Enna Burning (Books of Bayern) Paperback – September 1, 2006

Nanna loves it but I don’t think I would approve it for a 10 year old (This book is recommend for 10+)

**mild spoilers**This book is so absurd, I don't even know where to begin. Until reading this book, I had no idea a book could be so bizarre and so tedious at the same time.Overall, this book felt forced and disingenuous. Near the middle, I began to disbelieve that Hale herself even wrote it because it is so messy and completely lacked the depth of her other novels.By 3/4 of the way through, I gave up and read a summary online to spare myself. The last straw was Enna mooning over how she must be "falling in love with" Sileph while she has a knife to his neck while simultaneously thinking that she finally has what she wants in making a difference in the war (which didn't even make sense to me, given the circumstances under which she felt she was contributing). Then, all that is quickly followed up by the fact that she didn't think to maybe ask someone to check if there were any people in the house that Sileph told her to destroy. My first thought when he told her to do that was, "I'd ask first to make sure there are no people inside." And, yep. There you go. She kills someone.What "plot" is there is trite, overdone, and completely overshadowed by the incessant, nauseating references to how intoxicating, drug-like, uncontrollable, bad (but seemingly in a good way!), and irresistible fire is. Eventually, the descriptions veer into sexual innuendo territory, which I was able to not guffaw at until she met Sileph, and then I just began to laugh out loud whenever he talked about it. For example: "I brought you here, Enna, so you could burn. I saw in your face the release and pleasure it gives you. Why don't you just surrender?" Are you kidding me? Eventually, "fire" became a metaphor for "sex" and the "painful-yet-pleasurable release of her fire" became a metaphor for "orgasm." Enna is basically reduced to a sex-starved, drug-addicted teenager on the verge of womanhood being seduced, manipulated, and used by a patronizing older man (because, of course, there has to be a conflict with her love interest in Fin, and what better and more convenient way to do it than Stockholm syndrome?).At one point, I actually agreed with Sileph that Enna should just give in to being "bad" and join Tira because her constant failings due to the intoxication of the fire became so--yep, you guessed it--tedious. The whole book would've been more believable that way, and I think she would make a much better antagonist than a failed protagonist. Her empty promises to herself and others, the number of times she betrays (and even hurts) her friends, her desire to actually kill people outright, her strained attempts at trying to convince herself that she what she wants is to help, it all fails and does not make me feel empathy for her, but annoyance at her changeable, fickle nature--I know that is supposed to be the fire's doing and we're supposed to blame that, but mostly it just makes you think Enna is not very smart, has no integrity, and can't be counted on. She knew better than to get mixed up in the fire to begin with and did it, anyway, even after watching her own brother burn himself to death.Even Isi's inability to control the wind in this book became tiresome. What I'd really like is a book that shows these children trying to find masters who can help them control what they're doing, like the people that Enna mentions a few times in the beginning (I can't remember the name of the people, unfortunately), instead of destroying everything around them. That's what I thought this book was going to be about--she and Isi seeking help from the masters.It doesn't matter to me if, at the end, Enna supposedly redeems herself because her journey to get to that point was so painful and disingenuous. I don't even know what the point of this book was, aside from someone told Hale (or a ghost-writer for Hale) that there has to be a four-part series so that every element is covered, and she couldn't figure out what to do with the fire bit so it resulted in this travesty of a book.A real disappointment after the first book in this series, which I thought was pretty good and gave promise to the others in the series. I don't even know when I'll recover enough to try the third book, if at all.

I love this author and Enna is very much a badass.

i loved this book so much. 2 years ago i read all the princess academy books (which i recommend to those who havent yet) i am now on the last of the books of bayern series :(. i loved all the books so far and someone else in my family is waiting to read the second one. i cant wait to read the last book. ps ricer secrets is SSSOOOOOOOOOO GGGGOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!!! enjoy!

This book was purchased at the request of my teenage daughter so I cannot provide a helpful review. What I can say, from my daughter's actions, is that the book "smells" good. Not sure what it is about new books, but the first thing she does is randomly open the book and stick her face in it to get a whiff. Her reaction indicated that it did pass the "smell" test. That is worth two stars in my book as a dad. The book did arrive before the expected time in good condition which is also worth two stars. As far as content, I will probably never be able to review that since there are many other books that are much higher up my reading list.

This is the sequel to The Goose Girl and is an original story rather than a reinterpretation of a fairy tale. I enjoyed this one, not as much as The Goose Girl, but it was a good concept and was well written. Enna has returned to her home to care for her dying mother. Her brother finds a document that teaches the power of fire, which ends up controlling him rather than the other way around. Enna learns firespeaking and uses the power to defend her nation. The power begins to consume her and she must find a way to regain control. Isi is likewise having trouble with her wind power. There is some romance and betrayal. I liked the fact that her new power was not always a good thing and how she worked to control it. I wish there had been more about Isi's struggle with her powers as well. I am looking forward to the third book.

Shannon Hale is such an amazing story teller. I read these books a few years ago and I’m excited to give these to my 12 year old bookworm.

As her country , Bayern, is torn by war, Enna learns to speak with fire and control its elements, but can she help her country without becoming consumed by fire and its desire to burn? I've became a great fan of Shannon Hale and the tales she weaves. There is a great dose of both suspense and romance, but most of all, it's a book I could easily allow my daughter to read when she grows a bit older. There is a great message of doing what is right, as she goes on this journey to discover herself.

The second book in the 'Goose Girl' series.I would say that these books are aimed at the 10-15 year old girl, but both my daughter and I loved them. Shannon Hale is a wonderful writer, she really transports you to the land of Bayern. I would describe these books a more grown up fairy tale, with a strong female heroine.

I like Enna's firey personality, she doesn't take crap from anyone and although she does make a lot of mistakes in this book I enjoyed reading about her journey.

Love this book, thank you

After reading The previous book, The Goosegirl, I couldn't wait to get my hands on this - and it was every bit as good if even darker in tone.

I cannot say anything but wow and you must read this book! Wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow!