14. The Burn Journals by Brent Runyon (audio book)

The Burn Journals by Brent Runyon (audio book)

ISBN: 978-1-4361-3876-5

Recorded Books, Prince Frederick, MD, 2008

Total playing time: 8 hr.

Plot Summary

Brent Runyon was a seemingly typical fourteen-year-old boy until he locks himself in his bathroom to soak his bathrobe in gasoline before putting it on and lighting himself on fire.  Waking up to the realization of what he had done, it was too late.  Covered in third-degree burns on about eight-five percent of his body, Brent spends the next year recovering in hospitals and treatment facilities.  Going through skin graft procedures and physical therapy, he begins to question why he even tried to take his life.  Although he had attempted suicide at least two times before, he is unable to figure out what brought him to this point.  Largely confined to his hospital bed, Brent struggles with the physical and emotional pain that put him there.  Once he begins to heal physically, Brent starts to think about his future, including how he will be able to handle living across the hall from the bathroom where it all happened.

Critical Evaluation

The Burn Journals provides an unfiltered view into a year in the life of Brent Runyon.  This memoir gives a first-hand account of what happens when Brent attempts suicide by setting himself on fire before realizing that he doesn’t want to go through with it.  However, he realizes this much too late and spends close to a year recovering physically from this impulsive decision.  While fiction novels can certainly tell the same story, there is something added to the experience when the reader knows that it is a true story.  In reliving this part of his life for the memoir, Brent can still recall the graphic details of the pain he went through.    His descriptions of his burns and the skin grafting operations help the reader visualize his appearance and see the damage that the fire did to his body.  In many cases, especially when telling about the changing of his gauze, I felt a physical reaction bordering on nausea.  The straightforwardness of the memoir presents the events without much analysis, simply conveying his experience as it was.

Not only can the reader almost feel the things Brent is going through, the memoir lends the reader to a closer understanding of a suicidal teen.  Throughout the book, the reader wonders why he attempted suicide.  Brent seemed to be a smart student with a strong group of friends and a normal home life—what was there to be depressed about?  This is the most striking element of this book for me.  Teen suicides are generally attributed to teens that are bullied or experience something traumatic that leads them to want to end their lives.  With Brent, it is his fear that he will get in trouble for something at school, and even possibly expelled, that leads him to this point.   However, after he lights himself on fire, he can no longer remember why he thought that killing himself was a good idea.  He even wonders if he would have ever considered suicide if he had never heard the word.  Months into seeing several different psychologists, he finally talks to one who acknowledges that Brent probably doesn’t even know why he did it.  The insight into Brent’s thoughts on suicide helps to bring awareness that there is not a list of typical traits of suicidal teens.  The most important thing is that teens understand the misery that suicide causes for everyone in his or her life and The Burn Journals accomplishes this perfectly.

Reader's Annotation

A 14-year-old boy sets himself on fire and survives the suicide attempt, experiencing the physical and emotional trauma that follows.

Information About the Author

Brent Runyon is a contemporary writer for young adults. He has written three books. The first is a memoir, The Burn Journals (2004); the other two are novels, Maybe (2006), and Surface Tension: A Novel in Four Summers (2009). The Burn Journals has been nominated for a Georgia Peach Award for Young Readers.

Runyon was 14 years old when he attempted to kill himself. He did this by undressing, pouring gasoline on his robe, putting his robe on, and lighting his robe on fire. He suffered third-degree-burns on 85% of his body. His first book, The Burn Journals, is a memoir of his suicide survival. He is a regular contributor to public radio's This American Life, and lives in Cape Cod, Massachusetts with his wife and two stepchildren. (information from the author’s Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brent_Runyon)

Genre

Young Adult – Non-fiction/Memoir

Curriculum Ties

This memoir can be used when teaching about teen depression in Health classes.

Booktalking Ideas

1. Discuss how Brent hides his suicide attempts from his family and friends.

2. Focus on Brent’s relationship with his brother.

3. Talk about Brent’s struggle with his feelings of depression.

4. Address Brent’s concerns for his future after surviving the fire.

Reading Level/Interest Age

13+

Challenge Issues

The book includes several suicide attempts and graphic descriptions of burn wounds.

When confronted with complaints about this novel, librarians should become familiar with the material and its content.  Turn to reviews from publications such as Publisher’s Weekly, School Library Journal, and Booklist, as well as reviews from teens that have read it.  Also, it is beneficial for librarians to present reasons backed by the ALA in support of intellectual freedom.  As stated in the Library Bill of Rights:

I. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.

II. Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.

III. Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.

Why Include Book in Selection? 

The audio book version is included in YALSA’s 2009 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults list.