I am so surprised that this book isn't getting more attention... It is definitely along the lines of The Fault in Our Stars and those other YA books we all love. While being intense and emotional it also brought romance and charm to the table. I loved the friendships and I swooned over the new romance. It was definitely a 5 star read that I recommend to all readers!

Francis is teen boy with not only physical scarring, but also emotional scarring. He is uncomfortable in his own skin and struggles with living a normal teenage life because he is constantly bullied. Every day he walks into school just waiting to be made fun of or beat up. When a pretty girl stands up for him he can't help but think it's a joke. He wants to keep her at arm's length, but eventually caves and gives in to temptation. Together they embark on a beautiful journey of love. It isn't always easy though and the bullying grows out of control. Can their love survive? READ TO FIND OUT!!!

Burn Baby, Burn Baby was a gut wrenching story about learning to see what's inside and not just judging from appearance. Rachel helps Francis break out of his shell. She shows him that even with the scars he is handsome and worthy of love. He has set backs, but eventually learns to be happy that he is alive.

The Author's writing was great! The story didn't become boring once. It was fast paced and kept me on the edge of my seat. I'm not a huge fan of male pov, but with this book it worked wonders. I connected with Franics and was able to feel every deep emotion he was feeling.

I really loved the story and I wish more people would give it a read. I promise once you start reading you won't be able to stop. ( )

This is my first novel by Kevin Craig and I have to say I loved it. I knew from the moment I read the dedication in Burn baby, burn baby this novel was going to be great and possibly one of my favorite books.

Francis is anything but your typical seventeen year old boy. Francis has gone through physical, emotional, and mental abuse at the hand of his father who left him with scars not just emotionally but physical scars as well. Not only must he live with the scars his father left him after the abuse but he has also face being bullied at school.

Francis has zero self-esteem. He actually believes he deserves to be bullied and doesn't believe he should have anything good in his life and when things get too good he gains self-destructing habits. He has one friend Trig who is an amazing friend, he defends him against bullies, doesn't allow anyone to make Francis feel inferior and attempts to help Francis put together the pieces of himself to be the loving person he should be.

Then, along comes Rachel the new girl. She sees beyond the burns left on his body, she sees Frances for who he really is just like Trig does. But Frances automatically assumes that Rachel is tricking him because how could a girl like that find him attractive?

This is a turning point for Frances because he begins to realize he does deserve to be happy and deserves to be treated with respect. For me, the most important thing he learned is that his scars don't define him. He begins to stand up for himself at times to the wrong people but he finally stands up to the bully.

The ending of the novel was something I was not expecting but I felt it was realistic. So many teenagers are bullied and do not think they deserve respect or to be treated right. This book just isn't for the people who are being bullied and feel like no one understands what they are going through but also for the bullies. It is also for the bullies, because it gives you the perspective of the person whose being bullied and how they feel.

It teaches the important lesson of speaking up because one may never know just how far another person may go.

I plan to be a teacher someday and I definitely see myself using this book in my lessons to teach about bullying, acceptance, and compassion.
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This book deals with some major issues including parental abuse and bullying and is told from the victim's point of view, giving an excellent insight into trying to survive whilst living in constant fear. However, I didn't really like Francis, I found him a bit weak and self-focused, and he relied too heavily on Trig to fight his battles for him. I did connect with Rachael. She was a wonderful character and was able to see beyond Francis' physical scars. The resolution was disappointing. It was too far-fetched to be believable and tied everything up in a happily-ever-after bow making for a cliche ending. ( )