Books That Burn

This fortnight we’re discussing “Bruja Born” by Zoraida Córdova, the second book in the Brooklyn Brujas trilogy. Heather joins us again on this episode!

TITLE: Bruja Born AUTHOR: Zoraida Córdova PUBLISHER: Sourcebooks Fire YEAR: 2018 LENGTH: 352 pages AGE: Young Adult GENRE: Fantasy RECOMMENDED: Highly

Book TW for ableist language, vomit (graphic), fire, blood (graphic), gore (graphic), violence (graphic), pregnancy (not depicted), medical content, medical trauma (graphic), cannibalism, child death, death.

Topic 1: Casimuertos - Cannibalism. Begins at (0:50), CW for Cannibalism, undead, self-aware zombies

Topic 2: Lula - Survivor’s Guilt. Begins at (9:30), CW for death, bus crash.

Topic 3: Lula - Life Drain. Begins at (22:45), CW for mention of gore, death.

Promo for Fun and Games (CPOV); Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (35:57).

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You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.

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Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.

Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we’re discussing “Labyrinth Lost” by Zoraida Córdova, book one of the Brooklyn Brujas series.

TITLE: Labyrinth Lost AUTHOR: Zoraida Córdova PUBLISHER: Sourcebooks Fire YEAR: 2016 LENGTH: 336 pages AGE: Young Adult GENRE: Fantasy RECOMMENDED: Highly

Book TW for bullying, child abuse (backstory), blood, violence, panic attacks, missing parent, animal death, death.

Topic 1: Kidnapping. Begins at (1:35), CW for mention of torture, betrayal

Topic 2: Family Rejection. Begins at (11:00), CW for abandonment, mention of drug use.

Topic 3: Misplaced guilt. Begins at (23:00), CW for missing parent, discussion of divorce, discussion of death.

Promo for ComicsQuest from CPOV; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (32:40).

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If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon.

To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi.

For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter.

You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.

Find all our links on our Carrd.

Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.

Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we’re discussing “GRACELING” by Kristin Cashore. This is the first book of the YA fantasy series, Graceling Realm.

TITLE: Graceling AUTHOR: Kristin Cashore PUBLISHER: Houghton Mifflin YEAR: 2008 LENGTH: 471 pages AGE: Young Adult GENRE: Fantasy, Romance RECOMMENDED: Yes

Book TW for sexism, misogyny, sexual content (brief), sexual assault (not depicted), kidnapping, child abuse, animal cruelty, medical content, blood, vomit, violence, torture, animal death, parental death, child death, murder (graphic), death (graphic).

Topic 1: Leck - Gaslighting. Begins at (1:35), CW for Murder, torture, animal cruelty, death

Topic 2: Katsa - Coercion. Begins at (13:00), CW for Violence, death, coercion

Topic 3: Bitterblue - Death of Parent. Begins at (22:10), CW for Murder, death of parent, child abuse

Promo for CPOV - Another Pass; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (29:15).

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To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi.

For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter.

You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.

Find all our links on our Carrd.

Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.

Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we’re discussing “Thirsty” by M.T. Anderson.

In THIRSTY, everyone sucks. Suddenly learning you're a vampire doomed to brief madness before death or (best case scenario) a long life of cannibalism will ruin anyone's day. Looks like it's going to ruin Chris's month.

TITLE: Thirsty AUTHOR: M.T. Anderson PUBLISHER:Candlewick Press (MA) YEAR: 1997 LENGTH: 237 pages AGE: Young Adult, Middle Grade GENRE: Fantasy, Horror RECOMMENDED: Yes

Book TW for queerphobia (brief), ableist language, misogyny, bullying, anxiety, mental illness, stalking, vomit (graphic), self harm (graphic), gore (graphic), blood (graphic), violence, cannibalism, animal death, lynching, murder, child death, major character death, death.

Topic 1: Child Death. Begins at (1:30), CW for Murder, child murder, ritual human sacrifice.

Topic 2: Bullying. Begins at (16:10), CW for Bullying, child death, murder.

Topic 3: Cognitive deterioration. Begins at (29:00), CW for ableism, self-harm, auto-cannibalism, cognitive deterioration, suicide mention, murder, suicide by cop, mention of lynching.

Promo for Crit Chat; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (41:00).

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If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon.

To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi.

For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter.

You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.

Find all our links on our Carrd.

Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.

Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we’re discussing “Unwind” by Neal Shusterman. This is book one of the Unwind Dystology. Robin has been reading Shusterman's work since they were a kid and this was a new one for them.

UNWIND is a dystopian future where abortion is outlawed but teenagers can be "unwound", a state which is distinct from death in ways that are legalistic, technical, and horrifying.

TITLE: Unwind AUTHOR: Neal Shusterman PUBLISHER: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers YEAR: 2007 LENGTH: 335 pages AGE: Young Adult GENRE: Dystopian, Science Fiction RECOMMENDED: Yes

Book TW for discussion of abortion, discussion of “retroactive abortions”, discussion of “right to life”

Topic 1: Vestigial Existence. Begins at (1:30), CW for Death, loss of self, dismemberment, body horror, medical content

Topic 2: Split identity. Begins at (11:35), CW for Death, loss of self, dismemberment, body horror, medical content, loss of control over body

Topic 3: Dismemberment. Begins at (23:58), CW for Death, dismemberment, mention of abortion, medical trauma

Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (39:45).

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If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon.

To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi.

For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter.

You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.

Find all our links on our Carrd.

Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.

Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

Please enjoy the spoiler-free portion of our interview with author Kevin Klehr discussing three of his books, "Social Media Central", "Midnight Angel", and "Winter Masquerade". Timestamps are marked for the interview questions. Become a Patron at any level to receive the spoiler-filled second half of the interview.

• Intro (0:00)
• Can you talk a little about the way trauma works in your writing? (0:55)
• Do you put more thought into the trauma itself or the aftermath when thinking about how it affects the characters? (6:50)
• Have you ever started writing a trauma in (one of) your book(s), and had it take over or have more of a story impact than originally intended? (10:30)
• What is your approach to incorporating visible characters of color in your work? (24:12)
• What is your approach to incorporating characters with disabilities in your work? (37:45)

--- Wrap-Up and Outro: Included in Part 1 and Part 2 ---

• What is your favorite non-traumatic thing in any of your books? (42:35)
• Do you have a favorite book written by someone else, and if so what makes it your favorite? (45:41)
• Do you have any queer authors and/or authors of color whose work you’d like to shoutout? (47:40)
• Where can our audience find you? (49:55)

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Kevin's LinkTree has all his links. Check out Kevin's website for more about his writing, you can also find him on his NineStar Press page. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, or look up his author page on Goodreads. Our Australian audience can find his work on BookTopia.

The major works discussed in this interview are "Social Media Central", "Midnight Angel", and "Winter Masquerade".

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You can find Robin's written reviews of Social Media Central, Midnight Angel, and Winter Masquerade at Reviews that Burn.

Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.

This fortnight we’re discussing “Early Departures” by Justin A Reynolds. We discuss a toxic relationship, abandonment, and death in this YA sci-fi novel about grief, loss, and second chances. Robin read this as an ARC last year and is pleased to report that their re-read of the final version held up.

TITLE: Early Departures AUTHOR: Justin A. Reynolds PUBLISHER: Katherine Tegen Books YEAR: 2020 LENGTH: 480 pages AGE: Young Adult GENRE: Science Fiction RECOMMENDED: Highly

Book TW for ableist language (brief), toxic relationship, grief, vomit, pregnancy, drowning, car accident, parental death, major character death, death.

Topic 1: Toxic Relationship. Begins at (1:35), CW for Toxic relationships.

Topic 2: Abandonment. Begins at (13:10), CW for Parental death, death, abandonment.

Topic 3: Death. Begins at (22:05), CW for Parental death, death.

Promo for Half Damage by Crit Chat; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (33:00).

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If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon.

To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi.

For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter.

You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.

Find all our links on our Carrd.

Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.

Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight Nicole is discussing “Shadow Rising” by Robert Jordan, the fourth book in The Wheel of Time with our transcriptionist and fellow WOT fan, Heather.

Book TW for physical assault, sexual harassment, combat wounds, PTSD, magical attack, horror monster attacks, identity crisis, depiction of mental illness caused by magic, depiction of auditory hallucinations, kidnapping and restraint, misandry, misogamy, betrayal, depiction of hanging, general physical violence and death, general depictions of emotional manipulation and emotional abuse, depictions of discrimination against marginalized communities, descriptions of imbalanced power dynamics.

Topic 1: Aram - Abandonment. Begins at (1:30), CW for abandonment, parental death.

Topic 2: Min - Second-hand emotional trauma. Begins at (12:10), CW for physical harm, reliving trauma.

Topic 3: Author's treatment of characters. Begins at (20:30), No major CWs.

Promo for Circle of Friendship; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (36:50).

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If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon.

To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi.

For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter.

Find all our links on our Carrd.

Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.

Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we’re discussing “Bridge to Terabithia” by Katherine Paterson, many people's first shockingly sad childhood book.

TITLE: Bridge to Terabithia AUTHOR: Katherine Paterson PUBLISHER: HarperCollins YEAR: 1977 LENGTH: 192 pages AGE: Middle Grade, Young Adult GENRE: Realistic Fiction RECOMMENDED: Yes

Book CW for ableist language, bullying, homophobia (brief), fatphobia, sexism, grief, child abuse (not depicted), domestic abuse, violence, child death, major character death, death.

Topic 1: May Belle - Domestic Abuse. Begins at (1:35), CW for domestic abuse, mention of death.

Topic 2: Leslie - Misogyny. Begins at (8:15), CW for misogyny, mention of homophobia, mention of child death.

Topic 3: Jess - Survivor’s Guilt. Begins at (22:24), CW for misogyny, child death.

Promo for CPOV Autographs; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (31:16). CW for mention of homophobia.

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If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon.

To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi.

For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter.

You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.

Find all our links on our Carrd.

Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.

Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we’re discussing “Not Your Sidekick” by C.B. Lee, the first book of the series "Sidekick Squad". The fourth book, "Not Your Hero" comes out at the end of August 2021.

TITLE: Not Your Sidekick AUTHOR: C.B. Lee PUBLISHER: Duet YEAR: 2016 LENGTH: 304 pages AGE: Young Adult GENRE: Dystopian, Science Fiction, Superheroes RECOMMENDED: Highly

Book TW for ableist language (brief), vomit (brief), racism, kidnapping, violence, death (not depicted).

Topic 1: Schoolkids - Gaslighting. Begins at (1:35), CW for gaslighting, lying,

Topic 2: Abby - kidnapping. Begins at (12:40), CW for kidnapping.

Topic 3: Jess - Betrayal. Begins at (21:12), CW for brief discussion of racism.

Promo for CPOV RobCast; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (27:45).

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If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon.

To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi.

For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter.

You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.

Find all our links on our Carrd.

Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.

Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.