A Thousand Fires

September 1, 2019
On the night of her 18th birthday, Valerie Simons accepts an offer to join San Francisco's Red Bridge Wars. Inspired by the Iliad and the gritty city of San Francisco, this fast-paced debut follows a teen's quest for vengeance in the gang wars that killed her younger brother, Leo. The wars involve three fighting gangs: the Herons (dynastic families with money in the tech business), the Boars (a violent group of San Francisco natives), and the Stags (the newest and least-known of the three). Val is set on joining the Herons with her ex-boyfriend Matthew Weston, who comes from a Heron family, but a dangerous altercation on the highway leaves her with little choice when enigmatic Jax, the Stag leader, extends her a formal offer to join them along with the knowledge of who killed Leo. Wracked with guilt and fueled by revenge, Val is a likable yet flawed character who is struggling with her inner demons. Vivid descriptions and intricate details bring San Francisco to life, but a lukewarm love triangle and rushed ending leave something to be desired. Val is biracial (Filipina and white); some secondary characters are ethnically diverse and queer, but many are assumed white. A promising debut. (author's note) (Fiction. 14-18)

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October 1, 2019

Gr 9 Up-Debut author Price presents a heart-wrenching tale of a group of young adults in San Francisco who are trying to end the Wars between the three gangs of the Bay Area: the Herons, the Boars, and the Stags. A ritual happens in the city when a teenager turns 18: they might be drafted into one of the gangs to fight in the Wars. Valerie Simons struggles through the loss of her little brother, Leo, who was shot by a member of one of the gangs that run the city. Heartbroken and enraged, her mission becomes to join the Herons with her love interest Matthew, who is heir to the Herons leadership, to find Leo's murderer. But the night of Valerie's 18th birthday she is kidnapped by members of the Stags and is coerced into joining their group. Now Valerie must choose between two factions and two loves in her quest for revenge. The detailed writing style portrays characters' emotions without overwhelming readers. Price manages to write a story not only action-packed and intense, but that also dives deep into serious subjects: cutting/self-harm, suicidal tendencies, grief, and resentment toward parents who aren't around. The characters are all memorable and readers' feelings about them will be constantly evolving. There isn't a clear-cut villain until the very end, making the story unpredictable. VERDICT Despite minor details that seem rushed, this is a fantastic read. Recommended for teens who enjoy urban coming-of-age stories.-Danny Jacobs, Las Vegas Clark County Library District

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2019
Grades 9-12 Despite her loved ones' urgings to stay out of the Wars, Valerie desperately wants revenge for her brother, murdered by a gang called the Boars. So when Jax, leader of the Stags, a rival gang, offers her the name of her brother's killer, Valerie readily joins up. Almost immediately, she?along with her family and friends?finds herself in the middle of the gangs' machinations. When the body count starts to rise, Valerie begins questioning whether her bloodlust is worth the destruction of everything she holds dear. Using a story loosely based on The Iliad, debut author Price portrays an alternate version of modern-day San Francisco in which class tensions have erupted into an underground proxy war between violent street gangs. An interesting, if not altogether smoothly integrated, aspect of the story is how a contemporary city, complete with shopping areas, schools, and modern technology, exists side by side with a gritty gang war reminiscent of The Warriors. Fans of stories of factional conflict such as Veronica Roth's Divergent trilogy will feel right at home.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)