Youngdahl, Shana. A Catalog of Burnt Objects. Dial, 03/2025. 350 [11]pp. Fiction. Trade $19.99. 978-0-5934-0551-2. GRADES 8–12. OUTSTANDING.
High school senior Caprice is using her love and knowledge of her mountain town to build a tourist app she hopes will launch her into the wider world when a massive fire disrupts everything she and her family love. The town of Sierra is very much based on Paradise, California, and the author’s descriptions of the atmosphere and beauty of the place are the heart of a coming-of-age/romance/disaster story that manages to combine the everydays of high school life with the huge disruption brought about by one specific fire. Author Youngdahl skillfully uses a book structure that combines a catalog of items lost in the fire and their stories with a countdown to the fire itself to center the reader in the chaotic rhythm of a natural disaster. Family history, a sibling in recovery, and the intensity of first love are woven into a well-paced story that also educates the reader about issues of urban/wildlife interface and global climate change. Includes California-specific content.
Lesley Mandros Bell— Independent