Kerosene

the long version

From GoodReads by Jinx:The:Poet—“ Kerosene is the dark story of a young man, named Cal, by day a quiet social outcast, by night... a frustrated, tormented pyromaniac, burning to feel control over something, anything, in his life and desperate to express himself. It begins as a habit, his playing with fire, but his desire to burn things soon gets out of hand as time goes on, especially when a girl he likes begins playing mind games with him and his only friend, Joel, begins drifting away. It is a story, with devastating consequences of how dark secrets can suddenly become destructive, however the ending was a bit hurried and inconsequential. Although the writing itself could at time be clunky, it was a very interesting and compelling read. I found Cal to be a highly relatable character, especially if one has been in his shoes, as a silent outsider, a lone misfit or a youth tormented with dark and destructive urges ignited from inner rage and powerlessness of teenage life. ”