Burned

Title: Burned
Author: Ellen Hopkins
Published: 2006
Synopsis from Goodreads

Raised in a religious -- yet abusive -- family, Pattyn Von Stratten starts asking questions -- about God, a woman's role, sex, love. She experiences the first stirrings of passion, but when her father catches her in a compromising position, events spiral out of control. Pattyn is sent to live with an aunt in the wilds of Nevada to find salvation and redemption. What she finds instead is love and acceptance -- until she realizes that her old demons will not let her go.

~*~

I like 'em big!

I like 'em chunky!

I like 'em big!

I like 'em plumpy!

What?!! Are you kidding me? I hate big, huge, coke can size books! They're intimidating!!

--- but not this one.

Have you seen the size of it?!!! It's bigger than my hometown's phone book!!!

-- but it only took me a day to read

OMG! I must have been bit by a super radioactive spider!!

-- spider?

Yeah, spider! Wouldn't that be the smartest in the insect world?

-- not sure. You're the one here having a conversation with yourself.

WOW! Don't let this chunky chunk book make you go "too thick!" It sure does look it but once you zip through a page in nothing flat you'll be happily surprised that they all go that way. That is the beauty of verse and the beauty of Ellen Hopkins. LOVES IT!



"Burned" is about a girl named Pattyn raised in an abusive LDS household.

--LDS?

Church of Latter-day Saints.

--Sister Wives?

Yeah, not really. I thought it was going to be like that but they only talked about one wife (the Mom) and a woman her Dad used to be married to (at least that's the way I took it)



Pattyn is a 16 year old good Mormon girl who all of the sudden notices boys and starts to question her faith. She also sees the abusive ways her father treats her mother and starts to ask questions that are only bound to get her in trouble if she keeps digging.

-- Daddy's not going to like that!

Soon, Pattyn fears that all hope is lost because Dad is sending her away to live with his sister she starts to wonder if there is any way to get home as fast is she can. That is until she sees a glimpse of a boy who smiles at her. A boy she wants to meet. A boy who will make her want to stay.



This book is freaking amazing!! Emotional at times that it will make you cringe and the tender in spots that you'll decide you want to run off to Nevada to find you a cowboy while pretending to be a bad girl Mormon.



I'm not sure if the religious aspect of the story is true (because I wouldn't know) but you seem to not mind because the story is soo entertaining. I found myself opening the book and what seemed like five minutes later wound up being a whole hour passed.



I recommend this to all fans of Ellen Hopkins, anyone interested in a verse book, and a good real-life story. While this story isn't true its written in such a way that would definately be believable.

Loved it and can't wait to read more from this author!