• Is it age appropriate?

  About our ratings

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  Not age appropriate for kids under 15, age appropriate for kids over 17; suggested age 15.

• Is it any good?

  3.0

• Common Sense says

  Disturbing novel explores the aftermath of bullying.

Why We Rated This for Ages 15–17

What to watch out for

• Messages:

  After bullies write that "Cameron Diaz loves" Cameron's best friend on the bathroom wall, his friend won't talk to him anymore and says "I'm no fag. Stay away from me." When another boy who is bullied talks to him, Cameron "digs around inside himself for a little compassion and comes up empty." A disturbed boy in Cameron's class digs a paperclip into his own palm until blood drips onto his desk. Cameron's grades drop because he can't concentrate at school because of the bullying. Cameron tells a teacher, "You're an ass." Cameron feels empowered by setting fires, which he believes proves "he has bigger balls." After killing a boy, Cameron goes to PE class. Cameron dismisses any feelings of remorse: "I killed someone. But it was only Pinon. The kid was a pervert." He insists "he did the only thing he could do." Cameron's mother burns his clothes, which are evidence in the case. He questions her ability to protect him or fix things.
• Violence:

  Cameron is emotionally and physically bullied at school by football players who call him "Cameron Diaz" and say he is gay. He is always fearful at school and the bullies roam in packs, taunting and beating kids. A friend of Cameron's is beaten so badly he ends up in the hospital. Bullies hold Cameron and take pictures of him naked in the locker room that they post on the Internet; there is the suggestion of sexual assault but no graphic description. Cameron likes to play with fire, throws a lit match on his brother's shirt, starts a fire in a school trash can, and lights an abandoned car on fire and burns part of a city park. Cameron carries a knife to school so he can cut the bully's throat. He kills another boy by smashing a metal lock into his skull.

• Sex:

  Cameron hears stories about a boy "making it with two girls at the same time ... girls giving head in the boys' bathroom." Cameron wants to write "Rich Patterson sucks dick" on an overpass.
• Language:

  "Fag," "piss off," "s--t," "dick," "asshole," "peckerhead," "hell," "f--king," "damn."
• Consumerism:

  Not an issue.
• Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

  Cameron hangs out in front of the liquor store, hoping someone will "toss him a can of beer from his six-pack." Cameron drinks so much "he couldn't feel the ground under his feet the whole way home." Cameron's dad was a violent drunk who hit the boys and their mother.

What Parents Need to Know

About Burn

Families Can Talk About