I fell in love with novels in verse when I first read Brenda Seabrook’s stunning Judy Scuppernong.  That was back in 1990, and I have been enjoying them ever since.  One of my new favorites is The Burning Season, a gripping story of courage and survival by Caroline Starr Rose.

The Burning Season debuted in May, and it’s been getting much well-deserved praise and attention.  I can’t resist joining in.

The only home protagonist Opal Halloway has known is a fire tower in New Mexico’s Gila Wilderness.  Her 12th birthday marks the beginning of Opal’s training as a 4th-generation fire lookout.  While life as a lookout can be lonely, Caroline’s lovely verse enables readers to see this fiery girl has the heart for life in the wilderness:  “. . my wonderful home, this lonely place.”

Opal is proud of her family’s history and wants to continue the legacy, but she also yearns to go to 7th grade in town with other kids.  Hardest of all, Opal has a secret — she’s terrified of fire.  Caroline’s lyric narrative puts Opal in the position to face her fears and show what she’s made of.

Caroline’s verse is spare, vivid, rhythmical, often musical, enabling readers to connect intimately with her characters and to see nature in unique ways.

      “I follow the river, the speedy trout,
      their slick sides shimmering gold.”

And

      “On the racing water’s other side,
      the woods have thinned to blackened sticks,
      a stand of quiet witnesses
      left from the Wolf Ridge Fire.
      Trees like cemetery stones,
      reminders of the past.”

Caroline skillfully incorporates fire-evoking terms throughout so readers never forget the danger.  During a thunderstorm, Opal says,
      “Each flash of light
      shows the rain pouring down,
      ignites one thousand thoughts
      I won’t say out loud.”

The Burning Season is fast moving and filled with tension, emotion and beauty.  In addition to a marvelous tale, Caroline gives readers an informed look at the realities of fire — how it can be destructive, but also beneficial, bringing about regeneration, rebirth and healing to forest land.

Bravo! for this brilliant contribution to our literary landscape.
______________________________________

If you haven’t read Caroline Starr Rose’s other work, I encourage you to seek it out:

Middle Grade Novels:
      May B. A Novel
      Blue Birds
      Jasper and the Riddle of Riley’s Mine
      Miraculous


Picture Books:
      A Race Around the World: The Story of Nellie Bly & Elizabeth Bisland
      Ride On Will Cody: A Legend of the Pony Express
      Over in the Wetlands: A Hurricane-on-the Bayou Story