When Tomorrow Burns

When best friends Nomi, Vi, and Arthur were younger, they discovered a book of prophecies. It was so very comforting to know what was coming. But as the kids grew older, they forgot about the book.
Until the final prophecy started coming true.  

Now, as seventh grade tests their friendship and wildfires threaten Seattle, the final prophecy promises fire and destruction. Nomi tries everything to prevent calamity. The only problem? She needs help… but Vi’s acting strange, and Arthur stopped talking to her.  

Vi can’t tell Nomi, but she’s been texting the coolest boy in school, and it’s going well. Until that boy makes an unexpected request, and she must decide who she wants to be. Meanwhile, Arthur joined the cross-country team, but he can’t outrun the real reason he ended his friendship with Nomi. The best he can do is try to hide it. As the prophecy escalates, past and present intersect, fate and friendship collide, and secrets spread like wildfire. Together, Nomi, Vi, and Arthur must face the future… even, and especially when it’s so uncertain. 

When Tomorrow Burns is told from four points of view: Nomi, Vi, Arthur, and a tree. This structure lets readers see how the three friends’ perspectives differ from one another, as each holds secrets from the others. For Vi and Arthur, these secrets center on a first crush and unfamiliar emotions they don’t yet understand. Many middle grade readers will relate to the friends’ struggles to understand each other alongside their newfound awareness of the opposite sex. When Nomi and Lucas connect over social media, she feels a special connection and sends him a picture of herself wearing only a bra. Lucas then shows the picture to his friends, and the fallout highlights the dangers of sexting in an age-appropriate way. 

The story grows more complicated with the addition of the tree’s point of view. Interspersed throughout the book, these short chapters often reference times in history when people faced discrimination, such as the Japanese internment camps and the Salem witch trials. However, these events are mentioned so briefly that readers may struggle to fully understand them. For example, when settlers began arriving in the West, people pushed “Chinese immigrants onto boats, forcing them out of the country. Others had set fire to Duwamish longhouses, destroying entire villages in the process.” 

The book also attempts to educate readers about friendship difficulties, discrimination, and gender identity: Arthur has two fathers, one character uses they/them pronouns, and Nomi’s mother says, “It’s good to let people choose their identity.” Additionally, one of Arthur’s friends assumes he’s gay, though he isn’t. These threads don’t always feel like natural extensions of the story and may confuse some readers. 

The novel further explores discrimination, both historical and current, through conversations like the one between Arthur and his friend about the difficulties of being a boy. They discuss how it’s “harder than ever to be a boy… People aren’t as prejudiced against [Asian boys] as they are against white boys.” Later, during a tour of an underground city, a guide states, “White men have made a whole lot of rules that benefit them, and harm everyone else.” While arguably accurate, the comment leaves Arthur feeling that “it was hard to be a boy, because it meant people blamed him for everything, even though he hadn’t done anything.” 

Unfortunately, When Tomorrow Burns tries to tackle too many social issues at once — sexting, classism, discrimination, and global warming among them. With so many characters and facts to track, and with the narrative bouncing frequently between points of view, readers must pay close attention to every word to avoid getting lost. Because of this, the book is best suited to strong readers who enjoy puzzling through characters’ inner thinking. 

In the end, When Tomorrow Burns is an ambitious book that bites off more than it can fully chew. Its heart is in the right place, and its central friendship story lands well, but the sheer number of weighty themes crammed into a middle-grade novel dilutes its impact. Readers who stick with it will find moments of genuine insight, but this is a book that asks a lot of its audience. If you’re looking for an entertaining book that explores friendship, check out these books: The Astonishing Maybe, Manatee Summer, and Free Throws, Friendship, and Other Things We Fouled Up. 

Sexual Content  

• Vi takes a selfie of herself in a bra and sends it to a boy, who shares it with all of his friends. 

Violence  

• There is a reference to the witch trials: “where whole communities had burned women at the stake—turning girls to flame for talking too much, or not talking enough, or simply having a really nice garden.” 

• Nomi gets angry at the boy who shared Vi’s selfie. During class she lunged “tackling Lucus to the ground.”  

Drugs and Alcohol  

• An adult uses “Oh Christ,” as an exclamation once. 

• Arthur’s father asks, “Arthur, are you having romantic feelings for boys?” Instead of answering, Arthur says, “Oh god.” 

• Freaking is used four times. 

Language  

• None 

Supernatural 

• None 

Spiritual Content  

• Vi accidentally sets her bedroom on fire. When Vi gets out of the house safely, her mom says, “Thank god.”