This book is engaging and the writer does a good job of keeping the action moving. "Burn Girl" is about Arlie, who has been burned in a meth lab fire and lives in hiding with her addicted mom. They are hiding from the law and Arlie's step father. After her mother dies (not a spoiler--it happens early) Arlie has to start going to school. She had been educated at home because she did not want to deal with children teasing her about her scars. After her mother dies Arlie is forced to get out into the real world and she learns that some people can look beyond her scars and love her. There are a few parts of the story that are not very realistic and that is the only reason I did not give it 5 stars. ( )

Very fast paced story of one girl's struggle to obtain a "normal" life after having so many terrible things happen to her. Arlie is the daughter of a drug addict who was badly burned when a meth lab her mother and stepfather were running exploded. The book opens with another terrible event; Arlie's mother has overdosed and died in a cheap motel room. Arlie must clean up the drugs and her mother's body, call the police and then resign herself to a life in foster care as she has no relatives....or does she? Suddenly into her life comes her uncle Frank from Texas, who decides to relocate to Arlie's hometown so he can build her a house and a new life. This book is about the power of friendship, as Arlie's best friend Mo is the one who drives the main character to believe there is hope and possibility of a better future, even when her father seriously disapproves of their friendship and her own life is tainted by the death of her sister to Leukemia. Throw into this story, the love of a gorgeous blind boy called Cody, serious bullying by a girl called Brittany ( what else) and the stalking of Arlie by her creepy step dad, and we have a romatic, suspenseful and fast-paced story. I loved the uncle Frank character and all his flaws, as well as the almost-too-good -to -be -true character of Mo, and the flashback parts of the story that explained critical events in Arlie's past added get weight to the story. Recommended for older teenage readers due to subject matter - drugs obviously, and also a few instances of swearing, violence and Arlie and Cody's discussion about taking their relationship to a physical level. ( )