Mo, Luke, Violet, Drummer, and narrator Hannah are the monsters, a close-knit group of friends who have known each other forever. It's the summer before freshman year of college, relationships and alliances have shifted as tensions rise and the group grows apart, and in the wake of their changing friendships, fire season looms in California. Hannah, whose father is the sheriff, has always been careful and cautious and fears the brushfires more than anyone, so when she and the monsters accidentally start a fatal wildfire, what ensues is a complicated string of lies and coverups to salvage their reputations--but will it save the people and their home? Meticulously placing clues throughout the story, Alvarez weaves a complex and fast-paced mystery. As Hannah and her friends debate what is ethically and morally right, they watch the flames feed their lies and consume the town they grew up in, harming the people they love and leading to an epic conclusion.

A summer hangout turns into tragedy when a group of friends accidently start a wildfire. Mo, Luke, Violet, Drummer, and Hannah have been best friends since they were 7-year-olds in a small forest town near Yosemite in California, all of them locals apart from wealthy, beautiful incomer Violet, who comes from Santa Barbara to visit her grandmother every summer. During one of their outings to the local lake, they accidentally start a fire while smoking weed, but, scared of the consequences and guided by sheriff's daughter Hannah's knowledge of the law, the teens lie about their involvement. The fire spreads, devastating their community with vast losses in property and life. Their relationships--already frayed at the edges due to their imminent post--high school separation and Hannah's unrequited love for Drummer--start to crumble when one bad decision leads to another, and the lies spread just like the tragic wildfire. And then Violet goes missing. Alvarez's young adult debut is a twisty, fast-paced thriller about accountability, guilt, jealousy, and survival. Divided into two parts--before and after Violet's disappearance--and told from Hannah's viewpoint, the story focuses on the friends' complex dynamics, seamlessly intertwined with each character's personal stories, which include domestic abuse, financial strain, and the close yet toxic friendship between Hannah and Drummer that guides most of Hannah's actions toward a fittingly dark climax. Olive-skinned Violet's surname cues her as Latinx; the other teens are assumed White. A gripping page-turner. (author's note) (Thriller. 14-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Gr 9 Up--Mo, Violet, Luke, Drummer, and Hannah--childhood friends known as the "Monsters,--have recently graduated from high school and are celebrating a hot summer day at Gap Lake, California. While they are cooling off at a no burn area at the lake, one of the teens accidentally starts a fire. To their horror, the wildfire quickly gets out of control and turns deadly, threatening the Yosemite forest. As the wildfire ravages the area, the "Monsters" choose to keep their pact of not telling on one another. Then Violet, goes missing. Hannah tries to protect her friends and their secret, but struggles when she is attacked by a bear and can't remember what happened. The lies spins out of control as does the fire. This fast-paced and suspenseful novel keeps readers guessing. VERDICT Consider this a must-have thriller.--Nancy Hawkins, Franklin County H.S., Brookville, IN