Burned (novel)

"Burned" is a young adult novel written by American author Ellen Hopkins and published in April 2006. The novel is unusual for its free verse format.

Plot

Pattyn Scarlet Von Stratten is a 17-year-old girl from an ultra-strict, patriarchal Mormon household. Her father is an alcoholic who beats her mother, believing women must succumb to their husbands' actions. Her mother believes her duty is to bear as many children as possible, especially a boy to carry on the family name. But Pattyn's mother only conceived girls, named after famous generals: (youngest to oldest) Georgia (George Patton), Roberta (Robert E. Lee), Davie (Jefferson Davies), Teddie (Roosevelt), Ulyssa (Ulysses S. Grant), Jackie (Jack Pershing), and Pattyn (George Patton). Pattyn, unable to take the stress of her home, begins to question her role in life, especially through her father's eyes. Eventually, she starts to experiment with dating behind her parents' backs, but is caught in the desert by her drunken father. Derek, her boyfriend, leaves her for another girl, whom Pattyn punches in the face in rage. As a punishment, she is sent away to live with her Aunt Jeanette in eastern Nevada, for her father is finally expecting a son and doesn't need to handle the stress Pattyn creates.

As Pattyn's stay with her aunt continues, she finds love from her Aunt J and a boy named Ethan. Ethan's father (Kevin) was once Aunt J's high school sweetheart, but after he received a threat with a gun and a beating from her brother (Pattyn's father) for not being Mormon, they were forced to separate.

During the time Pattyn lives with her aunt, she learns how to love and how to be self-confident, and finds out that there "is" more to life than just religion, as she thought before. Pattyn is led to believe in God the way her aunt believes in him. Aunt J explains that one does not need "a Mormon husband to meet you at heaven's gates and pull you in", and believes that with love, true love, heaven's gates will open wide. Ethan becomes a dream come true to Pattyn, loving her even though she doesn't believe that she's beautiful. He teaches her the true meaning of love:

":"You're so beautiful, Pattyn"

":I shook my head. "I'm not. But you make"

":me feel like I am." I wanted to be beautiful."

":To him. For him. I didn't really care how"

":anybody else saw me. Only Ethan.""

At the end of the summer, Pattyn returns to her family only to learn that her father is now beating her younger sister. She also later discovers that she is pregnant with Ethan's baby. When she calls Ethan to tell him the news, she is overheard by two jealous girls, one of them Derek's new girlfriend. They proceed to tell everyone and the word gets back to Pattyn's mother, though Pattyn denies it.

Attempting to escape her father's wrath, Pattyn and Ethan take off for California, unaware that Trevor, a "perfect Mormon child" who loved Pattyn, has written down the car's license plate number. When her father finds out, he calls his "Highway patrolman friend" to track them down, to find them on an icy road. Ethan speeds up in attempt to lose the patrolman, but loses control of his car and crashes. Pattyn wakes up in the hospital, to find out that both Ethan and their baby are dead. Her father disowns her, unable to bear the recent events.

All alone in the world, Pattyn leaves. She can't return to Aunt J, because she'd never be able to face Ethan's dad, believing she has caused his only son's death. In the end, Pattyn stands on a bridge vowing to kill her father, Trevor, her Mormon bishop, and a handful of other Mormons at a prayer meeting with an "insurance" gun Ethan gave her. After hiding in the desert, she plans go to the high school where she never truly belonged and kill the students who helped cause the death of Ethan and her unborn child. In the midst of her horror, she says:

"Heartbreaking

"That if my father, staring down a 10 mm"

"would only tell me"

"he loves me"

"I could easily change my mind..."

"But he won't""

Ending the book on an apocalyptic note purposefully to leave room for a sequel.

Praise and controversy

The book has garnered mixed responses. It received literary praise, being nominated for the ALA Best Books for Young Adults award, a 2006 National Book Award nominee, and a New York Times Bestseller [ [http://www.ellenhopkins.com/Fiction.html Information taken from Ellen Hopkins' webpage on "Burned"] ] . However, it was also roundly criticized for its apocalyptic finale and for its portrayal of Mormonism as a stern, abusive and misogynistic faith. Jeff Gottesfeld, a Jewish novelist for teens and stage/film/television writer, characterized the book in an op-ed piece as "literary group character assassination" of Mormonism, and that the church is "unrelentingly bashed" in the novel [Gottesfeld, Jeff. "LDS faith unfairly 'Burned' in novel." "Deseret News", May 16, 2006.] . In response, Hopkins—who is a Lutheran—has stated that "The references to the Mormon religion are accurate" and that "every religion can be home to extremists". [ [http://www.ellenhopkins.com/Fiction.html A note about "Burned", from Hopkins' web site] ]

References