How to Start a Fire and Why

HOW TO SET A FIRE AND WHY, Jesse Ball's singular, blistering new novel, tells the story of a teenage girl who has lost everything - and will burn anything.
Lucia's father is dead, her mother is in a mental hospital, and she's living in a garage-turned bedroom with her aunt. And now she's been kicked out of school - again. Making her way through the world with only a book, a zippo lighter, a pocketful of stolen licorice, a biting wit, and the striking intelligence that she tries to hide, Lucia spends her days riding the bus to visit her mother and following the only rule that makes any sense to her: Don't do things you aren't proud of. But when she discovers that her new school has a secret Arson Club, she's willing to do anything to be a part of it, and her life is suddenly lit up. As Lucia's fascination with the Arson Club grows, her story becomes one of misguided friendship and, ultimately, destruction.