This review originally posted at More Than Just Magic 
 Ben Stanley is about to leave for college on a full scholarship. It should be a time for celebration. But it's hard to celebrate when the mine that keeps your town running is shutting down and the rest of your friends and family are facing a much less secure future. He spends his days torn between excitement and guilt. 
 But than he meets Lala and something unexpected happens. Lala is like no one he's ever met before. She's mysterious, beautiful and has a very particular, formal way of speaking. And she's a fortune telling daughter of a Romani rom baro. Lala has spent her entire life knowing her place. Her culture has strict rules for women and she has always followed them. Choices are almost always made for her - responsibility, location, and now her fiance. Like Ben her future is secured. But unlike Ben she's not sure it's the future she wants. When Ben comes stumbling into her tent one day for a reading she begins to realize there may be other options she wishes to pursue. That maybe all she wants for her future is the freedom to make her own choices. 
 Though the romance between Lala and Ben is at the center of the story, I actually found it was the part that held my attention the least. It was actually their relationships with other people, rather than with each other, that made this story so compelling. Lala maintains a close relationship with her mother and sister's throughout the book and before meeting Ben she never truly considers another life than the one she's always lived. It was interesting to see how the dynamics between her and her family shifted and changed as she continued to grow as a character. 
 There is also the relationship between Ben and his younger brother, James. James is gay, and in a small town, in the middle-of-nowhere America, that's not always easy. I liked the way Elana K. Arnold depicted Ben's struggles with the revelation that his brother is gay. At first he doesn't want to believe that it's true. He loves his brother no matter what, but he's worried about some of the difficulties James will face and that he won't be there to protect him when he leaves for university. I think Ben's reaction is very honest and the conversations between the two brothers were my favourite moments throughout the whole novel. 
 Burning was not the read I expected it to be. I thought it would be an easy, breezy romance but it was actually a beautiful exploration into familial relationships, the pressure of other's expectations and the importance of following your own dreams.