I do know things really began to spin out of control after my first sex dream.
It all started with a dream. Nothing exceptional, just a typical fantasy about a boy, the kind of dream that most teen girls experience. But Pattyn Von Stratten is not like most teen girls. Raised in a religious -- yet abusive -- family, a simple dream may not be exactly a sin, but it could be the first step toward hell and eternal damnation.
This dream is a first step for Pattyn. But is it to hell or to a better... (show more)
I do know things really began to spin out of control after my first sex dream.
It all started with a dream. Nothing exceptional, just a typical fantasy about a boy, the kind of dream that most teen girls experience. But Pattyn Von Stratten is not like most teen girls. Raised in a religious -- yet abusive -- family, a simple dream may not be exactly a sin, but it could be the first step toward hell and eternal damnation.
This dream is a first step for Pattyn. But is it to hell or to a better life? For the first time Pattyn starts asking questions. Questions seemingly without answers -- about God, a woman's role, sex, love -- mostly love. What is it? Where is it? Will she ever experience it? Is she deserving of it?
It's with a real boy that Pattyn gets into real trouble. After Pattyn's father catches her in a compromising position, events spiral out of control until Pattyn ends up suspended from school and sent to live with an aunt she doesn't know.
Pattyn is supposed to find salvation and redemption during her exile to the wilds of rural Nevada. Yet what she finds instead is love and acceptance. And for the first time she feels worthy of both -- until she realizes her old demons will not let her go. Pattyn begins down a path that will lead her to a hell -- a hell that may not be the one she learned about in sacrament meetings, but it is hell all the same.
In this riveting and masterful novel told in verse, Ellen Hopkins takes readers on an emotional roller-coaster ride. From the highs of true love to the lows of abuse, Pattyn's story will have readers engrossed until the very last word. (show less)
I made the mistake of reading two incredibly scary books one right after the other, so this was additionally chilling as I had just finished Endgam... (show more)
I made the mistake of reading two incredibly scary books one right after the other, so this was additionally chilling as I had just finished Endgame. But really, I have no idea how Ellen Hopkins does it. As usual, the writing is phenomenal and unique, as is the revolutionary plot, featuring a rebellious Mormon. Hopkins' writing style is just something else, and her tone is realistic, speaking to teens everywhere even though the words are spoken by a Mormon teenage girl. Ellen Hopkins gets into all these dark places, and it really makes one wonder how much effort and pain it takes for her to find them. I found some of the issues extremely predictable (pregnancy, guns), and definitely knew there was a huge climax at some point, but without a clue how it would all fit together. There were some statements of awkward foreshadowing, particularly foreboding statements regarding the future at the ends of chapters. I end my notes with this statement, and feel it is an accurate way to end this review as well: "OH SWEET AMBIGUITY!!!"
Rating: 5/5 (show less)
Until about the last five pages of this book I actually, really liked it. I mean- here was this heroine that I could kind of relate too, and I thou... (show more)
Until about the last five pages of this book I actually, really liked it. I mean- here was this heroine that I could kind of relate too, and I thought that the book was great story of a girl's struggle to escape her abusive family... Until the last ten pages.
Oh my god, where did it all go wrong? Until the last five pages I liked the protagonist, and although I hate that her boyfriend, and her baby died and her parents "triumphed" and what not, I still thought I could like the book. But then good 'ol Patty decided to turn into a freaking psychopath and decided she would take out a couple people with the gun her dead boyfriend gave her in her once-church with all her little siblings. Great.
Aside from the total destruction of a great character, I also felt like Patty was the only character you really got to know, or at least that wasn't flat as cardboard. However I still have hope for Ellen Hopkins and will continue to read her. (show less)
Definitely another winner by Hopkins. This book is different than both Crank and Glass, but in a good way. She breaks away from her drug-controlled protagonists to give her audience a fresh, religious point-of-view which proves to be nothing short of a positive change. Her traditional verse delivers the story of Pattyn, the eldest of many females in the Von Stratten household with an alcoholic abusive father: the product of Mormon belief that men rule over women. After having a dream abou... (show more)
Definitely another winner by Hopkins. This book is different than both Crank and Glass, but in a good way. She breaks away from her drug-controlled protagonists to give her audience a fresh, religious point-of-view which proves to be nothing short of a positive change. Her traditional verse delivers the story of Pattyn, the eldest of many females in the Von Stratten household with an alcoholic abusive father: the product of Mormon belief that men rule over women. After having a dream about a classmate, Pattyn begins to question the God she was taught to fear and to cross lines set in stone by her religion. After getting way out of hand, her family sends her to a far-away aunt for punishment and it turns out to be Pattyn's saving grace. She experiences real love instead of being ruled over by a drunken dictator from her Aunt J, and gets an even bigger dose of affection from her boyfriend, Ethan. The characters in this story all have a very developed personality and Hopkins makes you fear the idea of Steven Von Stratten in your field of vision just as Pattyn does. You buckle with every blow and cringe at every pulsing bruise. (show less)
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Hmmm. This is the third of Hopkins books I've read and the one I finished fastest. I don't know if that's because I've had more free time as of late or because I've adjusted to Hopkins' prose format or what, but I completed it in about a day. I must say, I'm glad I've had the chance to get to know some Mormons so I can say with absolute confidence that not all LDS families are like the one portrayed here. Thankfully.
I'm not a religious person at all, but I have been disappointed in th... (show more)
Hmmm. This is the third of Hopkins books I've read and the one I finished fastest. I don't know if that's because I've had more free time as of late or because I've adjusted to Hopkins' prose format or what, but I completed it in about a day. I must say, I'm glad I've had the chance to get to know some Mormons so I can say with absolute confidence that not all LDS families are like the one portrayed here. Thankfully.
I'm not a religious person at all, but I have been disappointed in the world at large so, in that respect, I could compare a little to Pattyn's crises of faith. Thankfully, that is the pretty much the only way I could relate to the main character -- my life has never been as difficult. The ending feels like it wants to be a surprise, but it wasn't. Sadly, it is also not as far-fetched and difficult to believe as I wish it was.
On a lighter note, I did like Hopkins' vision of the landscape. I've lived in Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico and know there is much more to the Southwest than scrub and dust. (show less)
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burned!
this book was amazin i hated to read and then i read this book and it made me want to keep readin!!! this book rocks!!!.... :] but its kinda sad at the end!!
Breanna Mae Scott about 1 year agoThis book has been added to these lists:
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