Arson

I came across this book in my inbox. If the cover wasn’t enough to intrigue me, the synopsis just put it over the top! Honestly, I didn’t know what to make of this book when I first started reading it. There wasn’t really much of a lead up. It was just all the sudden – BAM! – awesome story time! I kind of developed a love/hate relationship with it as I read. I know some people might think that is a bad thing, but it really isn’t. To me, it means the story has FEELING.

Arson – who is quite freaking awesome – has the most fitting name EVER. Why? The dude can just conjure up some fire with his mind. (YES PLEASE! This would totally come in handy in all aspects of my life! Where can I sign up for this?!) Here is someone who is just trying to… well, live. He isn’t moving forward.. or backwards for that matter and he has the insanely “horrid” task of his love/hate relationship with his grandmother. Eventually, something good will happen to him!

That something good comes in the form of Emery, his neighbor who wears a mask… and by mask, I mean hideous mask. Intrigued now aren’t you?! I thought the relationship between the two of them was an epic kind of beautiful. I loved watching everything happen. (You know, on the magic movie reel inside my head!) It was very real. By real I mean I could relate. It wasn’t so over the top that I couldn’t picture it happening to someone in real life. When it comes to Emery though, I LOVE her. Everything about her fascinates me. She has the personality of some of my friends, which makes her pretty awesome in my book (:

My favorite part of this book would have to me Emery’s mother. The book even gives HER perspective on this. Yes, an ADULT perspective. How often do you see that man!? Kudos on that Mr. Vega. Originality at it’s finest! The other thing that really caught me with this book was the ending. Normally, I am not one for cliffhangers, simply because I am impatient and want to know RIGHT THEN what is going to happen! However, Vega did it with skill. I actually loved the cliffhanging ending in this book. I cannot wait to read Ashes! (be sure to check back for that review!)

My ONLY pet peeve with this book was one of the secondary characters, Mandy. She is seriously one of those people that you just want to shank in the eye.. with your stiletto. No joke, she was THAT bad.. I literally cringed every time she had a part in the book! Then again, the book wouldn’t have been the same without her, so it was just one of those things I had to deal with. ( )

Arson is an unexpectedly dark and edgy novel that had me hooked from the very first chapter. Although the story is mainly about seventeen year old Arson Gable, who can create fire with his mind, glimpses into the complicated lives of those around him – his grandmother Kay, his neighbour Aimee and Joel, and of course, their daughter Emery make the book more substantial.

Arson wants to die. He hates his strange power – he believes it killed his mother at his birth and causes his grandmother to call him a devil. In some ways Arson is beyond depressed: he is broken. When a new family moves in to his street, he finds himself intrigued by the daughter – Emery – who wears a mask to hide her face. Emery is also depressed, but handles it much better than Arson and genuinely tries to be happy. Their mutual loneliness pulls them together and they slowly heal one another’s hurts and start dating (sort of).

Estevan Vega explores isolation and loneliness in a multitude of ways in the novel. Not only through his two protagonists, but those around them as well. Arson’s grandmother suffers from a mental illness (not going to speculate on that it was because I don’t know) and treats Arson horribly because he’s a devil in her eyes. Emery’s parents are extremely unhappy in their relationship and have moved to make a new start on life. In contrast to them there is Abe – a man dying of lung cancer in the hospital that Emery’s mother Aimee works at and where Emery and Arson volunteer their time. He has lots of regrets with how he lived his life and keeps telling Arson and Emery to be braver, love harder, take more risks.

Arson is very much a problematic character for me. I understand that he is shy and depressed, but he acts extremely stupidly around both Emery and Mandy, the hot girl he has always had a crush on. He really has no idea what is going on most of the time and it frustrated me. His constant moroseness got under my skin a few times – he has plenty of opportunity throughout the novel to have fun but no, he wasn’t letting go of his issues, choosing instead to pile them onto Emery in an effort to push her away. It would be so awful to have a friend, now wouldn’t it? In contrast, Emery is a great character. Determined and sarcastic, she really thinks that Arson and her can hit it off and become good friends, and she’s absolutely right, if only he would give her a chance. She also has a healthy sense of self-worth and doesn’t let Arson treat her badly, which I enjoyed.

The plot of Arson is enjoyable but left a little lacking in terms of explaining Arson’s powers. I feel like I finished the story with no real inkling of how he does what he does, and why. It is also unclear if the peculiar trait runs in his family ( in my mind it’s likely it does) and I hope this is explored further in the next book. Since this is a very short read, it makes sense that all the action is right at the end, but I still wish there had been a better conclusion to the story. I’m fine with cliffhangers, but to me it felt like the author simply stopped writing without really concluding anything.

I can’t stress how much I enjoyed this book, regardless of the little hiccups I had with it. It is well executed and an engaging read, I recommend it to anyone looking for an atypical YA novel. I’m surprised at how much ground Estevan Vega is able to cover in this short work, and am looking forward to reading Ashes soon.

You can read more of my reviews at Speculating on SpecFic. ( )

Arson is just one of those books that pulls you in from the very beginning. Plague by being called a freak, the reader's curiosity is intensified by what overcomes this young man to be called such a thing. Is he really a freak. Or are those around him the freak. Since after all, there are the ones who are different.

What I like most about this book are the characters. Arson has had a hard life. I love the way the author Mr. Vega strongly depicted this young man life for his readers. It is really easy to step in this book and let your imagination run free. Mr. Vega created such a unique and intense world that it is simply impossible not to get into the book.

The plot line of this book keeps getting better and better as the reader dives deeper into Arson's life. I enjoyed seeing the things that happen to him to make him who he is today. But, I also enjoyed seeing Arson become a man, take charge in his life and not let anyone else dictate it. Arson has been under everyone's thumb doing as they bid, and now Arson has had enough.

I really did not expect to see a love interest in this book though I thoughtful enjoyed it. It was good to see some love and peace within a book that is full of dark and hurtful things. This love gave a whole new element of hope where the reader did not see one. And the ending, well...that was another surprise that I did not see.

Arson is a great tale of young man life just beginning. I love the back round history to the characters as well as seeing of what is able to become of Arson. This a dark novel of fire and life just waiting to burn. As I read deeper into Arson's life, I know that he is about to set ablaze a fire that no one has seen before.

*cursing/sexual content* ( )

Review by: Sabrina

It took a little bit to get into this story. It was a little disjointed in the beginning. It was hard to get into the flow of the story, but once you were there it went just fine. This book is really angsty. Arson loathes himself and tries to fit in, but deep inside knows he is different. The Grandmother is really off her rocker. One minute she is sweet Grandma, the next minute she is a lunatic shouting things, and back again. The girl, Emery, is an out of control teenager. She was involved in an accident when shew as younger and now wears a scary mask so she doesn't feel vulnerable. While we have all toyed with the illusion that if no one can see who we really are, it wont hurt. We also all know how much of a pile of *()* that is. This girl manages to live that dream and you almost want to admire her for it. Except then she starts being an obnoxious teenager with the mentality that no one could possible understand. I have run into this with quite a few teenager and I think the author captured this mentality quite well. You almost admire her for how she braves the world, but then you see the way she treats people around her and you stop rooting for her. Her parents are having their own issues. You feel almost sad for them, until you realize they are doing it to themselves while simultaneously doing it to each other. There is not one great character. All are terribly flawed. I read a lot of comic books and this is actually a trait that I really like. I like knowing that everyone has something that needs monitoring to keep in check or you wouldn't recognize the person you become... But towards the end of this book, it got to be too much. Arson has the only redeeming quality shown in this book- and that does not come out til the very end of the book. The end of the book starts to get really disjointed again, the shift in perspectives happens frequently. Then the climax hits and the book is over... I think because it is a first book it is supposed to end in a cliffhanger but this one was... not a good one. It just made me mad. Not mad that I have to wait to read it... just mad.

I have heard that this author is quite young, early twenties, and I look forward to watching this author get more comfortable with a wider range of emotions. This is a YA novel, perhaps a younger generation would feel differently about this book. I may be in my mid twenties, but the teenage boy is not something I have ever pretended to understand.

Quote: "...You’ve cracked the case. Some sophomoric teenager thinks he has all the answers. When you’re my age and you’ve seen the world for what it truly is, seen human beings for what they are, maybe then you’ll get it. Life isn’t black and white, Arson. It’s filled with shades of gray. So don’t pretend like you have any idea what it’s like, because you don’t.”

http://www.romancing-the-book.com/2011/08/book-tour-review-arson-by-estevan-vega... ( )

I received this e-book for review from Partners In Crime Tours as part of the author's virtual book tour. I did not receive any compensation for my review, and the views expressed herein are my own.

Arson is a 17-year-old boy who has an unusual ability: He can make fire! He needs to remain in control of his emotions to avoid something disastrous from taking place.

Raised by his senile and abusive grandmother, Arson lives like a hermit only leaving home to work at the ice cream parlor or go to school.

When a teenage girl his own age moves in across the street, Arson is intrigued by the girl (Emery) who wears the strange mask. What is she hiding behind that mask? The two social outcasts find friendship and more with each other.

Vega has created an interesting pairing with Arson and Emery. Arson is more shy and withdrawn, and it is hard not to feel sympathy towards him for the upbringing he has had. He comes out of his shell when he meets Emery, who I think is a fantastic character! You would think that Emery would be shy and aloof, but no! She has spunk and is not afraid to speak her mind! I think the mask gives her the courage to do that because people can't really read her.

The book deals with real problems which teenagers will be able to relate to: peer pressure, alcoholism, their parents' marital strife, first love.

The book ends rather abruptly, and Vega has obviously set us up for a sequel. I wonder what Vega has next in store for Arson and Emery?

MY RATING: 4 stars! I liked it! ( )