers choose Tarot cards; others have their palms read. The thousands of people attending the nearby Burning Man festival spend lots of cash--especially as Lala gives uncanny readings. But lately Lala's been questioning whether there might be more to life than her upcoming arranged marriage. And the day she reads Ben's cards is the day that everything changes for her. . . and for him. 

Burning is a beautifully written young adult novel full of romance. It follows teenage gypsy Lala and her family as they earn money by telling fortunes alongside the road. Lala brings in lots of customers with her accurate readings, but lately she's been questioning her lifestyle and if it's really what she wants out of life. The book also follows Ben, who has just graduated high school and is looking forward to escaping his small hometown for college in San Diego. His future is filled with hope and he intends to get away from the town that's falling down around itself. Before leaving for college, Ben decides to hang out with his best friends and goes to visit the gypsies nearby. When Lala ends up reading Ben's cards, Ben's life - and hers - will never be the same again.

This was a wonderful YA contemporary novel that revolves around love, hope, romance, and and self discovery. I thought that the characters were unique and very realistic - which made me immediately like them. The characters of Ben and Lala are so different from each other - it's as plain as day that they are opposites - but together they seem to complete each other; to fill a space in the other that neither even knew existed. The setting was perfect for the novel - the desert provided the perfect sense of isolation yet community that the characters needed. The writing was mesmerizing and I couldn't put the book down - which is saying something since I don't normally go for YA contemporary fiction. I was immediately drawn into the author's lyrical prose and the vivid details and descriptions. The story's pace was well done and the plot seemed to flow naturally. This is a perfect summer read for fans of YA contemporary fiction! It's definitely not a book you should miss out on!

ELANA K. ARNOLD completed her M.A. in Creative Writing/Fiction at the University of California, Davis. She grew up in Southern California, where she was lucky enough to have her own horse–a gorgeous mare named Rainbow–and a family who let her read as many books as she wanted. She lives in Long Beach, California, with her husband, two children, and a menagerie of animals. She is represented by Rubin Pfeffer of the East/West Literary Agency. Sacred is her debut novel. 

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 You can purchase BURNING at the following Retailers:
    

 

  

3 Winners will receive a Copy of Burning by D.J. Elana K. Arnold.
1 Winner will receive a Surprise ART Poster and Bookmark by James Vallesteros.
5 Winners will receive a Surprise ART Bookmark by James Vallesteros.
 

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