Perspectives Missing in the Book "Burned"

The book "Burned" by Ellen Hopkins is a story about a girl named Pattyn and how she struggles with family, boys, and religion. She and her whole family are Mormons, so when Pattyn begins exploring the more rebellious things in life, it causes her some trouble. The entire book is told in verse from Pattyn's perspective. The author failed to include the perspectives of Pattyn's father and father, and this affects the entire story.

The first perspective missing from "Burned" is that of the father. Although I have not finished the book, so far Pattyn's dad has most definitely not made life easy, but I believe there are points where it may be significant to hear the father's thoughts. For example, on page 173 of the story, there is a dialogue between Pattyn and her dad, "Dad will you miss me?" Pattyn asks. Her dad responds, "Miss you? I don't even know, Pattyn." I feel that this small conversation, already important, is definitely a place where I would like to hear what the father is thinking. For one thing, without wording it like that Pattyn's father is basically saying he will not miss her. Obviously, no daughter would ever want to hear that from her dad. Also, maybe there's more too it than just what the dad says. Maybe he really will miss Pattyn, but does not want to admit it because he doesn't like to show emotion, which is shown earlier in the book. Another example is on page 192, in which Pattyn is now staying at her Aunt Jeanette's house for a portion of the summer, and Pattyn says (referring to her father) "He didn't bother with good byes, which only hurt a little." I think that the author made this sentence depressing to make the readers to know that Pattyn is still a little girl inside who only wants to be loved by her dad. On the other hand, I think the author excluded the father's point of view in this section especially because if we had heard his thoughts on this, it would make Pattyn's statement less pitiful and cause the father less blame. A final example is on page 148, in which Pattyn's dad is punishing her for romancing with a boy named Derek, after the the father has slapped her she says, "Defiance rose up like vomit. I swung back and yelled, 'Don't you ever do that again!' He caught my arm. Held it midair, and I found in his eyes conflicting emotions-something almost like apology, and something very much like satisfaction." This page is very very interesting, because at this point the author almost does give us a little of the father's perspective, but still through Pattyn. I feel that it would be so interesting to know how the father felt in that moment, considering it is so powerful. I think the father would most likely be feeling the emotions that Pattyn describes in his eyes, but I would like the dad himself to put his feelings into words, and maybe that would unfold the father's notions for slapping Pattyn in the first place, if they were not just because she did something wrong.

The second perspective missing is that of the mother. Up to the point I'm at in the book, the mother has been busy with her large family (Pattyn has six sisters) and obedient to her husband when he is nothing but rude to her. For example, on page 35, Pattyn questions the things that happen in her family, "How, no matter what happened the night before, the next day Mom and Dad would be tandem in bed?" I think this question Pattyn is asking is also somewhat speaking for what the readers want to know. If the mother's perspective was shown here, then maybe she would have something to say about that. I believe that the reason that Pattyn's mom is still with Pattyn's dad could be two reasons; the first is that she feels she needs her husband's money and protection to support her family, and the second is that a part of her still loves him and remembers him the way he used to be when they married. Another example is on page 52-53, in which Pattyn is reminiscing, "...But this tiny piece of me kept thinking back to another, happier time, when Mom loved Dad. And me. And Dad loved Mom. And me.". I think that this line is very strong, because it gives readers a glimpse of what Pattyn's life was like before everything became troublesome. But, I would like to know what the mother thinks of all this, because most likely she wishes it was like this all the time, including all her other children.

I believe the fact that the story lacks these two perspectives of the father and the mother greatly affects the story. One reason I think this is because if the perspectives had been there, it is possible that Pattyn's point of view wouldn't attract as much sympathy. Not that the parents' perspectives would outshine Pattyn's, but it would prove some of her points wrong and cause it to blame less the parents and more all three of them. Another reason I think this is because the mother and father are very significant characters in the story, but in many scenes their opinion is not needed, since the story is centered around Pattyn. For example, whenever Pattyn is at school or outside of home, there really is no input for the parents to make. And finally, it is after all a book for teens, and when teens tead young adult they usually like to read about someone around their age, like Pattyn. If they were reading about the mother and father's points of view, they may not understand or find it less interesting because it is much harder to relate to it. But, I still think it would be interesting to sometimes get a taste of what the father or mother's thoughts are once and a while, because it could 1) add alternate perspectives besides Pattyn's, and 2) add more depth to the story as a whole.

Overall, I believe that no, Hopkins should not have replaced Pattyn's entire perspective with that of her mother's and/or father's, but I think she should've included a bit of it once and a while. I feel that all YA books that include a powerful conflict between the child and the parents should include a little of the parents' point of view. Even so, the book "Burned" is so far fantastic and very intriguing, so aside from this one flaw I would definitely recommend it.