ACCESS DIGITIZED EDITION
Guide/Reviews Database
OLDER FICTION
Rogers, Shannon C. F.

I'd Rather Burn than Bloom

320 pp. | Feiwel | July, 2023 | Trade ISBN 9781250845665 $19.99 | Ebook ISBN 9781250845672 $11.99
(2) YA When Marisol Martin's mother, with whom she had a difficult relationship, dies in a car crash, Marisol and her family are plunged into grief they don't know how to begin to process. A chain of behaviors soon after lands the Albuquerque high school sophomore in juvie ("where they send you to take classes on a computer when you've been kicked out of your own school, either for a little while, or forever"). She begins to heal by opening up to new friends, including bonding over commonalities between her Filipina mother's culture and fellow students' Mexican American culture. This poignant coming-of-age story, told in alternating "then" and "now" segments, takes readers on a complicated and isolating journey of loss, with welcome moments of humor. It spotlights the intricacies of parent-child relationships, acknowledging that adults don't always have the answers. Marisol is likable albeit flawed, and her story is emotional and heart-wrenching.
Reviewer: Gabi K. Huesca | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2023

RELATED 

OLDER FICTION

What Beauty There Is
by Anderson, Cory
OLDER FICTION

Between Perfect and Real
by Stoeve, Ray
OLDER FICTION

Zoe Rosenthal Is Not Lawful Good
by Werlin, Nancy
OLDER FICTION

Home Is Not a Country
by Elhillo, Safia
OLDER FICTION

All Our Hidden Gifts
by O'Donoghue, Caroline
More

Get connected. Join our global community of more than 200,000 librarians and educators.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?