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I felt angry,
frustrated.
I felt I didn't belong, not in my
church, not in my home, not
in my skin.
Burned is pretty controversial. Before I say anything about the book, I would like to state that this book is about a dysfunctional Mormon family. Hopkins weaves truths from Mormon doctrine into the lives of her characters. She is certainly not saying that all Mormon fathers are drunks and beat their wives. She is also not saying that all drunks are Mormons. These are issues that can affect anyone in any religion. However, the Mormon teachings in the book, though extreme, are true of most Mormon groups. That said, I'll move on.
This book reminded me a bit of [b:Girl in Pieces|29236380|Girl in Pieces|Kathleen Glasgow|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1469509467s/29236380.jpg|44527044]. It is the story of a troubled teen discovering herself and puzzling through how she feels about life, the world around her, and religion. Raw and unflinchingly real, Burned doesn't shy away from tough topics like alcohol, abuse, drugs, guns, nuclear testing downwinders, love, and beauty. I enjoyed to authenticity of Pattyn and the lyrical prose.
However, I was so bothered by the theme of insta-love that I couldn't take Pattyn's love seriously. I'll explain here:
Overall I enjoyed the book but felt that it was confusing in its dealings with modern issues, and misleading in its representation of God, and dangerously inaccurate in its portrayal of true love.
frustrated.
I felt I didn't belong, not in my
church, not in my home, not
in my skin.
Burned is pretty controversial. Before I say anything about the book, I would like to state that this book is about a dysfunctional Mormon family. Hopkins weaves truths from Mormon doctrine into the lives of her characters. She is certainly not saying that all Mormon fathers are drunks and beat their wives. She is also not saying that all drunks are Mormons. These are issues that can affect anyone in any religion. However, the Mormon teachings in the book, though extreme, are true of most Mormon groups. That said, I'll move on.
This book reminded me a bit of [b:Girl in Pieces|29236380|Girl in Pieces|Kathleen Glasgow|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1469509467s/29236380.jpg|44527044]. It is the story of a troubled teen discovering herself and puzzling through how she feels about life, the world around her, and religion. Raw and unflinchingly real, Burned doesn't shy away from tough topics like alcohol, abuse, drugs, guns, nuclear testing downwinders, love, and beauty. I enjoyed to authenticity of Pattyn and the lyrical prose.
However, I was so bothered by the theme of insta-love that I couldn't take Pattyn's love seriously. I'll explain here:
Spoiler
She meets Ethan and the first thing he does is rake over her with his gaze. I felt that he was supposed to depict a wholesome true love for her, but all I saw was a boy filled with raging hormones who took advantage of a young girl in a vulnerable time of her life. It was hard for me to respect their relationship. He did redeem himself a bit when he was willing to care for her when he got her pregnant, but seriously.Overall I enjoyed the book but felt that it was confusing in its dealings with modern issues, and misleading in its representation of God, and dangerously inaccurate in its portrayal of true love.