Controlled Burn

Twelve-year-old Maia’s parents say she’s lucky she noticed something as early as she did. Lucky to have smelled the smoke, lucky to have pulled her sister, Amelia, out of their burning house. But is it really “lucky” when Amelia’s stuck in the hospital, covered in burns? And is it “lucky” when Maia knows it was her candle, left unattended, that started the fire in the first place? 

When she’s sent to spend the summer with her grandparents in Northern Minnesota while her sister heals, Maia discovers that her anxieties and demons are intent on following her wherever she goes. . . unless she can figure out how to overcome them. But what if she can’t? Maia barely knows her grandparents, she desperately misses her sister and home, and she’s not thrilled to be spending the summer with Grandpa Howard on his daily motorcycle rides out to the middle of the woods, where he spends all day keeping watch for forest fires. There are no kids her age in Gram and Pop’s small town at “the end of the road”—just the chatty nine-year-old neighbor who is intent on getting his Bear Scout badge at all costs, and a friendly, stray dog who’s been lurking around.  

But Maia will soon learn that nature is a powerful teacher, and sometimes, our greatest strengths show themselves when we have to be there for someone else. As she begins to figure out how to face her guilt and paralyzing fears, she’ll discover there’s a fine line between fear and adventure. And when danger strikes again, Maia must summon all her bravery and overcome her self-doubt if she wants to save those she loves most.  

Controlled Burn follows Maia’s journey to becoming stronger and less fearful. The first chapter begins with the fire, and afterward, Maia is taken to her grandparents, where she wrestles with nightmares and fears. Maia spends most of her time alone, and her only companion is a friendly dog named Bear. The solitude allows Maia to ruminate on her guilt over the fire and her many fears, allowing the reader to look intimately into Maia’s inner thoughts.  

The quiet story will appeal to readers with daily anxiety and unfounded fears. For example, Maia hasn’t learned to swim because she fears drowning in deep water. However, with the help of friends and her grandparents, Maia conquers her fear and learns how to swim. In addition, Maia’s grandpa helps her to understand that “you can’t prevent all bad things from happening, and you definitely can’t change things that have already happened. But what you can do is make the best out of a bad situation.” In addition, the book also highlights the importance of being able to forgive yourself.   

While Controlled Burn isn’t full of action and adventure, Maia’s emotional journey shows that with the help of others, overcoming fear is possible. In addition, Soderberg’s love of nature shines through and gives readers a unique perspective. Readers who love animals and want to explore fear through an animal’s perspective should read Odder by Katherine Applegate. 

Sexual Content  

• None

Violence  

• While Maia and her sister Amelia are home alone, a fire starts. Maia goes to her sister’s room where “the fire had formed a sort of yellowish-orange ring around the base of the bed. . . she wailed as the flames caught her T-shirt and ripped into her hair.” Amelia is put in a medically induced coma and has to have skin grafts.  
• A woman hits a deer, and Maia’s grandfather helps move the deer out of the road. Mia “stared at that deer, crumpled up on the side of the road. I didn’t need to touch it or even get close to know it was still warm. Blood oozed out of the side of the poor animal’s face, and its legs were splayed at an unnatural angle.”  
• The deer was pregnant, so “Grandpa had bent over the dead deer and begun carefully slicing open her abdomen. . . [Maia] reached my hands into the dead animal’s belly, and helped Grandpa pull out a squirming mass of baby deer. . . There was goop and blood everywhere, but I hardly noticed.” The baby deer survives. 
• Grandpa tells Maia about when his brother died. His brother was helping put out a fire when “one of the trees cracked off halfway up its trunk. . . It landed on my brother. James died instantly, I guess.” 

Drugs and Alcohol  

• While in the hospital, Maia’s sister is “pumped full of sedatives and medicine to stop her from hurting too much.” 

Language  

• Maia’s grandfather has a pet dog. He said, “Some jerk abandoned it on the side of the highway.”  
• Maia’s grandfather is injured “trying to keep up with that damn dog.”

Supernatural 

• None 

Spiritual Content  

• Maia’s grandma takes her to church. Before riding on a motorcycle, Maia “crossed my fingers, and hoped the prayers I’d said at yesterday morning’s church service would protect me today from certain doom.”  
• When Maia’s grandfather helps with a dead deer, he says, “Thank God.” This upsets Maia, but Grandpa says, “It could be worse. Could have been severely injured and suffering.”