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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I can’t speak on how accurate this is to Mormonism.
But I liked this. Tragic ending.
But I liked this. Tragic ending.
I read the Crank trilogy and was absolutely blown away by it, so I thought it was time I start working my way through Ellen’s other books. I picked Burned to start out with.
As soon as I cracked the book open I was greeted with Ellen Hopkins’ raw beautiful prose. Burned has the same honesty as other books I’ve read by Ellen, but this one deals with a girl in a very large, and very dysfunctional Mormon family.
Burned made me angry. As it should. There’s a lot of issues going on in Pattyn’s life. An abusive father. A doormat of a mother. Not to mention all the normal teenage problems. Like, sex, drinking, and making friends. Pattyn’s life is hard and I didn’t blame her for the situation she found herself in. I probably would have done the same things in her shoes. This really isn’t a book that you can say you enjoyed, but I liked seeing Pattyn start to make her own decisions. It was like watching her take blinders off.
I loved Aunt J. She was definitely my favorite character. She was really the perfect person for Pattyn to have in her life. I just wish she could have stayed with her longer. I really just wish the book could have had a happier resolution all together. I guess that I’ll just have to wait and see what happens in Smoke.
As soon as I cracked the book open I was greeted with Ellen Hopkins’ raw beautiful prose. Burned has the same honesty as other books I’ve read by Ellen, but this one deals with a girl in a very large, and very dysfunctional Mormon family.
Burned made me angry. As it should. There’s a lot of issues going on in Pattyn’s life. An abusive father. A doormat of a mother. Not to mention all the normal teenage problems. Like, sex, drinking, and making friends. Pattyn’s life is hard and I didn’t blame her for the situation she found herself in. I probably would have done the same things in her shoes. This really isn’t a book that you can say you enjoyed, but I liked seeing Pattyn start to make her own decisions. It was like watching her take blinders off.
I loved Aunt J. She was definitely my favorite character. She was really the perfect person for Pattyn to have in her life. I just wish she could have stayed with her longer. I really just wish the book could have had a happier resolution all together. I guess that I’ll just have to wait and see what happens in Smoke.
First of all I'm not a Mormon who is offended by this book. But I did only give it 2 stars and here's why:
I liked the aesthetic of this book and it was pretty easy to get into the way this book is written. But because it is written in verse I feel like the characters are very shallow. We don't really get to know the characters very well. There's the handsome cowboy and the sweet aunt but there really isn't much depth to the characters.
I also just really couldn't get into the love story. It was extremely unrealistic and mushy gushy. The main characters never had a single fight or disagreement. For young girls it really doesn't portray relationships as they are.
The ending was disappointing to me, I won't spoil anything but I seemed like an easy way out of the storyline.
I don't recommend you read this book and I won't be reading the sequel.
I liked the aesthetic of this book and it was pretty easy to get into the way this book is written. But because it is written in verse I feel like the characters are very shallow. We don't really get to know the characters very well. There's the handsome cowboy and the sweet aunt but there really isn't much depth to the characters.
I also just really couldn't get into the love story. It was extremely unrealistic and mushy gushy. The main characters never had a single fight or disagreement. For young girls it really doesn't portray relationships as they are.
The ending was disappointing to me, I won't spoil anything but I seemed like an easy way out of the storyline.
I don't recommend you read this book and I won't be reading the sequel.
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Whenever Ive been asked what my favorite book of all time was, I’ve always said this.
So, I initially read this book in 2012 and whenever I finished it, I’ve never felt such a strong emotion be evoked from reading a book. This book and The Hunger Games trilogy were what initially led me to becoming an avid reader.
I’m rereading this book 8 years later, and it still packs such an enormous punch. A whole Thanos snap actually. It’s absolutely devastating and heart breaking but such a gorgeously written and heart wrenching story.
I can’t think of enough positives but hope I have the strength and emotional capacity to read Smoke
Whenever Ive been asked what my favorite book of all time was, I’ve always said this.
So, I initially read this book in 2012 and whenever I finished it, I’ve never felt such a strong emotion be evoked from reading a book. This book and The Hunger Games trilogy were what initially led me to becoming an avid reader.
I’m rereading this book 8 years later, and it still packs such an enormous punch. A whole Thanos snap actually. It’s absolutely devastating and heart breaking but such a gorgeously written and heart wrenching story.
I can’t think of enough positives but hope I have the strength and emotional capacity to read Smoke
Wow. I found this book... original, disturbing, horrific and completely nothing like I expected it to be.
Firstly, I didn't realise it was in verse form and when it arrived I was a bit reluctant to begin seeing as my past experiences with novels in verse are Dante's Inferno and Paradise Lost. Must I say anymore? But... I went against my initial instinct and found that I loved the way the style just flowed, I read page after page and suddenly realised I'd devoured half the book in less than an hour (this is a book with nearly 600 pages). The story wasn't lost in the poetry and, if anything, it only served to make the story more effective.
The basic plot is that of a strictly religious mormon family, the father is a violent drunk and the mother takes the beatings and verbal abuse simply because she is a woman and her husband is in charge of her. Yeah, seriously. My feminist stomach clenched with anger at that one. Especially when Brother Crandell (I think - I don't have the book to hand) told Pattyn that the only way she could be redeemed for being born female is to fulfill God's wishes and have lots of babies (because that's a woman's role). This is the kind of book that makes you want to tear your hair out with frustration and violently maim several of the characters. As a woman, I felt the indignity and anger with her. I know that not all Mormons believe that women are useless without men and this is not the typical situation, but it does happen in extreme cases. Not in some other time, a couple of centuries ago, but right now.
The plot takes a rebellious Pattyn, fuelled by teenage hormones, out of this strict, religious world. She is sent to live with her Aunt and finds how different life can be when a relationship is based on love, not fear. But good things can't last forever and eventually her past starts calling her back. I won't spoil the ending, but know this: Burned made me cry, made me angry, made me curious... it is a book I know I'll never forget.
Firstly, I didn't realise it was in verse form and when it arrived I was a bit reluctant to begin seeing as my past experiences with novels in verse are Dante's Inferno and Paradise Lost. Must I say anymore? But... I went against my initial instinct and found that I loved the way the style just flowed, I read page after page and suddenly realised I'd devoured half the book in less than an hour (this is a book with nearly 600 pages). The story wasn't lost in the poetry and, if anything, it only served to make the story more effective.
The basic plot is that of a strictly religious mormon family, the father is a violent drunk and the mother takes the beatings and verbal abuse simply because she is a woman and her husband is in charge of her. Yeah, seriously. My feminist stomach clenched with anger at that one. Especially when Brother Crandell (I think - I don't have the book to hand) told Pattyn that the only way she could be redeemed for being born female is to fulfill God's wishes and have lots of babies (because that's a woman's role). This is the kind of book that makes you want to tear your hair out with frustration and violently maim several of the characters. As a woman, I felt the indignity and anger with her. I know that not all Mormons believe that women are useless without men and this is not the typical situation, but it does happen in extreme cases. Not in some other time, a couple of centuries ago, but right now.
The plot takes a rebellious Pattyn, fuelled by teenage hormones, out of this strict, religious world. She is sent to live with her Aunt and finds how different life can be when a relationship is based on love, not fear. But good things can't last forever and eventually her past starts calling her back. I won't spoil the ending, but know this: Burned made me cry, made me angry, made me curious... it is a book I know I'll never forget.