Weekend Pick for July 26, 2024

Weekend Pick for July 26, 2024

Dr. Rachelle Savitz, an associate professor of literacy at East Carolina University, prepared this weekend pick for you. In addition to teaching graduate students, Rachelle enjoys facilitating trauma-sensitive and culturally sustaining disciplinary literacy professional learning across the country. She loves sharing her passion for using books to connect with and learn about one another’s lived experiences.

Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado

In her next suggestion, Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado, readers encounter the following topics:

• False promises;
• Hypocrisy;
• Governmental Injustice;
• Burning and Fighting Back;
• Grassroots Organizations;
• Rebuilding, and Survival. 

Vincent Tirado

The genre of YA Horror is often neglected. However, when an author combines horror, historical and contemporary racism, and connection to today’s time, it is a sure win for all readers. Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado does all of this as readers learn about the cost of redlining, slumlords, White flight, intentional burning of low-income property, oppression - and how those policies continue to harm society today.

The story takes place in a version of the Bronx that connects teenagers to the past (1970s-80s) when they play the Echo game. People are disappearing from the Bronx, and others are developing a strange rash that looks like black mold spreading all over their skin until it kills them.
​

​The rules of the game are simple: don’t leave the train for an hour, don’t talk or touch the passengers, and don’t turn around. If these rules aren’t followed, there are strict consequences, as the player becomes part of the echo. Sixty minutes doesn’t seem like a long time, but is it? Once the Echo takes hold, it doesn’t want to let go—and the Bronx is not the only Echo playing out in real life worldwide. Echoes exist all over as they represent the horrors and tragedies of particular regions and areas. ​

Our main characters are Raquel, her crush Charlize, her best friend Aaron, and his brother Mario. The group decides to investigate the Echo Game, conducting research and talking with people who have played and come out alive, albeit not the same as when they began. For Charlize, she wanted to find her cousin Cisco, who disappeared after calling her for help. Raquel's mom has the black mold rash spreading all over her body and is now in a medically induced coma. Yet, even choosing not to play doesn’t mean you are not impacted, as Raquel begins having recurring nightmares of fire and death that cause harm to her body in the real world. Therefore, the group decides to play the Echo game. So, at 3 A.M., they get onto the subway and chant, “We are Echobound.” Once part of the game, Raquel must learn about the racist policies and people who lived in the Bronx years ago and how these practices killed many residents – to fight back and survive the Echo – and know the stories, grief, and trauma of those who came before.
​
As someone who enjoys historical fiction and believes in the power of literature to share about our lives and connections to the characters, this is a must-read novel. It is action-packed and showcases strong characters’ love for one another, their families and heritages, and their community. Throughout the book, I often found myself Googling to learn more about this time period, especially in the Bronx and NYC. While I knew many of the terms and issues with racist policies and practices that continue today, the way this book requires the reader to stop and reflect on how the past continues to harm the present is masterfully done. Trauma doesn’t simply go away – there is a need to pay reparations and collectively make changes that address the many issues in our society, especially for historically and contemporarily marginalized populations. Ultimately, we must know the history to rise from the ashes and start anew.