Amy Jo Burns Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Amy Jo Burns is an accomplished published author. She is known for her 2014 debut Cinderland: A Memoir and has had her fictional novels published as well, starting with her 2020 debut Shiner and following it up with Mercury in 2024.

Her novel Shiner received quite a bit of acclaim. It was picked as Best Book of the Year by NPR and was also a Barnes & Noble Discover Pick. The New York Times also had flattering words for the novel, describing her language as being as ‘incandescent as smoldering coal’.

Mercury also enjoyed a lot of positive attention. It was a Book of the Month Pick from Barnes & Noble and also a Barnes & Noble Book Club Pick. It was named Book of the Week by the popular publication People Magazine and was The New York Times’ Editor’s Choice selection.

The author’s writing has also appeared in other publications. It has been featured in places such as Elle, The Paris Review Daily, Good Housekeeping, and Not That Bad, an anthology.

Cinderland: A Memoir is the true story of the author told through her very own words. This 2014 literary debut is the haunting tale that deals all with the cost that comes from keeping quiet. If you are a sucker for true stories that will pull you in and will keep you hanging on every word, give this fascinating story from Amy Jo Burns a try!

This book tells the story of Amy Jo growing up in the industrial town of Mercury, Pennsylvania. There people used to make a living off of the steel industry, until it collapsed sometime in the eighties. Her parents’ generation had become used to working twelve-hour shifts and being part of the construction booms, but things had vastly changed since Amy Jo was born.

The Mercury that she knew was a place that had tons of empty houses, lots of vacant lots, and abandoned old strip mines. There were a lot of people that had stayed in the area, though, keeping it from completely transforming into a ghost town. This was often because people had no money and no prospects, so they really had no choice but to stay where they were.

When Burns turned ten years old, the town that had been so quiet for so long suddenly changed. It came to life as a scandal rocked the area. The piano teacher in town Howard Lotte had been accused of sexually assaulting some of the students that he had.

There were a lot of girls that were questioned, but at the end of it all, seven of the group chose to came forward. The town responded as you might expect to these honest girls that were trying to give their side of the story and bring justice about: they were ostracized and shamed for what was seen as trying to ruin the reputation of a good man. There were remaining girls that had also been affected by the teacher but had lied in order to avoid the abuse and fallout that came after. Amy Jo Burns was one of those girls.

Amy Jo may have been protected in some way by her own lie, but there are also consequences that come along with that. Burns informs the readers about the fallout in her own life that came from her going through the experience and hiding it. She ran from friends, she ran from boys and to them as well, and she pretended to be someone that she wasn’t, putting on a performance from the town that demanded it and had never quite trusted girls from the start.

This is Amy Jo’s story of how she grew up in a sleepy town that was obsessed with its youth but also was accustomed to sacrificing them. This is a place that sees the best girls as being quiet, and about the road that this author had to take towards being able to finally forgive the ten year old girl that she had been. It is about innocence that has been lost, as well as the healing powers that can come with speaking up and putting a long silence to bed. Read this powerful story of pain and redemption by getting a copy of Amy Jo Burns’ memoir today!

Shiner is the debut fictional novel from author Amy Jo Burns. It was first released in 2020. If you’re looking for a cool new fictional book to enjoy, give this one a try!

Two women promise each other that they will protect the other no matter what on a mountaintop trapped in time, and one of them must end up going up against her father in order to survive.

Main character Wren bird is a young girl of fifteen years old. She lives a sheltered life, residing with her parents in a small mountain cabin. The cabin is about an hour from the closest mining town in West Virginia, so they’re fairly isolated. The family doesn’t have much going for them, as they have no mailbox or car and hardly any visitors with the exception of her mother’s best friend.

Wren’s father works every Sunday in the church of an abandoned gas station. There he puts on his long sermons where he holds up serpents and thanks the Lord for his blighted eye, which is not only something to show his divinity but is central to his hold that he has over his daughter, mother, and the community.

One summer, Wren’s father performs a miracle that starts to turn to tragedy. Wren’s carefully ordered world starts to fall apart, and she is determined to find out what’s really going on behind the legend of her father and the history of her mother and her best friend. What was it between them that ended up forging such a strong and complicated bond?

The more that she finds out, the more that Wren is able to see a different future than the one she was always told that she should expect. Full of love and loss, this is the story of generations in Appalachia and a world that few get to see. Get a copy and find out what happens along the way for yourself!