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J-Lynn Van Pelt's Reviews > Burned
Burned (Burned, #1)
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J-Lynn Van Pelt's review
bookshelves: young-adult-and-adolescent-lit, nyra-2009-books, christian-kid-and-ya-lit, alternate-format-fiction, romance-ya-and-adolescent-lit, realistic-or-urban-kid-and-ya-lit
Dec 20, 2007
bookshelves: young-adult-and-adolescent-lit, nyra-2009-books, christian-kid-and-ya-lit, alternate-format-fiction, romance-ya-and-adolescent-lit, realistic-or-urban-kid-and-ya-lit
This 531 page book is written entirely in poems, some simple verse, some experiments with form. Pattyn Von Stratten is a repressed 17 year old who has been raised by an alcoholic, abusive father and an overwhelmed mother. Pattyn’s life consists of taking care of her six younger sisters and learning to be a good Mormon girl. But, when the school librarian feeds her love of reading, she starts to realize that there is more to life than the sexist society that her bishop encourages.
After Pattyn rebels against her family’s and church’s rules, her father sends her to live with his estranged sister. Her Aunt J, the wilds of Nevada, and the handsome neighbor, Ethan, help Pattyn learn to love herself and find a family filled with “forever love.� But, when the summer comes to an end, Ethan has to return to college and Pattyn returns to find a new baby brother and her sisters living in fear of their father. Pattyn tries to finish the school year, but a surprise forces her to try to run away and causes the death of a loved one. The final chapter shows Pattyn vowing revenge and then abruptly ends.
While Hopkins does a fantastic job of describing the reluctant Pattyn falling in love with the iconic Ethan, and creates a fantastic mother figure in tough, old Aunt J, the foreboding bits of foreshadowing that she drops every few chapters continually takes the reader out of the present and gives away the ending far too early. And the ending is not satisfying at all. After Aunt J and Ethan teach her the power of love and after everything she has learned along her journey, at the end of the book she considers something completely out of character.
After investing hundreds of pages learning to care for Pattyn, the reader is left with nothing, just a hint at what she might choose to do.
After Pattyn rebels against her family’s and church’s rules, her father sends her to live with his estranged sister. Her Aunt J, the wilds of Nevada, and the handsome neighbor, Ethan, help Pattyn learn to love herself and find a family filled with “forever love.� But, when the summer comes to an end, Ethan has to return to college and Pattyn returns to find a new baby brother and her sisters living in fear of their father. Pattyn tries to finish the school year, but a surprise forces her to try to run away and causes the death of a loved one. The final chapter shows Pattyn vowing revenge and then abruptly ends.
While Hopkins does a fantastic job of describing the reluctant Pattyn falling in love with the iconic Ethan, and creates a fantastic mother figure in tough, old Aunt J, the foreboding bits of foreshadowing that she drops every few chapters continually takes the reader out of the present and gives away the ending far too early. And the ending is not satisfying at all. After Aunt J and Ethan teach her the power of love and after everything she has learned along her journey, at the end of the book she considers something completely out of character.
After investing hundreds of pages learning to care for Pattyn, the reader is left with nothing, just a hint at what she might choose to do.
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Reading Progress
December 20, 2007
– Shelved
Started Reading
January 30, 2008
–
Finished Reading
February 2, 2008
– Shelved as:
young-adult-and-adolescent-lit
February 2, 2008
– Shelved as:
nyra-2009-books
February 21, 2008
– Shelved as:
christian-kid-and-ya-lit
February 25, 2008
– Shelved as:
alternate-format-fiction
July 13, 2008
– Shelved as:
romance-ya-and-adolescent-lit
July 13, 2008
– Shelved as:
realistic-or-urban-kid-and-ya-lit
Comments Showing 1-8 of 8 (8 new)
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Jan 26, 2009 10:21AM
Burned is one of the best books i've ever read. It's one of my favorite books. It's kinda slow for a while, but once it gets toward the end, it really picks up.
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Yeah, I hated the ending of the book. Starting with her and Ethan running away, it just descended into melodrama, and I found Pattyn's violent ideas at the very end to be completely out of character for her.
The ending left me rather perplexed. Pattyn's thoughts about going on a killing spree made no sense (on one hand I understand because her father ruined any possiblity for her having her own life, but why did the story simply end there?).The story read like a romance novel. I read "Crank" before I read "Burned" and so I kept waitng for the downward spiral, but after a while, I began to accept the fact that there might not be one in this book.
The ending proved me wrong and left me disappointed.
While I also didn't care for the ending, it didn't totally mar my love for the rest of the book.
I totally understand that this author has the right to write a book about whatever they want, but please don't let this book give you the wrong idea about Mormons. Yea, I'm a Mormon. Of course it means that I'm more defensive about this kind of thing than, lets say, a Catholic, but it also means that I know what the Mormon religion is like and what we believe. Even though the book might say so, Pattyn's family does not demonstrate a Mormon family. Mormons do not believe in doing most of the things involved with Pattyn's story. And yes, we do have bishops, but no, we don't encourage sexist societies like you said the book talks about. I haven't read it, but I have a feeling that this book says a lot of things about my religion that are completely wrong.
Hannah C. wrote: "I totally understand that this author has the right to write a book about whatever they want, but please don't let this book give you the wrong idea about Mormons. Yea, I'm a Mormon. Of course it m..."Hannah, the portrayal of Pattyn's Mormon family and society was troubling to me too. I celebrate a different faith, but wouldn't want such a narrow portrayal made of my religion. I live in Nevada where there is a large Mormon population that is respected. I read this as part of a committee to choose the Nevada Young Reader Award nominees and several Mormon members of the committee were deeply upset about the book. I know it is only a snapshot of one fictional family, but sometimes it is hard to tolerate stories that read as if they represent a larger group.
I was drawn to your review for your opinion of the end. Though I do agree there were points in the book when the foreshadowing pulled me out of the present of the book and pushed me toward the end with a wandering mind, it made me want to finish the book, which i assume was the point. The end was very disappointing for me as well, I wanted so badly for things to work for her and it angered me that she didn't think she could turn to Aunt J. because though Kevin was probably broken to pieces over Ethan, Aunt J. would have been there for Pattyn because she understood loss. And pertaining to her thoughts of murder to everyone who caused her pain, I thought it was a confusing concept. As I think about it, It shows her anger toward her family and her fate. Though I do not think she would go through with it, it showed how badly she had been hurt and how it changed her.
Wow! I have to say I love this book. I began reading it for a 1000 page reading assignment at school. I picked it up and immediately noticed it was more than 500 pages with not a lot of words. I thought that the book would have been half-heartedly written and uninteresting. When I read the inside cover, I even thought the plot seemed dull. "It all started with a dream. Nothing exceptional, just a typical fantasy about a boy, the kind of dream that most teen girls experience" (Hopkins, Inside Cover). A pure, innocent Mormon girl had a sex dream BIG DEAL! The start was also slow, but as the plot began to progress, I understood all the hype. This book had me on the edge of my seat! With each page, I fell more and more in love. I rooted for Pattyn! I wanted her to live the life she'd always dreamed of with love, happiness, and hope. Her relationships were so juicy. The sexual scenes were detailed enough to where you felt like a young adult just reading about them, but they weren't too detailed to where you felt like throwing up. I could rave about how amazing this book is, but I also was dissatisfied with the ending. It's just not fair that she won't continue the story. And what was the point of Pattyn dating Derrick, or Ethan, or even meeting Aunt Jeannette!? The whole story was BS to have that kind of ending! But, I have discovered Ellen Hopkins, and I will definitely be reading her other books. I'm excited!
