Thanks to Simon and Schuster UK and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

When I heard that Laura Bates of Everyday Sexism was writing a novel, I was really excited to read it. Her work is often discussed in the school in which I teach and the website and Twitter feed are used by pupils when looking at issues around sexism, social media, gender bias and peer pressure. I was keen to see whether a fictional approach would be able to tie in with the topics we’ve explored already.


The novel follows the story of Anna, a teenage girl newly moved to a small seaside village in Scotland. Anna has moved from Birmingham due to some past events although we don’t find out what transpired until further on in the story. As someone who grew up in a small village in Scotland, I think Bates did a great job and capturing the often quite parochial attitudes and behaviours of people in small villages such as the one in the book. Anna is a city girl transported to what is essentially another world compared to what she is used to and this was portrayed very realistically.

At her new school, Anna quickly discovers that things are not so very different to what she is used to. She still has to run the gauntlet of being a teenage girl and Anna faces issues that will be familiar to many past and present young women, namely: toxic masculinity, peer pressure, the perils of social media, double standards between the behaviour of boys and girls and the casual acceptance of sexual assault. The book also touched upon more subtle issues such as boys silently accepting the behaviour of their friends but being nice when they’re on their own. Didn’t we all know boys like this at school?

It’s not all doom and gloom though, there are real moments of joy. The relationship between Anna and her new friends, Cat and Alisha, is well developed and the romance element is sweet. I also really liked Anna’s dynamic with the elderly writer, Glenn, as it’s not really a relationship dynamic that is explored very much in Young Adult books. I’m also a sucker for positive mother-daughter relationships in contemporary YA and the relationship between Anna and her mother really grew and developed throughout the course of the novel.

This book also felt very British, it felt very familiar to me as someone who has attended and taught at British schools. The realities of school life will be familiar and relevant to teen readers currently at school.

There is also an extra thread running through the novel that follows the story of Maggie, a local girl burned as a witch in the 1600s. The parallels between a literal witch hunt and a figurative modern witch hunt was a clever way to exemplify how little some things have changed with regards to attitudes towards women.

I’m not one for trigger warnings but some parts of this book did make me feel quite anxious. When Anna is feeling overwhelmed with everything I really felt for her so it’s worth considering the impact it might have on you if you have experienced some of the issues I mentioned earlier in my review.

My only small niggle was that the sheer amount of issues explored made it seem a bit oversaturated sometimes and some of the issues weren’t able to be properly explored. That said, many of the readers reading this book sadly won’t need them explained to them – they are all too familiar with them already. The supernatural element was perhaps unnecessary and I felt it could probably have been achieved by the use of diaries or historical accounts instead.

Overall a very good book and one very relevant to teens today, of all genders. I’d recommend this book to teachers, youth group workers, parents and anyone who works with young people.

This is an incredibly powerful book that encapsulates so much of what struggles face a teenager in society today. Okay, so the book does pretty much throw every conceivable issue into its pages, but never in a condescending tone, or in a way that didn't feel true to the characters. The main theme is the pervasive and insidious nature of social media in society and leaves no room for escape from a spreading rumour that takes on new life and devours all semblance of normality. Some of the chapters were incredibly hard to read, and I ached to think that there are girls out there suffering in similar ways. The banal nature of the way that the cruelty is inflicted by Anna's fellow students was heartbreaking, and the devastating impact that this has on her life is truly shocking.

Similarly the ending may be a little too neat, but again, if that gives just one teenager out there the guts to confront any of these issues, then I'm all for it.

My thanks go to the publishers and Net Galley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Loved the correlation between the persecution of woman as witches and modern day. It’s heartbreaking and terrifying that social media can have such a devastating impact. This is a must read.

An absolutely fantastic novel that depicts the plight of how females are perceived in society. I absolutely loved the blend of historical depictions of witchcraft accusations and modern day slut shaming, asking us if things have actually changed for women.

Couldn’t put it down and have been talking about it ever since!

I've added a star just for the sheer necessity of this book and for the last, maybe, ten or so pages. With such powerful words, this book suddenly became so much more intimate and intensive, and so warranted an extra push. For a debut novel, this book is incredibly accomplished. Laura Bates, the founder of the Everyday Sexism Project and a vocal advocate for young women's engagement in feminism and calling out acts of everyday sexism that they experience throughout the world, has probably seen a thousand of cases identical to the one she explores in this book, and you can tell how intimately she understands the fear, the pain, the hurt, the confusion that come with your private photos or information being broadcast to the world. At some points, this book is gripping and written with such an emotion that you feel yourself burning alongside Anna, the main character.

The book really pushes just how ill-prepared our schools and universities are for dealing with issues of naked pictures and slut-shaming. I have to admit, I cheered out loud when Anna's mother went on a tirade to a man who wanted to just get rid of the problem rather than addressing it. The girls in this book are supportive (eventually) and you get a sense of genuine solidarity rather than succumbing to patriarchal thinking. There's a lot of slut-shaming in this book, but it's nice to see girls identifying it and shutting it down. It makes a nice change from a lot of typical YA tropes.

It's not the best book in the world. As a debut, it's a very solid effort, but doesn't have the punch or graphic grip that a novel like Louise O'Neill's 'Asking For It' might have- but it's a pretty good start. The witchcraft subplot is very convenient and could have done with a little more exploration and thought, but it's an interesting angle to take in a novel of this type. I love this subgenre of feminist YA and I think, as we explore more topics close to it, the books will just keep getting better and better.

I wish I enjoyed this book more, but there were issues in writing that put me off. The biggest one is the focus of the book. It didn't have a focal point, and had lots of issues, things going on at the same time. Therefore, it made the book very on the surface not leaving room for proper depth and development of any of the content.

A brilliantly realistic novel, totally on point. .
Not quite what I was expecting, when I started this book, probably something typical of crime fiction, which this book definitely wasn't. It was, however very readable,, atypical of the genre, extremely clever, well thought out and really enjoyable.
The plot begins as something of a mystery, which is soon revealed and that's when the gritty realism really begins. I loved the parallels drawn between social media and the Scottish witch trials, I thought it very apt and a devilishly clever idea. It was worked into the plot with great flair and imagination. The plot centres on current issues, which were handled with sensitivity and great aplomb, it certainly showed the darker side of social media and humanity, raising issues such as peer pressure and the urge to conform to social "norms". Given the topic it would have been easy for the book to be, dare I say, a little boring, but this was certainly not the case, I found it engaging, interesting and thought provoking, alongside just being a good story.
The characters were believable and relevant, both the historic and the present day. The weaving together of the characters similar situations brought added depth and understanding.
The descriptive writing style had me shivering at the thought of Scottish downpours and imagining crashing waves and wheeling seabirds, I could almost smell the salt in the air.
All in all a great book, one I will definitely be encouraging my teen to read, this is the kind of fiction that should be in every high school library. It was definitely educational, pointing out the possibilities of the consequences and far reaching effects of using technology, but without being at all "preachy".
I really liked this book and the message contained within. Great for teens, but with plenty of appeal for adults. An intriguing insight into being a teenager today, along with age old themes which seem to recur throughout history and a reminder of my own teenage years.
Buy it!

So many mixed feelings right now.

The Burning is by the founder of the Everyday Sexism Project and, as expected, it has a lot of important things to say about slut-shaming, double standards, bullying, and especially how social media contributes to these. It likens the viciousness of social media trolls to actual witch hunts, leading us on something of a history lesson in the process.

I can't deny that this book had an effect on me. The author captures Anna's fear, shame and frustration as she is confronted with constant double standards. It's also very British, and I related a lot more to the high school culture here than I do when reading American YA. Some parts hit very close to home. I recognized such moments as this one:

It is hard to look, and yet hard to look away, in parts. I just really wish I didn't have so many issues with it.

The main problem is that this book is messy and doesn't seem to know what it's trying to be (I did read an arc so maybe some things will be tidied up for publication). It touches upon almost every teen girl issue you can think of - slut-shaming, double standards, sexuality, bullying, sexual assault, teen pregnancy, abortion, body-shaming - and is so packed full of "issues" that most of these are left unexplored.

It also has some historical aspects, a bit of a mystery going on, a sort-of romance that seems out of place in the story, and even vaguely supernatural elements that were honestly jarring. There's a bit of everything thrown in, most of it not needed.

Some of the dialogue is a little weird and unnatural, too. The speech at the end, plus the reactions to it, felt unrealistic. And there are times when Anna is directly describing something through speech and I just can't imagine an actual person sat there spewing those metaphors out loud.

Another problem I had is that YA lit has changed a lot in the past few years and some parts of this book already feel a little dated-- most notably when Anna is so shocked to discover Alisha is in love with a girl.

It's a compelling read, though. I could feel my own anxiety spiking when I read about Anna obsessively checking social media. She feels like she shouldn't look, and yet her own imagination is picturing the worst anyway. It's just a shame it's so all over the place. The unexplained supernatural parts of the plot were especially difficult to suspend disbelief for.

Great Read. Throughly enjoyed it. Highly recommended.
Thank you to both NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for my eARC of this book. This is in exchange for my honest unbiased review

The intertwining of present day & historical story-lines is an effective way for Bates to explore topical themes of misogyny & power. A moving, challenging & totally gripping read for young feminists and beyond, it's a must!

The Burning offers an interesting perspective on how young people can struggle with peer expectations in the age of social media and in particular how young women feel encouraged to walk a thin and very unclear line between 'sexy' and 'slut'.
Anna has made a move to Scotland with her mother and is trying to start afresh when a nude picture from her past resurfaces online and spreads like wildfire around her school. At the same time she is researching a local woman called Maggie who was accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake for the crime of having a baby by a nobleman and speaking out about his affair with her.
The similarities between the witch trials of the 17th and the current issues of shaming women for being anything but perfect within a set of ever changing and increasingly impossible to maintain guidelines is extremely clever and also incredibly scary. The book shows me that we actually haven't come that far in terms of equality and womens rights at all and that todays young people have the added bonus of having their entire lives splashed across social media for everyone to judge.
Eye opening and massively relevant. As a teacher of teenagers I will be recommending to students and colleagues alike.

When Anna lands at a new school, it is clear that she is hiding a dark secret, and running away from her past. In this sense, 'The Burning' begins in a way which is very familiar to reader's of YA fiction. But there's a lot more to this book, with Anna's story being interwoven with Maggie's -and Maggie was a witch!

I loved this book and I bbc believe that teenager girls would also enjoy both this ancient and yet thoroughly-modern text. There are certainly interesting parallels to be drawn between the two experiences.

This novel acts as an excellent warning to young people about the huge ramifications of poor decisions on social media. I've recommended it to our PSHE teacher to support the delivery of lessons about staying safe online, the effects of social media on mental health, and the new laws concerning sexting. Although it's rather graphic in places, it deals with many issues responsibly, without patronising the reader.

5 stars isn't enough for this book. It's a book that should be read in high schools around the world. Anna's story will resonate with most young women, which is both appalling but at the same time incredibly useful. As someone who suffered through the same thing as Anna, I completely understood her and reading this book helped heal parts of me that I didn't realise were still hurting.

Thank you, Laura, for writing this novel. I, and many others, needed it.

A full review will be up on my blog soon https://thebookishrose.com

This is a wonderful book and such parallels between online abuse and witchhunts, the links between Anna and Maggie although by time show no real change in behaviour of 'humanity' I think this should be a must read for all young adults and introduced in schools. An great feminist book but reminds us how far we still have to go.

I finished reading this book over a week ago, and it's taken me this long to be able to try and write a review of it. I'd given myself that time so that hopefully I could feel more confident discussing it, but I've had to accept that that's probably not going to happen. This is a difficult one to to talk about.

Anna is a teenage girl who grew up in Birmingham. However, when she and her mother suddenly move to Scotland, she cuts contact with everyone she used to know. She's deleted and deactivated all her social media accounts, she's ditched her phone entirely, and she's changed her surname. Something happened to her in Birmingham that she doesn't want following her to Scotland. Unfortunately, it fairly quickly becomes apparent that she isn't going to be that lucky. While this is happening, Anna develops an interest in a girl who was accused of witchcraft in the local area a few hundred years prior.

Like I've already said, this was a difficult read. Bates' author's note states that everything that happens to Anna, and some of the other girls, where taken from the real stories that have been told to her by real girls across the country. The thought that situations exactly like Anna's are taking place every day is horrifying. This book could definitely be overwhelming at times, and reading it while already feeling emotionally fragile isn't the greatest idea. I learnt that one the hard way.

The way that the pieces about the girl who was accused of witchcraft, Maggie, were written was really cool !! I love how Bates played with the pov in these sections. They were also really well written in their own right, and the last few were heartbreaking.

There were a couple of things in this novel that didn't feel like they'd been followed through to their proper conclusions. Going through them all would look like I was being really nitpicky, but I can come up with quite a few fairly easily. I recognise that this is actually representative of real life. In reality, many things don't get investigated until it's all sorted and/or links together in a nice little bow, but in fiction it's nice when it does.

I'll be honest, going into this, the title, cover, and description had all had me convinced that Anna had been framed for arson. The truth was a lot less exciting, but I got over it quickly.

This is an important book, and I think that it's a good idea for most people to read it.

There's a lot of hype around THE BURNING, which is the upcoming debut YA novel from the founder of the Everyday Sexism project, Laura Bates. I own a copy of the EVERYDAY SEXISM book, and have read GIRL UP, so was already intrigued by what a YA novel from Laura would be like - and then I heard it was about witches.

Feminist YA with a witchy twist? Sign me up!

I'm glad that THE BURNING is just as much about the historical persecution of witches as it is a commentary on sexism - there are a lot of YA books being published that handle topics such as rape culture, patriarchal oppression and gender roles, so using historical witchcraft as a lens through which to examine modern attitudes in sexism is a great way to narrow the focus of the novel and also let it stand out a little more.

Anna, a modern teenager, has just moved from England to Scotland with her mother in the wake of an incident which has meant that she's changed her name and cut all ties to her old life. While working on a project for school, she discovers the existence of a witch named Maggie who was burned at the stake centuries before, and is taken in completely by her story.

The genre of this book is a bit strange - I'd say it's first contemporary, though obviously there's the historical element as Maggie's life is explored - but there are fantastical elements too. Anna clearly has a connection to Maggie that isn't just her feeling like she can relate to her - she also begins to discover things about Maggie's life in seemingly impossible ways.

Anna's past and secrets are gently divulged throughout the course of the novel, as we learn what drove her and her mother to leave their hometown, and why when history appears to be repeating itself, Anna keeps her mouth shut rather than tell her mother the truth. The fact that the scandal which Anna was involved in wasn't a shock to me is ultimately the most saddening thing about the book - that it's something that does happen to young women, and is not exactly uncommon. Anna's situation is compared to Maggie's - even though they are technically quite different experiences, there's a common theme in both: victim blaming of women.

For a book so centered around young women, I was pleased to see well-drawn female friendships - they take precedence over the romantic subplot, which was nice to see. It's a powerful look at how gossip, rumour and backstabbing can destroy not just social standing, but friendships too.

One of the male bullies has a scene near the beginning which I thought was going to be referenced again later on, but wasn't - making it seem a bit shoehorned in in retrospect. I would have liked it to have been further explored - it was a hint that he was more complex than your stereotypical bully but it unfortunately didn't go far enough. This is quite a minor aspect of the book, and the other characters were well drawn, but it bothered me enough to mention here.

I can see this book being a hit - it's already got great reviews on GoodReads and Laura Bates already has an audience of keen feminist readers. I think this book also has crossover potential (the cover seems to support this, as it looks more like an adult thriller than a YA book). Perfect for every witchy and feminist reader, it's a frightening look at how even though we've advanced enough as a society to create new technologies and mediums, we still have a horrible problem when it comes to believing and supporting women.

Every YA, male or female, and their parents should read this book. It is a book for today's world of social media highs and lows. Anna has moved from Birmingham to Scotland to escape a bad decision made for the world to see online. Dealing with grief from her Father's recent death, both Anna and her Mother try to convince themselves and one another that all is right. A new start will help. But Anna's past follows her and she finds herself caught up in the same cycle of online harassment she thought she'd escaped.
This is the 21st century, but hundreds of years ago females were experiencing similar threats when they too were punished, yet males escaped their misdemeanours. Anna's quest to discover more about Maggie, tried and convicted as a witch centuries previously, leads her to uncover the brutal and cruel ways peers compete with one another to tease/torture others. Protesting innocence doesn't work and both Maggie and Anna become subsumed with the shame of 'their crime' when it is a crime committed by the men they thought they loved.
This novel deserves a place on the shelves to remind us of our humanity and to do what is right, not what we think will impress.

I'm a huge fan of Laura Bates and have been to hear her speak a number of times so I was very excited to learn she was releasing a YA novel!
The Burning is a story about a girl called Anna who moves from Birmingham to a village in Scotland because of something that happened in her old school that she's trying to run away from. As part of a school project she starts to research witch burning in the area and draws parallels between how she is being treated and how the women were treated historically.
I think Laura Bates is doing extremely important work for raising strong girls and women and being an incredible role model. I don't necessarily think she is known by all these girls who need her (though she does a lot of work in schools) and a YA book is the perfect way to get the message across. This book is a gripping read with a strong positive message that I think should be compulsory reading for all teenagers!

This book makes a lot of valid point about how social media is used to bully people in this day and age.
It paints the worst case scenario where everyone bad mouths you,the grown ups don't stand up for you... and the instigator of the whole thing is vengeful enough to chase you across the country... because with the internet you can ruin a life 100s of miles away without leaving your kitchen.
It comes to something when the story of a young girl in the olden days,being tried and burned as a witch is light relief from constant bullying.

An intense and gritty read with a surprising hint of fantasy. I was apprehensive as well as intrigued going into this one. Far too many YA books looking at female centric issues have depicted a very skewed viewpoint of late. Happily, the Burning by Laura Bates was everything I wanted it to be. Intelligent, beautifully written, non-preachy, reasonable and well thought out. It’s so important that these kinds of books show their readers how to think instead of what to think. While The Burning doesn’t shy away from tackling tough topics – bullying, harassment, the commodification of girls’ bodies etc – it never rams anything down your throat. It lays things out calmly and invites the reader to react. And react we do – with fury and sorrow, and ultimately with hope. This was an excellent read.