"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 siple dream may not be exactly a sin, but it could be the first step toward hell and eternal damnation. This dream is the 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? Its 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."
My Rxn:
engrossed until the very last word. damn skippy. this one receives the word nerd seal of approval. I really enjoyed her first novel, crank, but this one is even better. You really become attached to the protagonist, and just want everything to go right for her. and you want her to live happily ever after. the ending is an interesting twist. i'm not sure if i like it. It leaves the reader hanging, which is ok.... but i think it might condone mass homicide a la columbine. not cool. not cool at all. regardless... her writing is solid. i polished this off in about 3 hours. it's great. and she has some awesome imagery and tongue-in-cheek expressions:
"Or maybe they wanted trashy confessions-- Daydreams Designed by Satan" (13).
"The sky seethed with ozone, leaking a scent hot and electric. The animals scrambled for cover at its steady approach. Aunt J and I would sit on the porch, watching carbonated clouds bubble and blacken the sky like a spill of soda" (416).
Each page (or 2 or 3) is titled for emphasis, but is entirely written in verse. these were the two that struck me the most:
I sort of remember
Crawling up into Daddy's lap
when Dad was still
Daddy,
nodding my head against
his chest, soaking in
the comfort of his head,
listening
to the thump. . . thump,
somewhere beneath muscle
and breastbone. I remember
his arms, their sublime
encircling
and the shadow of his voice:
I love you, little girl.
Put away your bad dreams.
Daddy's here.
I put them away. Until
Daddy became my nightmare,
the one that came
home
from work every day
and, instead of picking me
up, chased me far, far away.
(54)
I Tried Asking Him Once
"God, what do you have
in mind for me?"
I listened really hard,
opened my ears and heart.
I looked for signs,
in places expected--and not.
Expected: church, seminar,
the Book of Mormon.
Unexpected: clouds, constellations
wind-sculpted patterns in sand.
But I never heard His answer,
never got one little hint of His plans.
Which was either good or bad,
depending on your point of view.
Because if He would have mentioned
then what He had in mind,
I would have thanked Him for His
faith in me, then tucked my tail and run.
(70)
read it.
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