offinherownmind's review
4.0
Wow... I liked this a lot more than I thought I would have. I don't know how I feel about the ending. It's probably more realistic than the happy ending I was hoping for.
burstnwithbooks's review
2.0
This book is absurd. I honestly think two stars is super generous. I'm only giving it that much because I still love Ellen Hopkin's writing - her formatting and her eloquent writing within verse is fantastic. But I hated the main character, the romance, the ending, and pretty much everything in between. I regret reading this.
crftyfrnd's review
4.0
I have enjoyed all of Ellen Hopkins books so far. This story is one I feel every young girl in high school can relate to. The ending was a huge surprise and I can't wait to read the next book.
oriana095's review
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Misogyny
Moderate: Violence, Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Pregnancy, Animal death, Suicide, Sexual content, Homophobia, Car accident, War, Abortion, and Vomit
llamaa's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Violence
chasegum's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
This book is an effortless read but will have you triggered at times (especially by Pattyns father). I can definitely see myself reading more books by Hopkins simply because you could crank out so many pages, and her writing flows so well. However, the main problem I have with this book is the pacing. We got so many pages of Pattyn and her time with Ethan and her Aunt in the summer, but when it came to the end, everything happened so quickly. It kinda lost me there. More time could have been spent creating a conclusion that is more coherent. Still, I definitely will read the sequel. I really want to know what happens to Pattyn and where her story takes her.
birdlawyer's review
5.0
I read this book in a day, it was so good. I loved everything about it. It just seemed so real, even though, I am aware that many things were exaggerated in comparison to real life. I know many people find issue in the way Mormons are portrayed in this book, but one just has to realize that it is an exaggeration for the purpose of the story. If someone takes this book so literally they should not be reading it. Another thing people seemed to find issue in was the "lack" of character development. It is a free verse novel! It is different than the traditional novel. The writing was more about what was going on internally than the character development externally, expectations have to be a bit different. To review this book you need to look at this with a little different prospective. My only complaint is that the ending was rather harsh and just seemed out of step with the rest of the book, but perhaps that was just grief. Sequel?
htank's review
5.0
LOVED IT!!!!! I would recommend this book to anyone who likes YA fiction. Like most of Ellen Hopkins books its not a happy story but is still very good.
thisbookishcat's review
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
surpriseitem's review
5.0
I was a bit hesitant to start reading this. Ellen Hopkins has a unique writing style. She tells a story in free verse poetry, which I found a bit difficult to get used to when reading Crank, another book of hers, a while back. But when I started reading this book I was used to the style and it wasn’t as awkward as it was the first time I read an Ellen Hopkins book.
One of my favorite parts about this novel is how real the characters were. Pattyn was very strong and made her own decisions. Sure, some of them weren’t super smart, but everyone messes up sometimes. I also really enjoyed seeing how she was conflicted. She didn’t accept the ways of her families religion, but since she had been told that it was right her whole life, she couldn’t just throw it all out of the window. Every time she did something that her family had told her was wrong, she was hesitant to do it, even though she felt that it was actually an okay thing to do.
Pattyn’s father was a really interesting character to read about. At times I could tell that he wasn’t all big, bad, and evil. I could see a bit of humanity in some of his choices, but overall I really disliked him, considering how he acted. It was a bit irritating not knowing what he was thinking and why he did the things he did, but it gave the book a whole new air of reality, because you can’t always know why people act the way they do.
The setting was described absolutely beautifully. The way the mountains in rural Nevada were described brought the whole story to life, and the ranch was a great thing to read about.
I have read nothing like this before, and I doubt I’ll ever come across one even remotely like this one. It was unique, heart-wrenching, and absolutely fantastic. It was an amazing plot that really made me think about what really matters, and it was beautifully written. The only thing that I slightly dislike was the ending. It was open-ended and very frustrating. But, as it’s going to have a sequel, I guess it was a good way to end the book, even if I didn’t get the answers I was hoping for.
As I said before, this novel was absolutely amazing, and I give it 5/5 stars.
One of my favorite parts about this novel is how real the characters were. Pattyn was very strong and made her own decisions. Sure, some of them weren’t super smart, but everyone messes up sometimes. I also really enjoyed seeing how she was conflicted. She didn’t accept the ways of her families religion, but since she had been told that it was right her whole life, she couldn’t just throw it all out of the window. Every time she did something that her family had told her was wrong, she was hesitant to do it, even though she felt that it was actually an okay thing to do.
Pattyn’s father was a really interesting character to read about. At times I could tell that he wasn’t all big, bad, and evil. I could see a bit of humanity in some of his choices, but overall I really disliked him, considering how he acted. It was a bit irritating not knowing what he was thinking and why he did the things he did, but it gave the book a whole new air of reality, because you can’t always know why people act the way they do.
The setting was described absolutely beautifully. The way the mountains in rural Nevada were described brought the whole story to life, and the ranch was a great thing to read about.
I have read nothing like this before, and I doubt I’ll ever come across one even remotely like this one. It was unique, heart-wrenching, and absolutely fantastic. It was an amazing plot that really made me think about what really matters, and it was beautifully written. The only thing that I slightly dislike was the ending. It was open-ended and very frustrating. But, as it’s going to have a sequel, I guess it was a good way to end the book, even if I didn’t get the answers I was hoping for.
As I said before, this novel was absolutely amazing, and I give it 5/5 stars.