Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Power

Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Power is an intense and creepy read from the acclaimed author of Wilder Girls.  The sophomore novel from Power does not disappoint.  This novel takes some of the elements from her debut, but weaves it in to a much different tale.  This story is all about finding family and uncovering our roots.  It's about finding our identity, even if it isn't anything like we expected.  This novel also shows us how we don't have to be tied to our past, but instead finding a way to blaze our own future.

This is the story of Margot, a young girl who has lived her whole life with only her mom.  She knows nothing of her dad or any other family.  Any time she asks, her mother refuses to give her any details.

But by chance, she one day finds an old photo, the only scrap she has ever uncovered about her family.  This photograph leads her to the small town of Phalene, a town that was once highly influenced by her family, the Nielsens.  But tragedy fell upon the family and the Nielsen name isn't what it used to be.  As Margot finds more questions than answers about her family, she starts to realize she may have stumbled upon something much more sinister than she ever could have imagined.  And now she has to wonder if she will ever be able to escape the past she so desperately wanted to uncover.  

From Amazon:

"[A] deliriously creepy tale...that'll keep your nightmares up at night." --Melissa Albert, New York Times bestselling author of The Hazel Wood

From the author of the New York Times bestseller Wilder Girls comes a feverishly twisty thriller about a girl whose past has always been a mystery--until she decides to return to her mother's hometown . . . where history has a tendency to repeat itself.

Ever since Margot was born, it's been just her and her mother, struggling to get along. But that's not enough for Margot. She wants family. She wants a past. And she may have just found the answer: A photograph, pointing her to a town called Phalene. Only, when Margot gets there, it's not what she bargained for.

As soon as they see her face, everyone in town knows who Margot belongs to. It's unmistakable--she's a Nielsen. And when a mysterious girl who could be Margot's twin is pulled from a fire, Margot realizes that her mother left Phalene for a reason. But was it to hide her past? Or was it to protect Margot from what's still there?

The only thing Margot knows for sure is there's poison in their family tree, and their roots are dug so deeply into Phalene that now that she's there, she might never escape.