Blog Tour: Playing with Fire by April Henry {Excerpt + #Giveaway} @aprilhenrybooks

Author: April Henry
Title: Playing with Fire
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication Date: January 19th 2021
Genres: Thriller, Young Adult

Summary

When a fire cuts off a popular trail in the Oregon forest, a small group trapped by the flames must find another way out―or die―in Playing with Fire, an unrelenting teen-vs-nature YA thriller by New York Times bestselling author April Henry.

Natalia is not the kind of girl who takes risks. Six years ago, she barely survived the house fire that killed her baby brother. Now she is cautious and always plays it safe. For months, her co-worker Wyatt has begged her to come hiking with him, and Natalia finally agrees.

But when a wildfire breaks out, blocking the trail back, a perfect sunny day quickly morphs into a nightmare. With no cell service, few supplies, and no clear way out of the burning forest, a group of strangers will have to become allies if they’re going to survive. Hiking in the dark, they must reach the only way out―a foot bridge over a deep canyon―before the fire catches them.

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Excerpt

Natalia put her hand over her mouth. The fire moved like a living thing, like a dancer, like water, like a torn and fluttering flag. It crackled and snapped as it crisped and then consumed ferns and wildflowers and plants she didn’t know the names of.

It wasn’t a solid wall of flame. Some spots were still green, while in others the fire was thick, flaring up as it found new fuel, filling the air with pale smoke. The flickering orange and yellow was a sharp contrast to the bright green ground cover. The flames were nibbling on the trunks of some of the small trees that bordered the trail, but hadn’t leapt into the canopies. Yet.

Natalia’s throat was tight, her breathing shallow. For the past six years, she had avoided even the smallest of fires. Matches. Lighters. Birthday candles. Smoldering incense. And of course bigger things like fire pits and fireplaces.

Now her nightmares had come to life.

Slowly, she became aware Wyatt was repeating her name. “Natalia. Natalia, are you okay?”

She was not okay. She was back to being eleven years old, gasping in the smoke.

“I’m afraid of fire.”

In her mind, she was again crawling across the flat tan carpet, coughing and gagging.

Wyatt put his hand under her chin, turning her head so she was facing him and not the flames. At first she resisted, the muscles in her neck rigid, before yielding to the gentle pressure of his fingers. Their eyes locked. This time when he grabbed her hand, he squeezed and didn’t let go

Author Bio

April Henry is the New York Times–bestselling author of many acclaimed mysteries for adults and young adults, including the YA novels The Girl in the White Van; Girl, Stolen; The Night She Disappeared; The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die; The Girl I Used to Be, which was nominated for an Edgar Award and won the Anthony Award for Best YA Mystery; Count All Her Bones; The Lonely Dead; Run, Hide, Fight Back; and The Body in the Woods and Blood Will Tell, the first two books in the Point Last Seen series. She lives in Oregon.

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