What do You think about The Fire (2001)?
Sometimes, I like to review classic books of the 90s, stuff from my earlier reading days that made a big impression on me. This one, unfortunately, I remember for all the wrong reasons. Fire's a psychological thriller and the third book in the Losing Christina series by the same author as Face on the Milk Carton. The first book, Fog is actually genuinely creepy, while Snow was one of those wrecks I just couldn't turn away from, so I just had to read Fire.I wish I hadn't. The entire series is about bullying, specifically adults tormenting kids. The Shevvingtons are the husband and wife duo who make themselves out as this nice principal/teacher couple in a Maine town, but secretly mentally abuse the kids from an outlying island who have to room with them, Christina included. Unfortunately, none of the other adults in the town, not one, believes any of Christina's abuse claims, even though another girl ends up in a mental asylum in the first book, leaving Christina mostly alone to expose her tormetors. And when the Shevvingtons are finally exposed? Lots of excuses from those responsible adults, oh, we never noticed anything, weren't they nice people, bulls-. Adults being completely useless has always been one of the oldest tropes in young adult literature, and frankly I can never be thankful enough of the modern trend moving away from that direction. And Christina's portrayal? She's so mentally fragile, it's like she's made of tissue paper, always on the verge of a breakdown. In the first book, it was necessary to the story, I didn't blame her, I understood, the Shevvingtons did some really nasty things that even creeped me out. In the second book, it started to get kind of old, but they had just claimed another victim and continued to target her, so my understanding didn't go away. But I didn't like how she kept being so weak, so powerless, here, even towards the end of the book when she's about to expose the Shevvingtons for who they really are. Part of a good psychological thriller's the victim figuring out how strong they really are in the face of abuse or afterwards, even if they bear the scars and need a good deal of recovery, but I never felt that from Christina, just wanted to shake her, don't be so indecisive, hopeless, and depressing when you're about to win! The only thing I actually liked were her few friends, who, while unreliable, supported her and came through for her when she really needed them.Maybe this series would've worked better if it wasn't so darn repetitive, Christina always seconds away from falling victim to the Shevvingtons, that left the climax in this book just so unsatisfying. I'll admit the ending was sweet, but it doesn't nearly make up for how much I was pissed during the rest of this.
—Mitch
Christina believes she has won. Anya is safe, far away, and Dolly has returned to the island to finish 6th grade. The Shevvingtons are leaving and she only has a few weeks before she will be done with them for good. But strange things start happening again - matchbooks are littered everywhere around here and candles keep appearing nearby. Everyone believes Christina is obsessed with fire, even setting her own clothes on fire. Christina then meets Val, a former student of the Shevvingtons now living in a mental hospital on their recommendation. Val escapes and Christina knows she'll need to save her too. Will Christina be able to survive this time?
—Natalie
