The Burning Girl: A Novel
by Claire Messud
Buy on AmazonA New York Times Bestseller A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist A bracing, hypnotic coming-of-age story about the bond of best friends, from the New York Times best-selling author of The Emperor’s Children. Julia and Cassie have been friends since nursery school. They have shared everything, including their desire to escape the stifling limitations of their birthplace, the quiet town of Royston, Massachusetts. But as the two girls enter adolescence, their paths diverge and Cassie sets out on a journey that will put her life in danger and shatter her oldest friendship.…
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"Julia and Cassie have been thisclose since nursery school. But when this novel opens, it’s the last summer of their friendship. And it’s a magical one, spent lying in the sun by the quarry, exploring the woods for an abandoned asylum and playing make-believe games. But as seventh grade begins, the two friends drift apart. Julia, our narrator, can’t understand why and, as Cassie begins to go down a dangerous path, neither can she help her old friend. At its heart, The Burning Girl is a vivid, true-to-life portrait of what it feels like to have an intense childhood friendship and how hurtful and confusing it can be when it’s over. Claire Messud’s beautifully written latest novel will surely resonate with anyone who has ever either had a friend or been a teenager."
NPR Books We Love — 2017 · apps.npr.org