A Complete Mix of Controversy: Violence, Sex, and Religion
At the center of Burned by Ellen Hopkins is a young Mormon girl, Pattyn Scarlet Von Stratten, who is struggling with her identity and her faith. Pattyn is starting to have feelings and dreams about boys, which is forbidden in her church. After she is caught in a compromising situation with a boy, her parents kick her out of the house for the summer and send her to her aunt’s ranch. At the ranch, Pattyn finds a freedom that she has never experienced before and she soon finds out who she really is without the constraints of her religion.
One of the many things that I enjoyed about Burned is how clearly Hopkins cues in on the feelings of teenagers. Pattyn is not only struggling with her identity, but she is also living in a home that is destructive. Her father is an alcoholic who beats her mother. Pattyn tries to help her mother and all of her sisters, but how much can one person do? It is mostly because of her destructive home life that Pattyn starts to question her faith. She wonders how a church would allow this to keep happening with no regards to the victims. Because of all of these circumstances, Pattyn is a bit emotional, to say the least, and Hopkins lets the readers have every piece of Pattyn as she cries and fights her way to herself.
The one aspect of this novel that I did not particular care for was the ending. Hopkins is well-known for her not so fairy tale like endings. This is the first Hopkins novel that I have read and I was shocked by the ending. I wasn’t shocked necessarily because of what happens, but I was shocked because the ending, to me, didn’t really feel right for Pattyn. I’m all for not so happy endings, but it needs to feel right and there needs to be a point for it. I wasn’t really sold on the ending of Burned.
Overall, I think that Burned is an excellent read for teenagers. There are topics dealt with that are very uncomfortable (i.e. sex), but I think that Hopkins deals with the controversial subjects well. The book also leaves us with a lesson that we all can learn from: There are consequences for all actions and, sometimes, they are not very pretty.
Book Source: Audiobook from Hennepin Country Library, Eden Prairie
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