whpepper

** spoiler alert ** The only reason I'm giving this book 3 stars is because I think a certain segment of the female adolescent population will eat this book up like candy. It has the perfect blend of tragedy and romance for girls who may have read Uglies, or the Twilight series when they were younger but who want their tragic romance amped up. Hopkins' novels in verse (another very loose interpretation of verse here) are easy to read, and hugely popular. This book tells the story of Pattyn, who is the eldest of 7 daughters in a strict Mormon family. As per stereotype, her father is a pious drunk who beats his wife and children and uses his religion as an excuse to terrorize his family. The timid mother wants nothing more than to be a baby factory and fob off the chores on her daughters and doom them to the same life. The Mormon community in which Pattyn lives is devoid of any sympathetic or understanding people, particularly among the adults. When Pattyn has a forbidden relationship with a non-Mormon boy, she is sent to live for the summer with her father's estranged sister, and romance blooms - but at what cost? I would not give this to middle school students because it has a remarkably downbeat ending, and the book deals fairly openly with adolescent sex and contains some teen drinking. I would recommend it for grades 9-11.

2022-11-14 16:54