burned

I am currently reading “Burned” by Ellen Hopkins. So far I have read 460 pages out of 530 pages. I was in the Bahamas a few weeks ago, and my friend was reading “Crank” by Ellen Hopkins. I read the back of the book and wanted to read it. I figured when she was done reading it I would read it, because I had the time to. I was not able to read it before we left to go back to the states, so I just forgot about it. If it were not for this class, I probably would not have picked it up to read. I am very surprised that I actually like it, and I want to read more. The pages have a few sentences spread out on the page. I love the simple, poetic style of writing. As I started I could not relate to the main character, Pattyn. She was a Mormon who lived in a religious house full of brothers and sister. Pattyn’s father was an angry, drunken alcoholic. Her mother was in the shadow of her husband. Her life is the total opposite of mine. As I kept reading about her life, I thought how terrible that would be to grow up in her shoes. Pattyn never got to experience anything because of her religious, over dramatic parents. After sometime, she got into some trouble. Her parents sent her away to live in the middle of a desert, in Nevada with her aunt. I have a friend who had the same thing happen to her. Except my friend’s parents sent her away to an all girls boarding school in a desert in Arizona. I can kind of relate to how Pattyn must have felt, because I was going through the situation with my best friend. There was no way I could contact my friend, just how Pattyn could not reach her family and friends back at home easily. I love how the author created Pattyn’s Aunt. I wish I had an Aunt like her’s. Aunt J was so wise and full of life. Her Aunt taught her so much about the life, I felt like I learned a little bit too. Aunt J was just so positive with everything that has happened to her. Even though Pattyn’s was sent away, it was the best thing for her. She found herself, learned life lessons, and fell in love. I love the boy who Pattyn fell in love with. His personality was what a true boy friend should be. This is one of my favorite lines, because I thought it was so funny. “He was chateaubriand. I was hamburger.” Pattyn said that when she met her first boy friend, Derek. He was just an average boy she met while practice shooting, when he showed up with his friends on his quad. She was comparing herself as not being good enough for him. When forreal it should have been the other way around. Another quote I liked was “You shine brighter than the milky way.” Aunt J said that to Pattyn when she did not think was worth anything. I thought what Aunt J said was so sweet. I really like this book and I cannot wait until I finish it, I probably will finish it later tonight. Also, I cannot wait until I read the other books by Ellen Hopkins, especially the series starting with “Crank.” I have wanted to read “Crank” awhile ago, but I just never had the time. Know that I know I like her writing, I am definitely going to read the rest of her books.

favorite quotes:

“He was chateaubriand. I was hamburger.”

“You shine brighter than the milky way.”