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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
Can a dream be wrong?
Aren’t dreams God’s way of telling you things?
I am a really big fan of Ellen Hopkins’s books. I had read CRANK the year before, and I absolutely loved every aspect of it. So I pretty much recommended this book to myself.
BURNED is centered on a girl named Pattyn. Being raised in strict Mormon household with an abusive father and many other children, Pattyn is raised to believe that men are completely dominant over women and children, and women are supposed to passive, quiet, and obedient. As soon as Pattyn begins having lusty, passionate dreams, she begins to question her place as a woman. When her experimentation becomes full-blown rebellion, her father sends her to live with her aunt in Nevada. For Pattyn this is more freedom than prison, and she ventures into unknown territory. Sparks fly as a gorgeous boy known as Ethan shows her the country, and she uncovers secrets about her family’s past, but she is thrilled to finally feel loved. However, just like anything good, it only lasts so long. Before she can fully indulge herself in sweet paradise, chaos arises and drowns her. She is forever changed.
My favorite poem from this story was the very first one. It hooked me from the beginning. It was the beginning of her questioning her place, and it gave us a taste of her character.
“Did You Ever
When you were little, endure
your parents’ warnings, then wait
for them to leave the room,
pry loose protective covers
and consider inserting some metal
object into an electrical outlet?
Did you ever wonder if for once
You might light up the room?
When you were big enough
to cross the street on your own,
did you ever wait for a signal,
hear the frenzied approach
of a fire truck and feel like
stepping out in front of it?
Did you ever wonder just how far
that rocket ride might take you?
When you were almost grown,
did you ever sit in a bubble bath,
perspiration pooling,
notice a blow-dryer plugged
in within easy reach, and think
about dropping it into the water?
Did you ever wonder if the expected
rush might somehow fail you?
And now, do you ever dangle
your toes over the precipice,
dare the cliff to crumble,
defy the frozen deity to suffer
the sun, thaw feather and bone,
take wing to fly you home?
I, Pattyn Von Stratten, do.”
Ellen Hopkins writing style is amazing. Her use of vivid vocabulary, and the dark, sensuous, rebellious behavior is, as always, breathtaking. She captivates me with her stories. I find her characters very relatable in a messed up way, and I absolutely adore her method of telling a story.
I would recommend this book, however I wouldn’t call it a “must read.” It isn’t CRANK. I liked it a lot, but I didn’t love it. I like the thought process that comes with reading these books though. They make you question yourself, and think of other people’s opinions as well as your own. Not for a second would I turn down a book written by Ellen Hopkins, and nor should anyone else.
Aren’t dreams God’s way of telling you things?
I am a really big fan of Ellen Hopkins’s books. I had read CRANK the year before, and I absolutely loved every aspect of it. So I pretty much recommended this book to myself.
BURNED is centered on a girl named Pattyn. Being raised in strict Mormon household with an abusive father and many other children, Pattyn is raised to believe that men are completely dominant over women and children, and women are supposed to passive, quiet, and obedient. As soon as Pattyn begins having lusty, passionate dreams, she begins to question her place as a woman. When her experimentation becomes full-blown rebellion, her father sends her to live with her aunt in Nevada. For Pattyn this is more freedom than prison, and she ventures into unknown territory. Sparks fly as a gorgeous boy known as Ethan shows her the country, and she uncovers secrets about her family’s past, but she is thrilled to finally feel loved. However, just like anything good, it only lasts so long. Before she can fully indulge herself in sweet paradise, chaos arises and drowns her. She is forever changed.
My favorite poem from this story was the very first one. It hooked me from the beginning. It was the beginning of her questioning her place, and it gave us a taste of her character.
“Did You Ever
When you were little, endure
your parents’ warnings, then wait
for them to leave the room,
pry loose protective covers
and consider inserting some metal
object into an electrical outlet?
Did you ever wonder if for once
You might light up the room?
When you were big enough
to cross the street on your own,
did you ever wait for a signal,
hear the frenzied approach
of a fire truck and feel like
stepping out in front of it?
Did you ever wonder just how far
that rocket ride might take you?
When you were almost grown,
did you ever sit in a bubble bath,
perspiration pooling,
notice a blow-dryer plugged
in within easy reach, and think
about dropping it into the water?
Did you ever wonder if the expected
rush might somehow fail you?
And now, do you ever dangle
your toes over the precipice,
dare the cliff to crumble,
defy the frozen deity to suffer
the sun, thaw feather and bone,
take wing to fly you home?
I, Pattyn Von Stratten, do.”
Ellen Hopkins writing style is amazing. Her use of vivid vocabulary, and the dark, sensuous, rebellious behavior is, as always, breathtaking. She captivates me with her stories. I find her characters very relatable in a messed up way, and I absolutely adore her method of telling a story.
I would recommend this book, however I wouldn’t call it a “must read.” It isn’t CRANK. I liked it a lot, but I didn’t love it. I like the thought process that comes with reading these books though. They make you question yourself, and think of other people’s opinions as well as your own. Not for a second would I turn down a book written by Ellen Hopkins, and nor should anyone else.
From the beginning I knew Burned was going to tug my emotions around and it did. I wasn't expecting what I got from this book, but usually that's how all of Ellen's books turn out for me. Pattyn comes from a broken home and a broken church. I took sympathy on her from the moment she let me into her mind because she was dealt a really shit life but I don't think she fully understood how wrong her situation was until later on in the book when she got to experience other things that were 'normal' and grew up a bit. Pattyn's dad is an alcoholic in this book and that's something that hits really close to home, my mom is a recovering one and I really felt for her and her family in this situation. It's not easy to deal with and it's not easy to figure out so I completely understood her anger, confusion, and frustration with him. So in ways I really related to Pattyn but her situation is much worse than mine ever was and her dad is a lot worse. The main problem in this book is that Pattyn starts to get hormones and notices boys in a different way than she's used to. In this book her church has led her to believe it's a sin and so she pretty much flips out and things start to spiral out of control. I'd just like to say as far as I know the Mormon community is nothing like it is depicted in this book. I have had several Mormon friends, the most important being my best friend since third grade, and she has never been forced to do the things Pattyn is in this book nor do her parents expect her to just grow up, find some asshole husband, and sit around popping out babies for him for the rest of her life. I'm not saying there aren't Mormon's out there who don't act like this or live this way because I don't know that for a fact but I didn't really get why the religion was explained that way and it bothered me.
Anyways ranting aside after Pattyn realizes she likes boys she meets one and they decide to have a little fling, which in the end doesn't turn out so great and she gets shipped off to her Aunt J's who is her father's sister. The adventure Pattyn has at Aunt J's was really exciting to read about. Honestly, after reading about it I'd love to go spend a summer with her Aunt J and do all of the really fun things she got to do, like meeting a sexy cowboy and falling in love because who doesn't want to do that? Throughout Pattyn's stay at Aunt J's she falls in love with the next door neighbor boy, Ethan. Now Ethan is swoon worthy to the max, he's smart and he's a hard working guy. To watch this love story unfold in the middle of such a tragic story was heart-warming but I was left sitting there always asking when is the other shoe going to drop? Because we all know it has to at some point or another, Ellen Hopkins isn't one to just slap on a happy ending and call it a day. When that shoe dropped I about lost my marbles people! It's like one life punch in the face for Pattyn after another and I felt so, so sorry for her because she was supposed to escape and live happily ever after. The ending to this story left me a bit confused if I'm being honest because Pattyn does lose her marbles but we're never told if she's actually done what she said she was going to do. Excuse my evasiveness, trying not to spoil things here. Now this would bother me more if I didn't know there's going to be a sequel that I am now anxiously waiting on.
Overall I enjoyed this book with the slight quirks it had, it wasn't my favorite Ellen Hopkins book but I liked it. I don't call her my favorite author just because I feel like it.
Dear Ellen Hopkins,
I love you, and literally can't wait for the sequel. So please, write faster. Actually I'd rather wait for an amazing book, cause you can't rush perfection, and that's exactly what this author is; perfect. I love this book.
It basically tells the story of Pattyn Von Stratton, a young girl struggling with who she is, who her family is, and a question many people ask themselves, "Is there a god?". This book asks a lot of religious and philisophical questions. As all of Ellen's books do. This time she talks more about religion, particularly the Mormon religion. She also talks about a woman's role in the mormon family.
Pattyn's father is evil, pure evil. I hate him, and if you've read this book you know why. He's a drunk abusive father and deserves no sympathy for what he does in this book. Pattyn starts to fall in love with someone and her father doesn't take that lightly, especially since that boy isn't Mormon. He sends her away to live with her Aunt J (who I love), and while there, Pattyn learns to accept and love who she is, but she still has dark demons waiting for her at home, will she be able to overcome them?
Read this book, please. It's absolutely amazing, and I can't wait for the sequel, Smoke, to come out in 2012.
I love you, and literally can't wait for the sequel. So please, write faster. Actually I'd rather wait for an amazing book, cause you can't rush perfection, and that's exactly what this author is; perfect. I love this book.
It basically tells the story of Pattyn Von Stratton, a young girl struggling with who she is, who her family is, and a question many people ask themselves, "Is there a god?". This book asks a lot of religious and philisophical questions. As all of Ellen's books do. This time she talks more about religion, particularly the Mormon religion. She also talks about a woman's role in the mormon family.
Pattyn's father is evil, pure evil. I hate him, and if you've read this book you know why. He's a drunk abusive father and deserves no sympathy for what he does in this book. Pattyn starts to fall in love with someone and her father doesn't take that lightly, especially since that boy isn't Mormon. He sends her away to live with her Aunt J (who I love), and while there, Pattyn learns to accept and love who she is, but she still has dark demons waiting for her at home, will she be able to overcome them?
Read this book, please. It's absolutely amazing, and I can't wait for the sequel, Smoke, to come out in 2012.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Well.
That was fucked up.
I do think I would have enjoyed this more had it been written like a regular book instead of in verse. The formatting of reading basically a 500+ page poem made my eyes hurt after a while. There were times were it felt like I was reading about the same instance for like a hundred pages and I wanted to cry a little bit.
Not because the book was sad.
I was just bored.
So. Meh. Interesting enough but not here for the poetry.
That was fucked up.
I do think I would have enjoyed this more had it been written like a regular book instead of in verse. The formatting of reading basically a 500+ page poem made my eyes hurt after a while. There were times were it felt like I was reading about the same instance for like a hundred pages and I wanted to cry a little bit.
Not because the book was sad.
I was just bored.
So. Meh. Interesting enough but not here for the poetry.
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I’ve never read a book in this poetic narrative style before, and it was absolutely enthralling. I need to get my hands on the sequel!
Did not find this book to be enjoyable at all. The main character, Pattyn, is the oldest of six daughters growing up in a Mormon household run by an abusive father.
After finding out she is dating a non-Mormon boy at school he beats her and sends her to spend the summer with her widowed ex-Mormon aunt. Instead of using the summer as an opportunity for Pattyn to grow into her own person outside the shadow of abuse, Hopkins dumps her right into another instalove relationship. I hate how much Pattyn depended on a man to fulfill her and give her life any meaning.
After finding out she is dating a non-Mormon boy at school he beats her and sends her to spend the summer with her widowed ex-Mormon aunt. Instead of using the summer as an opportunity for Pattyn to grow into her own person outside the shadow of abuse, Hopkins dumps her right into another instalove relationship. I hate how much Pattyn depended on a man to fulfill her and give her life any meaning.
Incredible. Explores the idea of man-made monsters & how unfair life can be. I would recommend to anyone who feels out of place within their school, family, and community.