Today I am reviewing the book "Burning September" by Melissa Simonson. I'd like to thank Ms. Simonson for providing me with a copy of the book. Now on to the review!
There are just a few characters that star in this book: Katya: the narrator. She's in an emotional crisis. She feels guilty that her sister, Caroline, gave away her college life to take care of Kat, who was orphaned by an alcoholic father and suicidal mother. She's lonely and tired of the way life has gone for her. Caroline: Kat's sister, and the person who always screws things up. No, really. She's manipulative, foul-mouthed, and has a caustic sense of humor. She's beautiful, as in drop-dead gorgeous (for real though, I felt like it was mentioned every other page. I mean, come on, I get it), but she uses her beauty to her advantage. She's a heart breaker. Oh, and she killed her ex-boyfriend. :) Kyle: Caroline's lawyer. He's intelligent, sarcastic, and honestly adorable. From the moment Kat opened the door for him the first time and he smiled at his feet (classic), I knew they HAD to be a thing. There's a few other characters such as Professor Lawlis, the exact equivalent of Professor Moody from Harry Potter. He's a wise, old man with a sharp sense of humor and a prosthetic leg. Then there's Jeff, the doting nerd with dark secret, and a handful of other characters. |
The book follows the aftermath of Caroline torching her ex-boyfriend's house with a match and bottle of gasoline, while he was inside. She isn't remotely remorseful. "So you actually did it." I felt the angry flush fading from my face. "You killed him." She shrugged as much as she could with wrists belted to a wheelchair. "Not one of my finer moments." She's staying at a mental hospital for the duration of her trial, and needs an expensive lawyer (Kyle) to convince the judges she's innocent.
If there was one word I would use to sum up Caroline, it would be manipulative. At one point, she advises Kat, "Learn how to work with the people you've got, Kat. Everyone has their uses." I feel like the book kept trying to use Caroline's "sisterly love" to convince me to like her, and then they'd throw in some stunner about her being a heart-breaker, or using people to her advantage. I couldn't bring myself to like her, and not just because she murdered a man. She's a siren perched on the jagged rocks, drawing people in and hurting them without regret.
Don't start reading this book expecting a crime novel. While there are elements of justice, revenge, and morals, this is more a story of trust and love. The sisterly love between Caroline and Kat, the romance between Kat and Kyle, the fatherly love from Professor Lawlis, and the fanboy adoration from Jeff. Because of this, I have to say one of my favorite elements of the book is the budding romance between Kyle and Kat. They are, in simple words, too cute. When they first meet, Kyle tells Kat that she looks like her sister, but with softer edges. One day, they're watching Kat's interview on TV and she's complaining about her makeup. Kyle says, " They did a good job. You looked beautiful." I snorted. "Past tense? I don't know whether to be offended." "There's no winning with you....You're always beautiful." I'm not sure if I'm just a sucker for adorable book romances, but for those of you who are just like me, you won't be disappointed by this book.
Side note, Kat cares more about her cat's safety than her own. I can relate deeply to that.
SPOILERS AHEAD:
Kat realizes she has a stalker when someone steals her cat Nicholas' collar and later flips her breaker repeatedly. If this happened to me, I would run screaming out of my house. Kat, being much more logical, tries to catch her stalker. She eventually realizes it's Jeff, the nerdy college kid who helps her with her homework and is obsessed with Caroline. And...that's it. She confronts Jeff about it, he stares at her gape-mouthed, and she walks away. His name isn't mentioned afterwards. I feel like maybe the author wanted to have more about this story-line but just...stopped? I'm not sure. It was one of those things where you finish the book and then wake up in the middle of the night five hours later asking, "What about Jeff?"
One of the most horrifying moments of the book for me was when Kyle discovered what really happened to Kat's dad. Caroline always told Kat that he died because he was an alcoholic. While researching the case, Kyle found his death records, showing he died from a fall at his work. Slowly, Kat realizes that her father didn't poison himself with alcohol. Caroline killed him. When she confronts Caroline about this, her sister tells her about how their father abused Caroline when she was young girl, and she killed him to protect Kat. Either way, Caroline has killed two people. As Kyle said, people like this don't just stop. I'm not sure what other readers felt at this point, but I wanted this girl locked up. Surprise. For some god forsaken reason, the court ruled not guilty, claiming that she was a wrongly accused woman. And honestly, this leads me to question the factors that played into this decision. Are we supposed to be okay with a girl who killed two people being let off scotch free? Not only that, but people felt sorry for her, believing she was wrongly accused. One of the main factors in her acquittal was the interviews Caroline and Kat did with a famous reporter, Karen Stone (think Diane Sawyer). Would these televised interviews have had the same effect if the two main characters weren't pretty, 20-something white girls? What does it say about our justice system that someone can run away from jail because of her looks, and a fancy lawyer? I'm sure this wasn't the message I was supposed to get from Caroline's victory. Instead, I should focus on the sisterly bond built and maintained between Kat and Caroline throughout this difficult time in their lives. But honestly, I don't think someone who killed two people should be able to skip her way out of jail and off to Europe. The true message I got from this book was that life just isn't fair.
While the book had its faults, I enjoyed it overall. Simonson's writing is vivid and filled with imagery, yet easy to understand. The relationships between the characters were complicated and multi-faceted. I also liked that the book didn't just focus on Caroline and her trial. Instead, it centered on Kat and how she relates to the people around her. The book got me thinking about justice and morals, and if it's okay to change your morals when it relates to those you love. And that's what this story was truly about. Love, and how it can transform everything.
Again, I'd like to thank Ms. Simonson for providing me with a copy. Thanks for reading!
Colleen
If there was one word I would use to sum up Caroline, it would be manipulative. At one point, she advises Kat, "Learn how to work with the people you've got, Kat. Everyone has their uses." I feel like the book kept trying to use Caroline's "sisterly love" to convince me to like her, and then they'd throw in some stunner about her being a heart-breaker, or using people to her advantage. I couldn't bring myself to like her, and not just because she murdered a man. She's a siren perched on the jagged rocks, drawing people in and hurting them without regret.
Don't start reading this book expecting a crime novel. While there are elements of justice, revenge, and morals, this is more a story of trust and love. The sisterly love between Caroline and Kat, the romance between Kat and Kyle, the fatherly love from Professor Lawlis, and the fanboy adoration from Jeff. Because of this, I have to say one of my favorite elements of the book is the budding romance between Kyle and Kat. They are, in simple words, too cute. When they first meet, Kyle tells Kat that she looks like her sister, but with softer edges. One day, they're watching Kat's interview on TV and she's complaining about her makeup. Kyle says, " They did a good job. You looked beautiful." I snorted. "Past tense? I don't know whether to be offended." "There's no winning with you....You're always beautiful." I'm not sure if I'm just a sucker for adorable book romances, but for those of you who are just like me, you won't be disappointed by this book.
Side note, Kat cares more about her cat's safety than her own. I can relate deeply to that.
SPOILERS AHEAD:
Kat realizes she has a stalker when someone steals her cat Nicholas' collar and later flips her breaker repeatedly. If this happened to me, I would run screaming out of my house. Kat, being much more logical, tries to catch her stalker. She eventually realizes it's Jeff, the nerdy college kid who helps her with her homework and is obsessed with Caroline. And...that's it. She confronts Jeff about it, he stares at her gape-mouthed, and she walks away. His name isn't mentioned afterwards. I feel like maybe the author wanted to have more about this story-line but just...stopped? I'm not sure. It was one of those things where you finish the book and then wake up in the middle of the night five hours later asking, "What about Jeff?"
One of the most horrifying moments of the book for me was when Kyle discovered what really happened to Kat's dad. Caroline always told Kat that he died because he was an alcoholic. While researching the case, Kyle found his death records, showing he died from a fall at his work. Slowly, Kat realizes that her father didn't poison himself with alcohol. Caroline killed him. When she confronts Caroline about this, her sister tells her about how their father abused Caroline when she was young girl, and she killed him to protect Kat. Either way, Caroline has killed two people. As Kyle said, people like this don't just stop. I'm not sure what other readers felt at this point, but I wanted this girl locked up. Surprise. For some god forsaken reason, the court ruled not guilty, claiming that she was a wrongly accused woman. And honestly, this leads me to question the factors that played into this decision. Are we supposed to be okay with a girl who killed two people being let off scotch free? Not only that, but people felt sorry for her, believing she was wrongly accused. One of the main factors in her acquittal was the interviews Caroline and Kat did with a famous reporter, Karen Stone (think Diane Sawyer). Would these televised interviews have had the same effect if the two main characters weren't pretty, 20-something white girls? What does it say about our justice system that someone can run away from jail because of her looks, and a fancy lawyer? I'm sure this wasn't the message I was supposed to get from Caroline's victory. Instead, I should focus on the sisterly bond built and maintained between Kat and Caroline throughout this difficult time in their lives. But honestly, I don't think someone who killed two people should be able to skip her way out of jail and off to Europe. The true message I got from this book was that life just isn't fair.
While the book had its faults, I enjoyed it overall. Simonson's writing is vivid and filled with imagery, yet easy to understand. The relationships between the characters were complicated and multi-faceted. I also liked that the book didn't just focus on Caroline and her trial. Instead, it centered on Kat and how she relates to the people around her. The book got me thinking about justice and morals, and if it's okay to change your morals when it relates to those you love. And that's what this story was truly about. Love, and how it can transform everything.
Again, I'd like to thank Ms. Simonson for providing me with a copy. Thanks for reading!
Colleen