Opening the pages of “Burn Girl” will bring Durango readers home, literally. This young adult novel by Durango’s Mandy Mikulencak is set here in river city and the time frame is current day. Although billed as Y.A., this story has adult appeal, and visiting familiar places around town makes it all the more enjoyable.
Arlie is a 16-year-old girl, who, since she was extremely young, has been the adult in her small, dysfunctional family. Horribly burned in a meth explosion as a child, Arlie has taken responsibility for her drug-addicted mother. After escaping the clutches of her stepfather, Lloyd, in Albuquerque, Arlie and her mother have been holed out in a small motel that readers might be able to identify as the “real” Animas View Motel located on North Main Avenue.
Unable to go to school, Arlie has been befriended by Mo, who has taken it upon herself to tutor her. Mo has a comfortable, normal life with both of her parents and seems like the last person to seek friendship with an outcast. Mo seems to admire and accept Arlie, where most people are put off by her physical appearance, especially her face, since half of it was scarred by the explosion that killed her grandmotherly neighbor, Rosa.
As the story opens, Arlie is sitting in her motel room contemplating her next actions after discovering her mother’s dead body. After calling 911, Arlie is thrust into the foster care system again. Previously, she was in foster care in Albuquerque after the fire that made her the “Burn Girl.” After a year, her mother stole her away and brought her to Durango. Now Arlie finds her world turned upside down yet again, going from a life with no rules, except to survive, to a “normal” world of rules everywhere. There is going to school, living in a foster home, going to a court-appointed therapist, etc.
Arlie attends Durango High and does well in her classes. She has a wonderful voice and is heard singing with Mo by the choral teacher. Arlie auditions and makes it into chorus where she is accepted by all the others except for Brittany, a real-life mean girl. Of course, there is a boy in the action named Cody.
At her mother’s funeral, Arlie is shocked by the discovery that she has an uncle named Frank. The family secret goes both ways since he never knew he had a niece. Frank packs up his life in Texas and moves to Durango in his vintage Airstream trailer to provide a home for Arlie. This is the first time she has had her own space and privacy, especially since she now has a room with a door. Also, this is the first time she has someone taking care of her, and not the other way around. Just as Arlie starts to trust this way of life, a part of her past threatens to destroy her newfound existence.
“Burn Girl” is written in first person, letting readers inside the complicated mind and life of Arlie Betts. Mikulencak has crafted a suspenseful, poignant novel that lets readers into the world of a special teenager and an adult trying to find their ways through a unique situation. The author shows a compassionate understanding of the world of today’s teenagers. “Burn Girl” should appeal to a diverse group of people, and would be especially fitting for reluctant readers. Adults young and old will find this novel informative, relevant and engrossing.
sierrapoco@yahoo.com. Leslie Doran is a Durango freelance reviewer.
If you go
Mandy Mikulencak will be participating in the Durango Public Library’s Local Authors Extravaganza Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. along with Michael Carson, Julia Hastings-Black, Tekla Miller, Stew Mosberg, Holli Pfau, Greg Picard and Melissa Stacy. Tickets are $30, available at the library’s information desk.
