The Burning Season

In this riveting coming-of-age survival story in verse perfect for fans of Alan Gratz, a fire lookout-in-training must find her courage when a wildfire breaks out on her watch.

Twelve-year-old Opal has a secret: she's deathly afraid of fire. Still Opal is preparing to become a fourth-generation lookout on Wolf Mountain, deep in the New Mexico wilderness. She, Mom, and Gran live at ten thousand feet in a single room at the top of a fire tower. They are responsible for spotting any hint of smoke before it becomes an uncontrollable blaze.

Instead of training for the lonely life of a lookout, Opal wishes she could be starting seventh grade in Silver City, attending real classes with kids her own age and even going to afterschool clubs like FFA. But Wolf Mountain has other ideas. When Mom makes the long trek to town for supplies and Gran goes missing, Opal is the only one to spot a tell-tale spiral of smoke moving up the mountainside. She'll have to be braver than she's ever been as she heads into the woods, beyond Wolf Ridge's old blackened burn scar, to face down a fire on her own. But when a fire is what took her father away, and Opal herself knows the sting of smoke and lick of flames, how can she be brave enough when it really counts?

Author: Caroline Starr Rose
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Published: 05/13/2025
Pages: 256
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.66lbs
Size: 8.35h x 5.43w x 1.02d
ISBN: 9780593617939
Audience: Ages 9-12

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 3.9
Point Value: 3
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 555467 / Burning Season


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 02/24/2025
Booklist 03/01/2025 pg. 94
Kirkus Reviews 03/15/2025
School Library Journal 05/01/2025 pg. 128
Horn Book Magazine 09/01/2025 pg. 73

About the Author
Caroline Starr Rose is an author whose books have been ALA-ALSC Notable, Junior Library Guild, ABA New Voices, Kids' Indie Next, Amazon's Best Books of the Month for Kids, and Bank Street College of Education Best Books selections. In addition, her books have been nominated for almost two dozen state award lists. Caroline was named a Publisher's Weekly Flying Start Author for her debut novel, May B. She spent her childhood in the deserts of Saudi Arabia and New Mexico and taught social studies and English in four different states. Caroline lives in New Mexico.