Check nearby libraries
Buy this book
"How to Set a Fire and Why is a blistering, singular, devastating novel by Jesse Ball ("A young genius who hits all of the right notes." --Chicago Tribune) about a teenage girl who has lost everything and will burn anything. Lucia has been kicked out of school, again, this time for stabbing a boy in the neck with a pencil. Her father is dead; her mother is in a mental institute; and she's living in a garage-turned-bedroom with her aunt. Making her way through the world with only a book, a Zippo lighter, and a pocket full of stolen licorice, Lucia spends her days riding the bus to visit her mother in The Home, avoiding the landlord who hates her, and following the only rule that makes any sense: Don't Do Things You Aren't Proud Of. When Lucia starts at Whistler High it seems no different from the schools that came before: girls play field hockey, chasing the ball like dogs, the school psychologist has beanbag chairs in her office, and detention means sitting silently surrounded by stupid people ("I am a veteran of detention"). But when Lucia discovers a secret Arson Club, she will do anything to be a part of it. With a biting wit and striking intelligence that she can't fully hide, Lucia animates her small-town life: the parties at an abandoned water park, visits to the 24-hour donut shop where her friend Lana's cousin works, the little island in the middle of a medical park where kids go to drink. As Lucia's fascination with the Arson Club grows, her chronicle becomes a riveting story of family, loss, misguided friendship, and destruction"--
Check nearby libraries
Buy this book
Previews available in: English
Showing 1 featured edition. View all 1 editions?
Edition | Availability |
---|---|
1
How to set a fire and why
2016, Vintage, Pantheon
in English
- First edition.
1101870575 9781101870570
|
aaaa
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
Book Details
Edition Notes
Classifications
The Physical Object
ID Numbers
Source records
Promise Itemmarc_openlibraries_phillipsacademy MARC record
marc_openlibraries_sanfranciscopubliclibrary MARC record
Internet Archive item record
Library of Congress MARC record
Better World Books record
Internet Archive item record
marc_columbia MARC record
Promise Item
Links outside Open Library
Community Reviews (0)
Feedback?History
- Created May 15, 2019
- 13 revisions
Wikipedia citation
×CloseCopy and paste this code into your Wikipedia page. Need help?
February 28, 2023 | Edited by ImportBot | import existing book |
February 28, 2023 | Edited by ImportBot | import existing book |
February 10, 2023 | Edited by BWBImportBot | Modified local IDs, source records |
December 18, 2022 | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
May 15, 2019 | Created by MARC Bot | Imported from marc_openlibraries_phillipsacademy MARC record |