Burning Up [Mass Market Paperback]

Caroline B. Cooney (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 9, 2001

This bestselling author explores the destructive nature of hatred, the crime of indifference, and the power of accepting love and responsibility.

Fifteen-year-old Macey Clare has always loved her quiet, beautiful Connecticut hometown. It's the place where her grandparents live, the place where her mother grew up. Macey is looking forward to the summer to come. She's hoping for fun and romance with her neighbor's perfect grandson Austin. But when Macey wants to research the facts behind who set fire to a barn across the street from her grandparent's home, she is shocked no one wants to answer questions about the place that burned down 38 years ago. And when a tragedy strikes a new friend who lives in the inner city, something clicks in Macey. She must discover her own true colors and face whatever it is she is going to find. Can she stand alone and take responsibility for the present while uncovering the past?

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This is a story rife with fire. In Shell Beach, where teenaged Macey Clare divides her life between her busy parents and her sweet-natured grandparents, neighbors gather around driftwood bonfires. Arson in the inner-city church where Macey volunteers leaves her asking why life should be so hard for some people--a question that becomes more urgent when her new friend Venita is killed in the crossfire of a gang shootout. And primary to the story is the mysterious fire of 1959 that burned down a barn across the street from Macey's grandparents' house. When Macey and her new love Austin begin to explore the barn's history for a school project, their families and neighbors become strangely evasive. But the pieces begin to fit together when Macey and Austin discover that long ago the barn had been turned into an apartment, the inhabitant of which was the first--and last--black high school teacher in Shell Beach. Why was the building burned down? And, more importantly, whose hand lit the match? As they dig deeper, Macey and Austin become more frightened of the truth--of answers that will rekindle fires of bigotry much too close to their own lives.

Caroline Cooney, the popular and prolific author of The Face on the Milk Carton and many other young adult novels, has risen to new heights of suspenseful storytelling with this wise and compassionate story. Teens will be riveted by the gradual revelation of the mystery, and inspired by Cooney's clear message that young people--as well as their elders--can be caught up in the apathy of "doing nothing" about evil. (Ages 12 and older) --Patty Campbell --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

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.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Laurel Leaf (January 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440226872
• ISBN-13: 978-0440226871
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.7 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (79 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #747,820 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #17 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Teens > Authors, A-Z > ( C ) > Cooney, Caroline B.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Touching., June 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Burning Up (Hardcover)

I had only read one of Caroline Cooney's books(the face on the milk carton)but I loved this one. I thought it was a GREAT mystery and a terrific plot, though the ending was a bit shaking. If you read this book and enjoyed it you would also like Sharon Creeches writing.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Burning Up with curiosity, December 15, 1999

By 

Inness (Washington, USA, North America) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Burning Up (Hardcover)

I loved this book! Like most books I couldn't put it down until finished. I think people who don't mind being curious and shaken at the end, who can put up with the 'boring parts' of this book should go for it. It's about a girl who is trying to find facts about an old barn that burned down once long ago with her new love, Austin. I give this book a thumbs up!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Burning Up Is On Fire!!!, April 24, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Burning Up (Mass Market Paperback)

Caroline B. Cooney's Burning Up is an awesome mystery/realistic fiction novel for teens! The imaginative plot and theme of this story is one that catches eyes wherever it is read. 15-year old Macey Clare investigates a fire that destroyed an apartment and barn in 1959, for a school history paper. Her family's lived in that same town forever, so she turns to them for information. But everyone she talks to is hiding secrets and telling Macey to choose another topic. This part of the book is an awesome attention-getter that makes you want to read on and solve the mystery. At some times the book can be a tad boring, but later on in the story, you recall valuable clues that were woven in those pages. Ms. Cooney did a terrific job of guiding the reader through the mystery-solving, without giving away the resolution until the end. Suspensful parts of the story keep you turning the pages. I thought that this book was different, and that's why I enjoyed reading it so much. Some of the events in this story leave you shocked and somewhat curious as to find out the cause of them. I reccommend this book to anyone who enjoys suspense, mystery, and history. In fact, I gave it to a girl in my class to read, and so far, she finds it very interesting and suspenseful. Way2go, Cooney!