Let me begin by saying that "Riley’s Fire" by Lee Merrill Byrd is not for everyone. This is a little book that carries a big punch. Riley Martin is a second grader from El Paso, Texas. He is big for his age and has tremendous curiosity. One day this curiosity led him to light a match over the lawn mower gas tank. Now, Riley lays in the Shriners Burn Unit in Galveston, Texas with third-degree burns over 63% of his body. Riley is missing his ears, his nose and most of his hair. His burns cover much of his torso. The story is told from his point-of-view—a little boy who suffers tremendous pain and tries to understand the adults surrounding him.

Author Byrd knows where of she speaks. Her sons survived a playhouse fire and spent time at the Galveston Burn Unit. She is unflinching in her descriptions of the treatment and suffering that Riley endures. The opening pages describe Riley’s first memories after the fire, lying in a dark room on a big bed. Because he has lost so much skin, he shivers uncontrollably. His body can not retain heat. He feels his father’s reassuring hand, touching his foot and sees his mother, sitting beside the bed.

Later, Byrd describes one of the excruciating treatments Riley must receive. The "tub men" come every morning, except after surgeries. Unwrapping his bandages, they soak him in warm water to remove his gauze and pick off dead skin. Riley dreads these treatments. Sometime the pain is so intense he urinates in the water. Then the tub men must remove him from the water and start the process over again.

Riley’s father is his rock, but he can only travel to Galveston occasionally on the weekends. His mother, who stays by his side daily, seems to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She is traumatized by what happened to her handsome little boy. When Riley is finally allowed to leave the hospital for an afternoon, his mother leads him down back alleys and will not allow him to be seen in public. As seen through Riley’s seven-year-old eyes, this behavior is incomprehensible. He had looked forward to this day for weeks. He wanted to see the gulf and to go to Baskin-Robbins for ice cream.

His mother sees the accident but secretly blames Riley. To Riley, the fire was not an accident but his destiny. Just like Sleeping Beauty pricking her finger. He hasn’t seen his face and has little idea what he looks like although he gets hints from others throughout the book. When he accidentally sees himself in a mirror at his mother’s apartment, he decides his new face will be his disguise. He will no longer be Riley, "that boy who was always in everybody’s way, who everybody said was so big." He has become a superhero behind a mask. He is a new boy. He will scare the sixth-graders who picked on him.

In the end, Riley decides not to remain the mean boy behind the mask. In a church he experiences a vision in which a mysterious man appears to him. Could this be God? Riley understands now that the fire burned away everything. He recalls a picture of himself that his mother likes. She wants the Riley in the picture back. Riley, on the other hand, accepts his situation. He realizes the boy in the picture is gone. "…—the picture—it was not a something to hold on to anymore. And he let go of his face forever…." Riley achieves an acceptance and maturity about his situation, which his mother has yet to achieve.

"Riley’s Fire" is a book that calls out for discussion. It is a disturbing read, but would be an excellent choice for a book discussion group. Read and contemplate "Riley’s Fire" by Lee Merrill Byrd.

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