Spoilers for both Burned and Smoke. You've been warned.
Burned is one of my favorite books by Ellen Hopkins, coming in second only to Identical. I read through Burned so quickly, and I thought the conclusion was good. We got closure. That's why I was so surprised to hear that Hopkins was coming out with a sequel! I know that some people weren't too happy with this, saying that Pattyn's story couldn't get any worse, and that they expect this entire sequel to be about her complaining about her problems. Well, if they really knew Pattyn, they knew she would do nothing of the sort. Yes, she was grieving over the loss of her love and unborn child, but this was all about her journey of moving on.
Not only did we hear from Pattyn, but we got to read in Jackie's point of view as well. Because I was so focused on Pattyn in Burned, I didn't realize how instrumental Jackie was to her story until I read this book. Jackie is the only person who knew what really happened the night her father died, and it's only returning to her memory in drips and drabs.
My favorite two parts of the book involved both sisters. I loved the relationship between Pattyn and Shoshone, and I couldn't have been prouder when Jackie finally stood up in church and told the truth out loud for the very first time.
The one thing I got so angry with, though, was the mother Janice. I wish I could jump through those pages and set her straight. I think she just wanted to be numb and unfeeling, but watching Jackie struggle so badly while her mother stood idly by just killed me.
Although I think that the relationship with Angel was a bit forced and rushed, I'm happy with the ending. The letters to Ethan were slightly reminiscent of PS I Love You, except the living was writing to the dead, instead of the other way around.
If you want to get the full experience of this book, I recommend reading Burned again. I read it so long ago, that I honestly forgot about 90% of the things that happened. All I remembered was that Ethan had died. I didn't even remember that Pattyn was pregnant! That's quite a thing to forget...but anyways, I give this 4.5 out of 5 stars. I was riveted the entire time, and I'm so excited to get into another Ellen Hopkins book. I have Fallout waiting on my bookshelves. It's calling my name!
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