Official Review: The Burning of Juniper Slaide

CrescentMoon · Post by **CrescentMoon** » 07 Jun 2016, 22:54

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Burning of Juniper Slaide" by Johanna Handley.]

4 out of 4 stars

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The Burning of Juniper Slaide by Johanna Handley is a young adult novel about a seventeen-year old girl named Juniper Slaide who has had a very tough life. Nine years ago, when Juniper was just a little girl, her parents and beloved grandfather were tragically killed in an arson attack. Her best friend in the world, James Creed, has kept her sane, even though his father confessed to the crime and has been in prison ever since. Juniper and James have followed a very strict rule for the past nine years, one that they refuse to break. Never talk about the past.

They have adhered to this rule for nine years. One night, however, James sneaks into Juniper’s room at night to tell her that he has found evidence that actually points to his father’s innocence. He desperately wants to convince Juniper that his father is not actually evil and did not commit the horrible crime but Juniper refuses to listen. She screams at James and kicks him out. For the next two weeks, James is gone. He has not shown up to school or seen Juniper and he has officially been declared missing by the police. Juniper feels angry and guilty about James being gone. Although she has repressed her memories of the arson attack for so long, her conflicting feelings are starting to make her wonder if there was more to the arson attack than she initially thought.

This book really surprised me. I did not really know what to expect when I first started reading this book, but I love mystery novels and the fact that there seemed to be an underlying mystery of who really set the fire that killed Juniper’s family was enough to get me interested. I really liked the pacing of the story. The story always moved forward without being too rushed or too slow.

Although this book is mainly told through Juniper’s perspective in the first person point of view, there are also chapters that are diary entries written by James’s father, and his life before being sent to prison. It was very interesting to read about the past as well as the current timeline and see how both the past and the present converge from James’s father’s perspective. After reading the diary entries and then reading about the present circumstances where there was a huge change between the past and the present, it was clear that there was something very fishy going on. Some of the characters’ behaviors were very strange and suspicious and it was enjoyable trying to figure out who may have actually played a role in the arson attack.

I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. There were many twists and revelations that came out of left field. Just when I thought I had a handle on what was going on, everything shifted and I was blown away. I also really enjoyed the ending of the book. This whole story had a very creepy, chilling vibe to it and it also ended on a similar note. I enjoyed the consistency. Overall, I would recommend this book to people who love suspense and mystery because this book is definitely mysterious and keeps you on your toes.

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The Burning of Juniper Slaide
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Post by **Annelore Trujillo** » 13 Jun 2016, 15:50

Thanks for the great review! I think I'm going to have to read this book!

CrescentMoon · Post by **CrescentMoon** » 13 Jun 2016, 19:12

anneloretrujillo wrote:Thanks for the great review! I think I'm going to have to read this book!

Thank you! This was a great book you won't be disappointed

Heidi M Simone · Post by **Heidi M Simone** » 10 Jul 2016, 16:08

I really enjoyed reading your review! It seems like a read that I would pick up because of the suspense and mystery. I'm glad you enjoyed it! Congratulations to the author for receiving such a positive review!

rssllue · Post by **rssllue** » 10 Jul 2016, 16:20

A well executed suspenseful mystery?! That sounds great to me. Nice job on conveying your excitement for the book through your review. You definitely made it easy to become interested in the story.

CrescentMoon · Post by **CrescentMoon** » 10 Jul 2016, 19:12

hsimone wrote:I really enjoyed reading your review! It seems like a read that I would pick up because of the suspense and mystery. I'm glad you enjoyed it! Congratulations to the author for receiving such a positive review!

Thank you hsimone! This was a great suspense book

rssllue wrote:A well executed suspenseful mystery?! That sounds great to me. Nice job on conveying your excitement for the book through your review. You definitely made it easy to become interested in the story.

Thank you for the kind words rssllue! This book was definitely easy to get into. It was very interesting