STARRED Book Review: Fires Burning Underground

Reviewed by Eric Mayrhofer

Spirits prowl at the corners, but tender vulnerability and small rebellions make the haunting, beating heart of Nancy McCabe’s middle-grade novel.

Anny, the main character of Nancy McCabe’s Fires Burning Underground, has grown up on a collection of the books her mother loved as a child—shelves of Nancy Drew and Anne of Green Gables. But oh, how I wish she could find a book about pirates, about their rebelliousness and their bravery; their stories might embolden her. She deserves all the encouragement and love in the world as she moves through McCabe’s lovely, thoughtful story and starts coming into her own.

When the book opens, Anny is facing a multitude of problems. First, she finds out that Robert, a boy who asked her out once, has died. Then, his passing triggers big questions; she says, “I keep having random inappropriate thoughts, like maybe Robert might have been the person who would have helped me figure out if I’m gay or straight.” And all of that is before leaving homeschool and starting public school, where “it’s as if everyone else has known each other forever.” 

When she meets Larissa, however, she discovers a kindred spirit beyond the wall of her home. Larissa is fascinated with the paranormal, and as she draws Anny into her explorations of clairvoyance, telepathy, and the beyond, Anny begins pushing back on everything she has ever known.

Throughout the book, Anny’s random thoughts might surprise her, but feel true and universal; it’s so natural for someone else’s death to make us turn inward, to look at how we’re living our own lives. In a religiously dominated household, her inability to find space for herself also rings true. 

More interesting, however, are the small ways that Anny’s venturing into the world threatens a status quo quietly dominated by religious conservatism. When she brings Larissa home for the first time, she notices that “Mom smiles stiffly. I get the feeling that she’s made up her mind not to like Larissa…Mom is all bulgy and embarrassing, so I don’t know why she’s so judgy.” Her mother balks at Larissa exposing her to Ouija boards, warning that they can expose Anny to demons, and making her concerned. Anny notices later, though, that “in the bright, noisy cafeteria, my uneasiness seems kind of dopey.” Leaving her home environment, seeing new perspectives, and letting new voices into her life helps her see, in small ways, that not everything she’s been taught should be trusted.

But most interesting of all is the use of the supernatural as a symbol for personal power. With each experiment, Anny pushes back a little more against the world she has been brought up in and explores a little more deeply into her nature. As they start practicing mind reading, Larissa says, “ESP is like that. You have to practice a while every day to keep your talent active.” The same is true of self-discovery and self-determination—especially for queer children—it takes constant practice to be fully yourself when it may seem the rest of the world is telling you your truth is wrong. 

It’s a tale of empowerment with emotion that runs deep, rendered with grace, empathy, and a brave little girl that will haunt readers long after they leave her on the final page.

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