The Boy in the Burning House

by Tim Wynne-Jones

Book Overview

An Edgar Award Winner Two years after his father's mysterious disappearance, Jim Hawkins is coping -- barely. Underneath, he's frozen in uncertainty and grief. What did happen to his father? Is he... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374408874
• Release Date: September 2003
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 0.5" x 5.0"

Customer Reviews

The reader will be panting for breath.

Everyone in the tiny Canadian farming community knows that Ruth Rose, despite being the preacher's step-daughter, is a crazy-bad girl. So who is Jim Hawkins to say otherwise? When Ruth Rose surprises Jim while he's taking down a beaver dam on his farm one day he thinks she's playing some sort of elaborate game on him. She has been spying on Jim and his mother for long enough to know both of their schedules. Freaky. Even freakier, Ruth-Rose insists that Jim's father, Hub, who's been missing for a year, is dead. And not just dead, murdered --- by Ruth Rose's step-father, Father Fisher, to be exact. Jim doesn't want to believe Ruth Rose, but when the crazy-bad girl tells him about a fire that links Father and Hub, he begins to think that maybe Ruth Rose isn't completely insane in this case and that there may be a connection between the long-ago fire and his father's disappearance.THE BOY IN THE BURNING HOUSE is a fast paced, thrilling ride that beginsquietly and builds intensity as the pages fly by. At its center, is Jim Hawkins, a completely average young guy who finds he can no longer place his faith in his knowledge of the world. And with only Ruth Rose to help him piece together all the mysteries, Jim feels as if he's gotten into something he can't control. He knows he must find the truth or he won't have a future.Tim Wynne-Jones sets his tale in the most unlikely of places --- a quiet, isolated town in rural Ontario --- and plops the reader into boiling emotions and the swift moving currents of events both past and present. The result is a wild plot filled with suspense. The reader will be panting for breath as Jim gets caught up in a series of events he cannot fathom or control until the story ends! --- Reviewed by Cassia Van Arsdale

Page Turner

The Boy in the Burning House is a compelling novel written by Tim Wynne-Jones. The setting is Ladybank, a small town where everybody knows everyone else's business. Young Jim Hawkins and his mother lived on a farm. Just 3 years ago Jims Father, Hub Hawkins disappeared. Jim and his mother try to forget the pain they went through losing him. They are reminded of him when the pastors daughter Ruth Rose shows up and tries to convince Jim that Father (Eldon) Fisher killed his father. Jim is caught between believing Ruth Rose who they say is crazy and has two personalities. Jim late decides to trust Ruth Rose and the two of them do a little detective work to see if they can solve Hubs disappearance.

THIS IS AN AWESOME BOOK!

This awesome book is almost un-stoppable to put down. It has a bunch of details that make a perfect picture in your mind, as you are reading.

Great Read for Dad and Son

Just through reading this with my 12 year old son. Really enjoyed it -- it was all I could do to stop myself from reading ahead after he had hit the sack.I thought the author did a very nice job of painting both adults and kids as both heroic and flawed at the same time. The interactions between the hero and heroine are very realisticly written.

The Boy in the Burning House

This book is already published in Canada. Both my 11 year old son and I read this book. It kept my son on the edge of his seat and I enjoyed it as well.The story revolves around a 14 year old loner named Jim, whose father disappears under mysterious circumstances, and is presumed to have committed suicide. While the boy and his mother struggle with the day to day challenges that inevitably result, the boy meets up with Ruth Rose, a very unusual and erratic teen, who believes her stepfather is a murderer. Jim doesn't want to get involved in Ruth Rose's rantings, but he can't help but get drawn into the mystery.Although the subject matter deals with some very heavy topics, the author manages to inject some humorous moments and plenty of suspense, which keep the story from becoming too intense for youthful readers. I thought the author did a commendable job exploring the topics of mental health and social acceptance.I would highly recommend this book for anyone 11 and over.