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Burned - Ellen Hopkins

Burned was an apt title for this one. I felt burned and a little exploited after reading it.

I love Ellen Hopkins. Her “Crank” trilogy is one of my favorite YA series because of its rawness. I feel like I say this in a lot of reviews, but what works about “Crank” is that it doesn’t resort to cheap sleights of pen to evoke a thrill. It puts forth, in experimental verse form, a candid view of crystal meth addiction.

This book’s greatest misstep is its failure to recognize that Pattyn’s crisis of faith, her father’s abuse, and her relationship with Ethan are compelling enough; the story doesn’t need cheap twists and shock value to be effective.

Perhaps the most tragic element of this story, though, was its ultimate betrayal of its own ideals. Pattyn’s aunt spends so much of this book teaching her that there are options for women beyond marriage and motherhood. But, ultimately, Pattyn finds her self-worth and purpose in a man (albeit, a very kind-hearted, loving one). In this regard, she isn’t all that dissimilar to her mother, who chose “true love” over college. It isn’t that Ethan is unworthy of “forever love,” as the book calls it, but Pattyn is just seventeen. The love story is touching, if not somewhat rushed, but also a bit hard to take–in a matter of weeks, she can’t live without him and finds self-worth when she regards herself through his eyes.

As for the ending? Talk about narrative contortionism. This is a spoiler-free review, so I won’t comment further on that.