Amazon Burning

Emma has been studying journalism at NYU until a terrible encounter with one of her professors forces her to temporarily remove herself from school. Accepting an internship working with her father in Rio de Janeiro, Emma is captivated by the Amazon rainforest. Before long, she finds herself getting drawn into the murky politics surrounding deforestation, Amazon natives, and animal smuggling, and Emma is determined to start making a name for herself by uncovering a big story. But the Amazon is a dangerous place, and Emma may be getting herself in over her head.

Emma is an interesting character: headstrong and smart, determined, driven. In Amazon Burning, author Victoria Griffith explores topics not often seen in books for the young adult crowd (the Amazon and all of the stormy politics involved), weaving them in with other themes that will make it relatable to young readers (sex, sexual abuse). The amount of sex and sexual tension in the book was a bit distracting, and the author’s choice of euphemisms to describe sex were off-putting to read, but the story itself was excellent and well written.