Burned by Ellen Hopkins

     Ellen Hopkin's "Burned" follows the protagonist named Pattyn as she struggles to find what a women's role really is. In her strict, religious, and abusive family she has difficulty learning about love and herself. Her mother makes it seem like its a women's duty to have children and marry. Pattyn has many siblings and can't see how women should be inclined to do this. There is no love in her family. She can't see why her mother married her father in the first place. Pattyn's dad is abusive and hits her mom and even her. She always wonders if her dad used to be different. She wonders what he could have been like before all he did was drink, work, and ignore his many children.

     Because of all the family issues, Pattyn gets in trouble with boys, alcohol, and fighting. She's confused and acts out in church. She doesn't seem to care anymore about anything and won't let anyone control her. But Pattyn did have an outlet. Guns. She loved to go out far from home and shot at cans. It relieved her stress and made her feel like she was in charge. In the book it was the one thing that she had power over in her life. I think that's really important. Anyone who has no control of anything they do likes to have power. Even if it's something small.

     To punish Pattyn for all the bad she's done, Her parents want to send her away for the summer. The only person that will take her is Aunt Jeanette. She lives out in the country on a farm by herself. Pattyn go's there thinking about how isolated she will be but instead becomes as free and happy as ever before.   She learns a different side of herself. The side she always wanted to be. She also learns about her father through Aunt J. She learns about his difficult past and what he was like as a child. Pattyn connects with Aunt J in so many ways. They become close and amazing companions. Pattyn also falls in love for the first time. She learns what true love is and that she has never really bee loved in her life.

      Throughout the book we see a transformation of a girl going from confused and sad to free and mature.