How to Set a Fire and Why is a short novel with a teenage protagonist. It feels like a “young adult” title except that it is darker than most such teen literature. It’s a story about grief and recovery, although it isn’t particularly optimistic. Narrator Lucia is in high school and lives with her aunt because her father recently died and her mother is in some kind of mental asylum.  Then we find out that even her aunt is in bad health and Lucia can’t be sure what her future holds. She has acerbic wit and she struggles with coping. She is intrigued with arson and is very tempted to burn things down.  Her comments are often very funny. She is a brainy but defiant student who is often in detention, which is where she meets other potential arsonists. Jesse Ball’s novel is powerful in its depiction of a young woman suffering and coping through anger and humor, getting some help from her aunt, who is very tolerant and occasionally wise. These themes are pretty standard for teen literature these days, but it is done well and unusually funny. The unabridged audiobook is performed by Emma Galvin who is convincing in her portrayal of teen angst and scathing comments.

© 2017 Christian Perring

Christian Perring is an APPA certified philosophical counselor.