I read YA quite frequently, though it's mostly fantasy or sci-fi, rarely contemporary so (You) Set Me on Fire was a bit of a surprise.

There have been books from first person perspective that have rung false to me because the language didn't work; an illiterate peasant girl in 1600 would not have a vocabulary that expansive. However, (You) Set Me on Fire feels like a real teenager is relating her experiences of her first year at university: extremely informal, stylized, even truncated in places. I loved it, it pulled me in, made me connect to the protagonist, Allison, because she felt that much more real.

(You) Set Me on Fire is about Allison Lee, a friendless, awkward maybe-lesbian who is starting her first year at university. Despite all sorts of girls desperate to befriend her, Allison still feels out of place and is drawn to another outsider, Shar. Shar is captivating and easily wraps Allison around her pinky finger, for better or worse.

So much of the novel felt familiar for me. I think everyone has had a manipulative, narcissistic friend before, one that we remained friends with far longer than was healthy out of love, devotion, hope. There's a universal appeal in that while also portraying the very lesbian experience of trying to differentiate between friendship and romance when the other party doesn't want you to ever manage to figure it out.

Oh, I also really liked her slightly awkward but sweet friend Jonathon, because I knew several boys just like him at uni. ( )

Really liked this one! It's set in college, which is unusual for YA. It's been a while since I was in college, but it all rang very true to me--the way the first years clump together and form shallow friendships very quickly, the depressing and excessive drinking, boys peeing all over the place, stupid parties, the way some people are studying really hard and other people aren't at all and the two groups can hardly understand each other, the way hanging out with your friends is much more important than your classes. The way you are willing to toss your life down the toilet in a codependent frenzy to take care of seriously damaged people.

The main character, Allison Lee, who's literally been burned twice, falls in with a beautiful, fascinating, temperamental, mean girl named Shar. I liked how at the start of the book Allison is not super-excited about the fact that she's into girls, because it seemed very contemporary and realistic. Like, not some angsty 1950s "filled with shame and fear" kind of thing, just a touch of "eh, it's hard to get away from homophobia, internalized and otherwise, when you are seventeen." This is the kind of book where you are allowed right into the head of a tortured but funny character. Would love to read more of Tamaki's work. I also loved the textured book cover. I notice that Razorbill often has terrific covers.

Okay, criticism time. One weird thing: in the back cover copy it says, "Allison takes up residence in Dylan Hall (aka Dyke Hall) at St. Joseph's College. . ." I can't remember a single reference in the book to the dorm being called Dyke Hall. Am I really such a poor reader that I missed this? Or did it never happen, and if so, why is it on the back of the book? Surely there's a better way to indicate gay content than to write about random stuff that's not in the book? Also, a big unresolved thing is Shar's sister and the whole question of why Shar is the way she is. One character tries to wrap it up by saying that people are strange, and maybe Allison will never know. I get it, that's often true. But this is a novel, not real life, so it'd be nice to get some kind of hint at the least. ( )

So here’s the short version of this review: I loved queer Toronto-based author Mariko Tamaki’s latest book, (You) Set Me on Fire. If you’re not convinced by the awesome title alone that this young adult novel is worth checking out, then I don’t know—something is weird there. Please read it. Especially if you’re a teenager. But even if you’re not. Tamaki is so talented at channeling and representing the voice of a seventeen-year-old girl. Seriously. The entire book, told from the main character Allison’s perspective, is spot on. Like, fucking dead on. The whole time. In fact, looking at the way I’m writing this paragraph, I feel like the style has rubbed off on me, which is kind of cool and shows how mesmerizing Allison’s particular voice is...

See the rest of my review on my website: http://caseythecanadianlesbrarian.wordpress.com/2012/12/18/a-darkly-funny-and-in... ( )