TeenLit Book Reviews

This is not a book that could be called a joy to read, but it is one that I guarantee will leave a lifelong impression in your mind if you choose to subject yourself to it. Reading The Burn Journals often feels like reading fiction, in fact I got a chill every time I glanced at the cover, and was reminded that the central character has the author’s name. Being a teen is not easy, although few of us would decide to kill ourselves to escape it all. Brent Runyon did, at fourteen. Suicide remains a powerful taboo, and nowhere outside of this book could you find a more honest, up-front, or graphic confrontation of the issue. Somehow, you will find yourself strongly identifying with an eight-grader who set himself alight, you might begin to feel what it is to be a self-conscious, hormonal teen in a ruined body, but you will never understand what made Brent throw a gasoline-drenched towel round his shoulders and strike that match. This autobiography is suitable for all teens, a must-read for boys of Brent’s age especially. 5 out of 5.