TURN TO BURN

In Stewart’s YA SF novel, a teenager and her father spend their days fighting an alien invasion.

Seventeen‑year‑old Nike leads a strange and dangerous life in Toronto. She is a “source,” a living conduit of power that can be weaponized against the alien invasion of raitgurs, creatures whom most people, including Nike herself, can’t see. These raitgurs infect humans, leaving their victims trapped in a catatonic depressive state. Nike’s father, Trayling, is a “burner,” one of the few who can see and fight the raitgurs by drawing energy from a source like Nike whenever she burns herself. The process has never been painless, but lately the damage has become permanent—the burns are eating away at Nike’s body. Resentful of the role she’s forced to play and the suffering she endures, Nike longs desperately for a different life. Trayling works as a “busker,” earning money for every raitgur he kills while simultaneously caring for his wife and other daughter, both of whom are infected and kept in comas within a long‑term care facility. The city has been divided into districts to minimize conflict among burners vying for territory and payouts. Trayling’s suspicions are aroused when he notices a disturbing pattern: Another district, run by a group known as the Italians, is suddenly responsible for killing far more raitgurs than anywhere else. As his already‑strained relationship with Nike begins to fracture, he launches an investigation that uncovers a web of betrayals involving multiple parties. What he discovers threatens to upend everything they thought they knew about the invasion, the burners, and the people they trust. Plunging into the action from the very beginning (“Her father’s hand glowed. Then he sucked up more power until her finger blazed like a road flare and his hand filled with a fireball”), the story quickly immerses readers in Nike’s and Trayling’s gritty, perilous world. The unique and fully realized premise delivers both a high‑stakes plot and emotional depth. With its myriad twists and escalating revelations, the narrative becomes a breathless, gripping journey that will keep readers on the edges of their seats.

A compellingly dark and wild ride.