Review : Burn Out by Kristi Helving

Summary (from Goodreads)

Title : Burn Out (Burn Out #1)
Author : Kristi Helvig
Publication Date : April 8th 2014
Publisher : Egmont USA
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Most people want to save the world; seventeen-year-old Tora Reynolds just wants to get the hell off of it. One of the last survivors in Earth's final years, Tora yearns to escape the wasteland her planet has become after the sun turns "red giant," but discovers her fellow survivors are even deadlier than the hostile environment.

Holed up in an underground shelter, Tora is alone--her brilliant scientist father murdered, her mother and sister burned to death. She dreams of living on a planet with oceans, plants, and animals. Unfortunately, the oceans dried out ages ago, the only plants are giant cacti with deadly spines, and her pet, Trigger, is a gun--one of the bio-energetic weapons her father created for the government before his conscience kicked in.

When family friend, Markus, arrives with mercenaries to take the weapons by force, Tora's fury turns to fear when government ships descend in an attempt to kill them all. She forges an unlikely alliance with Markus and his rag-tag group of raiders, including a smart but quiet soldier named James. Tora must quickly figure out who she can trust, as she must choose between saving herself by giving up the guns or honoring her father's request to save humanity from the most lethal weapons in existence.

Personal Thoughts

I was craving a dystopian novel when I decided to pick up Burn Out. It was one of my Waiting on Wednesday picks and it sounded like an interesting read. Burn Out wasn't without its faults, but despite that, I found myself being entertained throughout most of the book and by the end, I was itching for the sequel.

Tora was an orphan living all by herself and guarding the secrets of her father's research. She was independent, head-strong and knew how to sustain herself. Tora was your typical YA dystopian heroine: badass, and someone a lot of readers aspire to be like. She had lost almost everyone near and dear to her and honestly, if I were in her position, I don't think I would be able to go through life as well as she did. Tora was also a smart heroine, which was a quality I appreciated. She questioned everything and did not trust people easily and rightfully so considering the world she lived in. Tora was a character I found easy to root for and her growth in Burn Out was a highlight for me. She wasn't as perfect as I'm making her sound though. She made some questionable choices in the book, but I wasn't as bothered by them because it made Tora a little more relatable. The secondary characters in the book, I was incredibly wary of. Burn Out is set in a dreadful world and I found myself imagining being in a similar situation, which led me to being suspicious of every character that was being introduced, especially because their actions bordered on betrayal. And I was right to be doubtful of them. My favorite secondary character was Britta. She and Tora had a very antagonistic relationship at first and I was honestly prepared to hate on Britta throughout the entire book, but she grew on me and by the end, she had earned my respect along with Tora's.

The world-building is where I mostly struggled with. Mostly because, having studied science most of my life, it was hard to suspend my disbelief so much and to think of the situation with the sun burning up and there not being water. It was too far-fetched for me, but I tried to set aside my knowledge and to just go with the flow. I think that's what really helped me get through the book. Regardless, I was especially curious about the government in Burn Out and why they were after Tora's father's guns. To be honest, not a lot of my questions were answered in the book and that was slightly frustrating. The plot in Burn Out was fast-paced and full of twists and turns. I certainly wasn't expecting some of the betrayals by certain secondary characters and so I was pleasantly surprised by the revelations in the story. The book did end in a mild cliffhanger and I have to say that I can't wait to see where the author takes the readers next because she does know how to keep readers on the edge of their seats.

Burn Out, while not the best YA dystopian/sci-fi novel out there, was a crazy and entertaining ride that left me salivating for more by the end. It's not going to appeal to every reader, but it's worth a shot!

Rating

Cover : 3/5
Plot : 3/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 4/5

**Overall Rating : 3.5/5**