A Reason to Bury by C L Giles

This is another good youth fiction and adventure novel from Giles, the second in the Firestorm series. (You can read my review of the first one in the series, A Reason to Forget, here.) This novel relies heavily on the events of the first one so do read it first.

This novel finds thirteen year old Jazz suffering the psychological after effects of her earlier experiences. She is having issues with anger and it affects her relationship with her long time friend Blossom. We get a good dose of the trials and turmoil of teen friendships and jealousy that can arise with budding romantic affections. Davy gets a new dog, big, affectionate and protective.

The adventure of Jazz and her friends is set off by finding some secret information her grandfather had hidden away. And there is a mysterious photograph of a woman hidden in Jazz's precious locket. Jazz, Blossom and Davy set off on a research adventure that puts their lives in danger.

Giles' writing style is fun. I enjoyed this novel and I'm a septuagenarian. I think young readers will enjoy it too. There is adventure galore. There are character and faith issues Jazz must face. Potential readers should know this is a realistic novel in that there is violence and the body count is high. It is not a novel for timid readers. And, while Davy did have some genius kind if insight, I missed all the gimmicks he produced in the first novel.

This is a good novel for youth readers who are not afraid to read about actions like shoot outs and well described physical fights. You'll also find good character development and a good faith message.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

C. L. Giles is the author of the upper middle-grade/YA/mystery/suspense Firestorm series. Her first full length novel, A Reason to Forget, was nominated for the Dixie Lee Connor Award for Exceptional Children's Writing. Born and raised in Georgia, Giles and her husband now live in Clarksville, Tennessee. They have four children and three grandchildren. You can find out more at https://clgiles.com/.

Top Branch Publishing, 310 pages.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book through Book Sirens. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)