"Burn Our Bodies Down," by Rory Power

Scary things happen when your family keeps their history a secret. Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Power shows this type of life in a horror book showing a young girl trapped in a rural area with her mysterious family members. It’s a suspenseful, gripping story that keeps you engaged in the twists and turns of what is a strange book. It comes from no surprise the story was made by Rory Power, as she is known for young adult and horror stories. She grew up in New England and earned a master's in fiction writing. She worked her way up through writing for the New York Times to eventually becoming a bestselling author.

The story follows Margot, a 17 year old girl fed up with the way her life goes. Her mother feels loving but is so emotionally distant, and Margot gets a feeling she’s held some big secrets from her throughout her life. Wanting desperately for a change in her life, she follows a breadcrumb trail through an old family photo, which leads her to an ancient family farm in a town called Phalene. Once she arrives she’s brought in by her strange grandmother who is very surprised by her arrival. The real conflict of the story begins when upon arrival a nearly identical girl to Margot gets pulled out of a fire. The story becomes a conflict over the family tree and their dark secrets. She needs to navigate and figure out what's under the lies her mom and grandmother have told her, and find out what’s really going on in this town. The main conflict is her realizing the unsettling nature of her family and then finding her way around it.

My favorite part about this book is the creepy narration. The cornfield setting and the creepy nature of the town sets up an atmosphere of sorts for the book. The mystery in the book and the way things don’t really come together until the very end makes the mood of the book really distinct. Rory Powers is very talented in this book at keeping a reader engaged and interested in what will happen next. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys thriller books. Anyone who enjoys suspense and being confused while reading will love this book. Burn Our Bodies Down is a gripping and exciting novel and I would recommend it to almost any reader. The story goes into family, identity, and keeping secrets. If you're looking for a book that keeps you engaged all stories wrong and makes you think the whole way through, definitely recommend this book.