Fever

Burning is the first book I've read by Elana K. Arnold, but it won't be my last. I am thankful to the publisher for making the eARC available on netgalley.com. This was just such a different book with a great ending that didn't seem like a rip-off. Layla is of the Romani people- a gypsy. She and her family have traveled to Nevada, headed to Reno to buy cars for their used car dealership back home in the most miserable city of Portland, OR. On the way the family stops near Gypsum, NV for the Burning Man Festival, to make some extra bucks off of the festival-goers, telling their fortunes. There she meets a guy named Ben and there is a serious attraction. The only thing is, a couple of weeks, Lala will be married, as is the family custom deal. Ben is headed to college in San Diego and the whole town is closing down.
The book taught me a lot about the Romani people. It is an excellent coming-of-age and self-discovery book. The characters are wonderfully well-drawn and I know that this will be a popular book, easy to recommend. Great, great stuff!!!

Burned Out

SPOILERS!

I don't know.  Burned was my third Ellen Hopkins book, I keep trying them because everyone loves them.  I just don't know.  Wasn't crazy about Identical.  Nor did I loved Glass.  That's why I was really excited when about 2 disks through, I started to really love Burned.  And then it all went downhill.  Pattyn is from an abusive home.  The book has gotten a lot of flack because the family is Mormon, but really it could be any family.
(Here I must comment on this article.  The man writing it does a nice job explaining the difference between the LDS church and church in Burned, but he is off base and shows his own ignorance when he calls the Reorganized Church of LDS - now the Community of Christ - a repressive off-shoot of Mormonism. Indeed, this is one of the more liberal branches, as it ordains both men and women.  It is currently debating the ordination of homosexuals.  At one time it did, then said no more, but ones who were currently ordained were okay and it is having the discussion, unlike the LDS and other churches, Mormon or not.  I'm not saying that is good or bad, I am just saying, this guy was off in saying the Reorganized Church of LDS was repressive.  I almost didn't include his article because of this pretty glaring mistake but it does say some good things.  Just be careful about its veracity since this guy didn't do his homework on the Community of Christ.)
It is inaccurate when Pattyn talks about her church promoting polygamy, because the faith of her family's isn't a weirdo branch of Mormonism, she clearly says that they are LDS, and the LDS church does not allow or promote polygamy.  So the book loses its credibility there.  I do like that even though Pattyn ends up not believing in the faith of her upbringing, she still holds on to the idea of a loving God.  A lot of books do the cop-out thing and the kid ends up turning his/her back on faith completely.  But Pattyn doesn't.  Pattyn is sent away to live with her aunt for the summer because she was caught messing around with a boy.  When she goes to live with her Aunt J, she learns about life and love and normal relationships.  At that point I was thinking..a NORMAL book!  And a good one!  But then all heck breaks lose and we end up with Pattyn planning a massacre.  Good-bye credibility altogether.  Enter shock-jock weirdness.  I think I am done now with Hopkins.  A lot of people love her, but she's not my cup of tea.