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Burning Up

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

Fifteen-year-old Macey Clare loves her Connecticut hometown, where her mother grew up and her grandparents still live, and she likes visiting her grandparents even more now that their neighbors' handsome grandson, Austin, has moved in.

But when Macey decides to research the history of a burned-out barn across the street from her grandparents' home for a school report, she gets a shock about what happened. Nobody can change the past, but is Macey ready to take the responsibility for the present and in the process reveal dark secrets about her town and the people she loves?

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  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      February 1, 1999
      What does a 1959 barn fire in Macey's affluent Connecticut town have to do with an arsonist's attack on an inner-city church where she and classmates volunteer one day? Nothing, as far as the 15-year-old's friends and family are concerned. But Macey, who narrowly escaped the church fire, senses that there is a connection between the two when she researches local history for a school project. Cooney (The Face on the Milk Carton) has produced another tantalizingly dark secret for her protagonist and readers to unravel together. Macey's rising awareness of hate crimes sharply escalates after Venita, whom Macey met at the church, is murdered when she tries to interrupt a gang fight. Macey is appalled by her parents' and grandparents' apparent callousness and their refusal to let her attend the girl's funeral ("Try not to think about Venita," her mother says. "It's so sad, darling, but there is nothing you can do"). Were her grandparents' hearts as cold 40 years ago when the barn apartment of the town's only black resident went up in smoke? Were they responsible for his near death? By interviewing community members and tracking down Mr. Sibley, the tenant of the barn apartment, Macey finds the ugly answers to her questions. Even though Macey's introduction to prejudice and her unshakable nobility are slightly overdrawn, she remains a sympathetic figure, just stubborn and vulnerable enough to be real. Ages 12-up.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      January 8, 2001
      Macey senses a connection between a 1959 barn fire and an arsonist's attack on an inner-city church. PW wrote, "Even though Macey's introduction to prejudice and her unshakable nobility are slightly overdrawn, she remains a sympathetic figure." Ages 12-up.

Formats

  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • ATOS Level:5
  • Lexile® Measure:720
  • Interest Level:9-12(UG)
  • Text Difficulty:3

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