Fifteen-year-old Macey Clare decides to research the history of a burned-out neighborhood barn for a school project. But no one in her beautiful wealthy town wants to answer her questions about the fire of 1959. When Macey discovers that somebody was actually living in the barn when it burned she vows to find the truth. Macey and her friends are nearly killed when an arsonist attacks the black church where they have volunteered. Although it’s only a town away the teens she meets at Good Shepherd have lives she can barely imagine. And like the fire of ’59 no one in her town seems to care. Burning Up teaches young adults about the evil of indifference and the power of accepting responsibility. Author of the award-winning Face on the Milk Carton series Caroline B. Cooney has created a riveting novel from which narrator Christina Moore evokes the full dramatic power.
