Written as a young adult thriller, Burned by Ellen Hopkins sheds light on a serious social issue: domestic violence. Seventeen-year-old Pattyn was born into a Mormon family. The oldest of seven daughters, she's the one responsible for protecting her sisters from her dad's drunken rage. He often returns home drunk and beats their mom, who remains silent on the topic. As Pattyn grows, she feels a sense of urgency to escape this community because she's afraid of being married off to a man just like her dad. She doesn't believe in Mormon tradition and knows she won't survive it. After some drama, her family sends her to Nevada to live with her aunt for sometime. While there, she gains self-confidence, independence, and existential answers from her aunt. She starts dating this boy named Ethan with whom she has sex for the first time. When Fall rolls around, she's ordered back home to complete the school year from home. Pattyn soon learns she's pregnant, so she and Ethan try to run away together. Losing his mind out of rage, Pattyn's dad chases them and causes the car to swerve off the road. Pattyn wakes up in a hospital to learn both Ethan and her baby died in the accident.
With the traumatic childhood she's had, Pattyn is forced to address some extremely difficult questions at a young age, including rejecting her parents' worldview. She's a spunky, thoughtful kid who's determined to make her own path. When she goes to stay with her Aunt J, she's given exactly the outlet she needed to develop into a free-thinking adult. Aunt J grew up in a similar position, having had an ex beaten to death by Pattyn's father when they were teenagers. She's embarked on her own healing journey and, being much further along, is able to provide some much needed answers and most importantly encouragement. Aunt J understands the affect trauma has had on Pattyn's young brain and offers her nearly limitless support in her healing.
Pattyn has a difficult time reincorporating sexuality into her identity after leaving her parents' home. Growing up, she was taught that wives are the property of their husbands and should always submit. Even as a child, Pattyn knew she didn't believe that, especially when it comes to a man like her father. With her aunt, she begins to openly explore sexuality in a few different relationships with boys there. She experiences some heartbreaks, but her aunt reassures her that single-hood is a happy option as well. Having taken the pressure off herself to marry out of her community, Pattyn approaches her relationship with Ethan out of selfless love. It's the cruelest of blows that he dies because of her father.
