You don’t mess with Atlanta Burns.

Everyone knows that. And that’s kinda how she likes it—until the day Atlanta is drawn into a battle against two groups of bullies and saves a pair of new, unexpected friends. But actions have consequences, and when another teen turns up dead—by an apparent suicide—Atlanta knows foul play is involved. And worse: she knows it’s her fault. You go poking rattlesnakes, maybe you get bit.

Afraid of stirring up the snakes further by investigating, Atlanta turns her focus to the killing of a neighborhood dog. All paths lead to a rural dogfighting ring, and once more Atlanta finds herself face-to-face with bullies of the worst sort. Atlanta cannot abide letting bad men do awful things to those who don’t deserve it. So she sets out to unleash her own brand of teenage justice.

Will Atlanta triumph? Or is fighting back just asking for a face full of bad news?

I’m not sure if I’ve ever told this story on the blog, and while it’s not super relevant to my actual review, it’s a cool story & it does explain how I wound up with this copy of Atlanta Burns!

So! A few years back, in celebration of the release of Invasive, Chuck Wendig held a contest on his blog. You had to submit a creative photo that showed you had purchased a copy of the book, and he would pick his favorite submission. The winner would get a whole box full of Wendig books, signed and/or personalized.

AND I WON!! It was pretty damn cool, and a few weeks later, a huge-ass box full of signed Wendig books showed up! Some were duplicates for me, so I kept the signed versions & re-homed the rest (I did keep the awful “tall” mass market paperback of Star Wars: Aftermath, even though I have the hardcover, because it has a really cool Star Wars quote he wrote in it!)

ANYWAY!! Two of those books were the Atlanta Burns books, and I finally got around to reading it for a couple reasons:

1. It’s been way too long since I read a Chuck Wendig book!

2. A blogger friend recently read it & absolutely raved about it…and he was right to!

I have a lot of feelings about Atlanta Burns & I’ll do my best to try & unpack some. And it feels weird to say this, but it…might be my new favorite Chuck Wendig novel? I’m not sure. I’m still processing. But holy fuck, this book put me through an emotional wringer and I LOVED IT SO STUPID MUCH!

Ok, so…this book is categorized as YA, and while I’ve read a bit more YA this year than I have in the past, I’m certainly not an authority on what is or isn’t YA. That said, this book is…hardcore. Like, it’s not just lightly peppered with profanity, it is gloriously…er…salted with profanity. Atlanta Burns tackles some seriously dark & disturbing issues, including (but not limited to): rape, suicide, hate crimes, bullying, dog fighting, animal cruelty…it’s a lot, and it gets intense. The book doesn’t come with any proper content warnings, so I figured I would mention that all here.

And for all the darkness in this book, it’s also tremendously hopeful & empowering. Atlanta’s a character who is, frequently, a bit reckless. But she’s also the best kind of friend you could possibly have, the kind who won’t turn her back on a fight, no matter how shitty the odds may be. And at the core of this book, it’s really about Atlanta trying to make friends. She’s from the south, and somewhat recently transplanted into rural Pennsylvania. She doesn’t quite fit in, and has developed a reputation for being…maybe a bit terrifying? And badass!

I don’t think there’s many comparisons to make between Atlanta Burns and Miriam Black, separate of course from both being Wendig characters. If anything, there’s a bit more of a Veronica Mars vibe to this book, but like, VERONICA MARS GOES TO ELEVEN! I mentioned dog fighting earlier, and I want to mention it again, because it’s a big part of this story. I’ve read some nonfiction about dog fighting, and as a Dog Person, it’s incredibly difficult to read about. And that’s definitely the case here, as Atlanta looks the people behind it & the practice of dog fighting dead in the eye and does not blink. I just want to assure anyone reading this review that I’m a Dog Person, and I know Chuck Wendig is also a Dog Person. And although things get quite upsetting in regards to the dog fighting in this book…it will be ok in the end. You’ll be ok reading it, I promise.

It occurs to me now that this is the first Chuck Wendig book I’ve read with no supernatural or sci-fi elements! That’s kinda cool! And as I mentioned earlier, this is quite possibly my new favorite Wendig novel. I was immediately drawn to Atlanta as a character, and Wendig does great work establishing the vibe of the setting.

This book just had me feeling feelings…ALL THE FEELINGS. Oof. You’ll want to scream & cry & rage & laugh…this is just a fucking fantastic book, and I can’t recommend it enough. Atlanta Burns is like a champion for the broken weirdos, and I am extremely here for that.