Synopsis
Nowhere Burning is a harrowing tale of survival that places the dark fairy tale of Peter Pan and the ruthless dangers of Lord of the Flies into the unforgiving maw of the Colorado Rockies.
“Gripping and beautiful, haunting and virtuously crafted…you won’t be able to stop reading.”—Virginia Feito, author of Victorian Psycho
Secrets in the flames. Answers in the ashes.
Riley and her brother Oliver set off in the pitch-black night, fleeing their troubled home. They are heading for Nowhere—an abandoned ranch, once the playground of its former eccentric movie-star owner, now a haven for runaways.
What awaits could be the freedom they crave.
But this mysterious clan guards dark secrets, and the scorched grounds hold the ghosts of the past. Riley quickly realizes that while she and Oliver may have escaped the devil they knew, something darker lurks in the burnt shell of Nowhere.
Something which asks a terrible price for sanctuary…
Review
Thanks to Macmillan Audio, Tor Nightfire & Netgalley for the audio arc! I thought the cover was cool and was glad to be offered a copy.
This meshes notes of Peter Pan and Lord of the Flies with real-world abuse and shared trauma. Riley and her brother, Oliver, are stuck in a troubled home after the death of their mother. A “home” where they are starved, emotionally abused, with zero privacy, taught religion that’s wielded like a sledgehammer, and even forced to do hours of heavy lifting. But then there’s a knock at the window, an idea, a dream, taking shape. The idea that they could escape, flee. To make it to Nowhere. All their lives, they’ve heard the stories of the Nowhere children, how they live alone, supporting each other and keeping adults and outsiders away. If they could just make it there, could it be the freedom they so desperately crave?
I enjoyed that this story was twofold. The added layer of not only adults, but also investigative journalists/podcasters, gave the story depth. Not to mention this sort of creepy-crawly feeling as they do their best to get to the bottom of what really happened, and is happening, at Nowhere. A movie star’s old burned-down home, where secrets abound. The group of children that only slip into the nearest town when they need to steal to keep going. It’s almost as if they’re ghosts.
I enjoyed the characterization of the children. Riley and Oliver in particular. Their familial depiction was a really solid showing of how strong the bother-sister bond can be (I have two) but also how tainted and complicated things can be as well. Because Oliver is so young, the damage caused at the hands of their abuser, their demon, is enough to keep coming back. With no one else but Riley, there’s no one else for him to blame, to lash out at. And Riley is a good depiction of unconditional love, even if that can be tainted too.
Nowhere is a fantastic name. I bounced between believing it was a place and that it was just the idea of safety and escape, that maybe nothing was really happening. And in that exact sense, it really is something along the lines of a very dark Neverland. Some of that darkness comes from Nowhere’s Lord of the Flies-esque past where the kids broke off into tribes that would fight for resources. And that being only briefly mentioned in the past kind of sets up this looming threat overhead that it could happen again.
During most of my listen, I did enjoy the story, but I was leaning toward it being just okay/good. I wasn’t being blown away or anything, but the ending twist, to which I had several theories, really ended up getting me good. Like, I could not believe I didn’t see it all along good. And that really bumped up my enjoyment. It’s wild to me when it happens. Not just that I got it wrong, which although I do read horror/thriller/mysteries all the time does happen, but that I was so completely off.
A family drama that packs a punch with its dysfunction and yet also its perseverance.
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