Book: Burned by Ellen Hopkins

Date Read: December 10 to 15, 2021

Rating: 4 (of 5) stars

I used a very loose and vague interpretation of the December prompt from the Unread Shelf Project to choose this book: a book the reminds you of childhood. This book is generally categorized as young adult, and it has one that has been on my to read shelf for a very long time… maybe since high school? Unlike many of the books on my shelf, I cannot exactly place this one, but it seems like it would fit with that general time period.

To start, I feel like I should start by saying that the connection to my childhood ends there. This is a coming of age type story, based on a girl growing up in an extremely conservative religious family. She rebels, but begins to come in to her own after being sent away to live with an estranged relative. There is, of course, a love story tied in, but I thought there was at least some effort made to make this more than just a teenage love story.

For the most part, the story was compelling and the style of the book was definitely unique and interesting. The story is a narrative told mostly through poetry, with a few more traditional passages sprinkled throughout. It was a surprisingly quick read for being 500+ pages. Although I generally liked the story, things did get a little wild toward the end, leaving me not completely satisfied. While not exactly a cliffhanger, the ending feels incomplete. I was both excited and disappointed to discover that there is a sequel out there—although it is proven to be a little difficult to locate.

Boris’s Thoughts: “I think fast paced quick reads are the perfect nap on the lap books. 4 paws.”