A Catalog of Burnt Objects

A Beautiful Story

I set a goal to read 20 pages a day as a way to bring more joy into my routine. Well, that plan backfired—in the best way. I tore through this book way past the daily page count because I simply couldn’t stop. It’s that good. Charming from start to finish, with a story that feels both timely and timeless, this one easily earns a five-star spot on my shelf. Also, any book that puts girls who code front and center absolutely deserves the spotlight.

With California wildfires raging once again, this novel couldn’t be more relevant. Yes, it touches on the destruction and trauma these disasters cause—but it’s ultimately about resilience. It threads together climate change, sustainability, and the urgent need to live with the land rather than dominate it. But at its core, it’s a coming-of-age story about love, family, and navigating uncertainty.

Caprice, seventeen, is trying to keep the peace as her brother Beckett—newly out of rehab—returns home. Their relationship is strained and complicated, full of buried tension and unspoken truths. Caprice swings between anger and care, resentment and loyalty. It’s messy and real. As a wildfire creeps toward their small town, the chaos forces everything into sharp focus.

Some characters, like Beckett, can come off as self-absorbed, but it’s believable. He’s surviving day by day. The emotional distance between him and Caprice is heartbreaking, especially when you sense how much they still care about each other. Addiction doesn’t just affect one person—it radiates outward—and the story captures that ripple effect in a painfully honest way.

I wished we had Beckett’s point of view. I wanted insight into his choices, his guilt, his grief. But maybe that’s intentional—we don’t always get answers, and we have to learn to live with that. I appreciated how Caprice’s anxiety was written with care, and how the romance subplot added texture without overpowering the narrative. River and Ali were both strong supporting characters with depth and goals of their own.

In the end, this is a story about healing—personal, familial, and environmental. It’s emotionally heavy at times, but never hopeless. It strikes a beautiful balance between hard truths and the quiet hope that things can change. Also? Big bonus points for weaving STEM themes into a heartfelt narrative. A standout read for both teens and adults.

What a wonderful step back in time to a place I inhabited as a young woman. Caprice owned these pages and with a voice and writing style that truly spoke to my inner teen and she drew me into her world in all its emotional chaos and family dynamics and held me close. I feel as if I have made a new friend and shared her world experiences, however there is a wonderful quality to youth that allows the young to stand tall in the face of adversity and grow stronger still because of it. Caprice reminds me of a seed from a giant redwood, her full strength would not be realized and the power of her spiritual breath would not be seen if not for the fire that allowed her sprout and claim her place.

As a an older reader, I was impressed with Youngdahl's writing and her ability to share Caprice's story in a way that make me feel as if I was teen again. But I am not the target audience, no matter how much I saw myself reflected here. Stepping back and thinking to what I longed to read as a teen and reflecting on what I hear teens commenting on around me, I can see this story being one that truly reflects the reality that this generation isexperiencing. This book would be a great summer read for anyone, but I truly feel this is a book teens need in this moment when resiliency, love, compassion, and endurance are the mixed up hallmarks of their generation. Caprice's story is one that will allow many to process the confusing mix of feelings that is life in the 21st Century.