Burned pgs 148-244

In the book as far as I've read Pattyn's life gets turned upside down, she has to face many demons in her life that's she was to naive to notice. One day at school she is walking down the hall and she saw Derek with another girl after he had witnessed how strict her parents were. She saw him and her holding hands and kissing, they were dating. Pattyn being so upset decided to confront the girl and say something. However, confronting turned into fighting and by the end of the day the girl was in the ER with a hairline fracture and Pattyn was suspended from school for the rest of the school year.. over a boy. Derek she found out had been saying mean things about her behind her back and she then confronted him, where he denied it, but then showed no remorse for what he knew was true.

When her parents were informed about what had happened at school, her dad was enraged and decided that he no longer wanted Pattyn to live with them. He decided that she was to live with his sister Aunt J who Pattyn hadn't talked to in years. Her dad drives her all the way to Nevada to live with her aunt. After meeting her aunt she discovers that she is a lot like Pattyn and after a few weeks they become very close.

Also, Pattyn spies a boy in the local market named Ethan. He is much older than her and she suspects that he doesn't even notice her. However her Aunt J thinks she has a chance in becoming closer with her because he is family friends with Aunt J and is always at her house.

The book is really good, I am looking forward to reading about what else happens between Pattyn and Ethan and seeing if Pattyn really does change now that she is away from he family. Good book and an easy read, I would definitely recommend it.

Burned pgs. 104-148

In the beginning of this book Pattyn seemed to live a charmed life, but then I soon found out in reading that her home life was very sad and disarrayed. Pattyn seems to be falling for the boy she met at school named Derek. Derek told Pattyn she was pretty, a thing she remarks in the book. Derek was the first boy to tell Pattyn she was pretty, he charms her and Pattyn is continuously falling for Derek the more attention he gives her.

Pattyn uses a shooting range as a sanctuary and when Derek ends up coming there to help her shoot she feels strong feelings toward him. Pattyn feels a connection toward Derek and even though she knows it wrong, Pattyn wants to go to and do things with Derek that her family wouldn't approve of. When her and Derek decide to defy her family and do what they know they shouldn't someone see's her, she is not sure who but she runs home as fast as possible before they can get to her father. Sadly, it was her father that saw them and when she gets home her father slaps her and beats her and forbids her to see Derek. She then fights back and snaps scaring the rest of her family for facing her drunken father.

The book is really starting to pick up like most of Ellen Hopkins books. I love the way she makes Pattyn strong and a good character. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the book it is starting to get better.

Burned pgs.1-104

The book burned is strangely typed just like all of the rest of Ellen Hopkins book, I've read her other two books CRANK and Impulse as well so I am pretty used to the format. The book starts out with a young girl, she is a good girl- good grades, conservative and active in her church. However the reader at first thinks her life is perfect but then finds out what happens beyond the front door. Her dad is a drunk and abusive to her entire family but mainly her and her sisters who take the brunt of the beatings. Desperately searching for a way to become noticed she puts herself out there, gets a little dolled up and goes to school- without her parents seeing her outfit of course. However, her best friend is not pleased she feels like she is changing herself, not even acting like the girl that she has known for her whole life. But, Pattyn ignores her friends fears and does so anyway. With this she gets attention from guys who never had shown her attention before.

Pattyn gets invited to a party where there are many illegal things going on and she gets taken advantage of by one of the boys. Depressed by what happens she confides in a new friend Derek who seems like a nice guy. Patty thinks she may have a crush on the boy but she isn't sure at the moment.

Overall, this book reminds me a lot of the previous books but it is still a very good and easy read. I like the things in this book because they seem real and deal with problems that I find interesting.

The Last Song pgs. 72-79

In chapter eight, Ronnie, goes out to eat with her new friend Blaze. They sit and talk about Marcus and just life in general. Many of the things that they talk about are pretty intense and although they have different personalities Ronnie somehow thinks they are sort of similar in the way they both have a good sense of humor and they both dont have very good relationships with their Dad's.
One of the things that Blaze and Ronnie talk about is the worst thing that they have ever done. Blaze tells a story from her childhood where when she was little she and a boy named Billy hated their old mean neighbor and one day their neighbor had planted a bunch of pretty flowers but that same night Billy and Blaze went out and sprayed weed killer on all of the flowers. Blaze then said how her neighbor was outside all day trying to figure out what was wrong with the flowers but could never figure it out and eventually all of the flowers dies within the time of a week. Blaze then said that she didnt tell the neighbor ever that it was hers. When it is Ronnies time to tell her worst thing she begins with when she stole, but then she tells Blaze how she shoplifted twice and if she gets caught one more time that they will press charges but if she doesnt then the charges will be lifted and it will be taken off of her record.
After they are done having a few intense conversations, Marcus and a few of his friends sit down by Ronnie and Blaze but oddly enough Marcus chooses the seat by Ronnie instead of Blaze. While they are all sitting the boys start eating Blaze's food and she is being a complete pushover even allowing Marcus to embarass her and talk about extremely personal stuff at the table. Ronnie thinks it is really sad how she lets him treat her this way and Blaze reminds her of a good friend she has back at New York, Kayla.
In this chapter, I learned alot about Blaze and all of the things she has had to go through growing up, that she isnt just doing nothing with her life for no reason. I like how this chapter talks about the relationship between Marcus and Blaze and I see it slowly starting to fade and I fear that Marcus might try to pull something with Ronnie, which scares me. This was my favorite chapter so far.

The Last Song pgs 67-71

In chapter seven, Will, a very short chapter, it talks about the conversation between Scotty and Will talking about Ashley. Will does not like his ex girlfriend Ashley at all, he thinks she is shallow and closed minded. Although he thinks she is a very attractive looking person her personality ruins it all, he thinks that she is boreing and he concludes to Scotty that he is done with her and he wont even "hook-up" with her. Scotty on the otherhand really wants Will to get back together with Ashley, of course for his own benefit of getting with Ashleys friend Cassie who is as equally shallow minded as Ashley. When Will starts talking about Ronnie to Scotty he completely shuts him down calling her "Vampire Girl". But Will sees more than "Vampire Girl" he sees how she reacted in the fight being so nice and caring to the little boy who was hurt, he also notices how she is the complete opposite of Ashley. He describes Ashley as "putting people into boxes" otherwise being very judgemental and thinking back to Ronnie although he knows very little about her he knows that she does not "put people into boxes" that she is what he says "refreshing".
Will while thinking about Ronnie more and more finds it weird that he is considering he knows so little about her. However, he definately knows that he is not getting back together with Ashley so she is completely off of his radar. And in the end of the chapter he catches himself thinking about when is the next time or even if he will run into Ronnie again.
Although this chapter was very short it was actually very informational about Will. He described all of his feelings, it sort of reminded me of a soliloquy in a play where the character reveals there innermost thoughts without others around (besides Scotty in the beginning). I have started to notice the extreme cheesyness of this book, but I still really like it.

The Last Song pgs 58-67

In chapter six, Ronnie, get in a huge fight with her dad. Ronnies dad while she is out having fun running around the pier with her new found bad influence friends gets ambushed by officer Pete. Who goes up to Ronnie and tells her he is taking her home, however being stubborn of course Ronnie declines, only adding further complications until she finally lets him. Ronnie when she gets home explodes with fury, she yells and screams at her dad. Even at one point she tells her dad that she hates him, grabs a picture of her dad and her playing the piano and hurls it across the room hearing it shatter. Her father however, know exactly how to handle Ronnie, he simply says nothing but "I love you, your room is down the hall" rushing Ronnie with guilt for a few split seconds. Ronnie then goes back to being mad. Her dad was the only one out of both of the parents to actually enfore rules to Ronnie. She cannot just walk all over the dad like a doormat how she did with her mom. Ronnie soon realizes that he is going to enforce the rules however much she is going to rebel against them.
Also in this chapter Ronnie learns that not only is her room down the hall, but she has to share a room with her brother Jonah, every sisters worst nightmare. However, although she is seething with anger from her dads little stunt with the poliece she is still a somewhat sweet sister to Jonah. You can tell that DEEP DEEP down she does love Jonah and her father but for the moment showing that she loves them is the farthest thing she wants to do.
Although it is not something you want to read about your favorite character getting in a bad fight with her dad. It does show some interesting characteristics of the dad and how he sort of has the power to control Ronnie better than the mom did. I am enjoying the read so far and I am thinking that soon Ronnie and Will will encounter again - igniting their tension. (haha)

The Last Song pgs 44-59

In chapter five, Will, the boy who had basically trampled Ronnie in the third chapter. This chapter however does not describe Will as some arrogant bonehead who doesnt know anything and just relies on his looks. Will is more of a nice guy who is surrounded by arrogant people, especially his friend Scotty. Will also has alot of girl drama putting into consideration of his good looks. Will has an ex girlfriend Ashley who always trys to hangout with him but he is always making excuses not to. She is a mean and nasty girl, completely beautiful girl but she has an attitude problem. Scotty on the other hand thinks that she is a total catch and always tries to set Will and Ashley up again, of course to benefit his own needs by hanging out with one of her "hot friends". To Scottys dismay, Will always declines.
In another part of this chapter it talks more about the fire that Ronnies dad Steve was involved in. Although it is only a few short excerpts not fully giving away the answer, it is inferred that Scotty started the fire and that Will had witnessed it but not said anything. They allowed Steve to get the blame for everything and they hadnt said a word.
Also in this chapter it describes a fight on the boardwalk between Scotty and Marcus. Will is describing the fight, and just when it starts to get heated, "a familiar voice" he says comes in, which ends up being Ronnie. Breaking up the annoying boy ego fight and helping a small toddler who got knocked down in all of the commotion. Will in watching Ronnie do this, the reader can tell that he is very attracted to her as a person in her manerisms and the way that she had reacted in that situation, taking the boy back to his mother and treating the boy so nicely.
This chapter I thought was very interesting, Will seems to really already have and attraction to Ronnie although they have never even shared a maximum of 5 sentances between eachother. I really am enjoying this book and I am looking foreward to reading more.

The Last Song pgs 39-44

In chapter four, Marcus, Ronnie describes a friend that she meets. He is a boy named Marcus, the boyfriend of Blaze a girl that Ronnie had met. Marcus is a jerk, Ronnie can already tell. By the way he treats Blaze and by the way he acts in general. Although he is a jerk, he has some pretty cool tricks up hiis sleve. Marcus and a few of his buddies street preform using fire balls. They take pieces of old cloth and soak them im a gasoline/fuel substance to keep them lit, then they use special gloves to handle the fireballs while juggling or messing around with the fireballs, creating a cool street show to earn some extra cash on the side.
Ronnie can tell just by watching the way that Marcus dismisses Blaze that he is completely uninterested in her. Blaze is very affectionate toward him and kisses on him and he just ignores her and pretends that she isnt even there. However, Ronnie can tell that Blaze is the kind of girl that goes for guys like that. Boys that dont pay any attention or listen to them in anyway and a girl is completely attracted to them (ie: Marcus and Blaze).
In this chapter, it conveys a huge character flaw in Marcus. Marcus in the chapter tells Ronnie a story that for some weird reason he is proud of. He tells about this boy who he talked to whom was very excited to take his boat out on the pier this summer and how much he loved his boat and only three days after him telling Marcus that, Marcus burnt the boat down. After telling that story Marcus said how he hated rich people and how he hated people that bragged.
This chapter was sort of interesting just learning about one of the characters in the book. I think that Marcus is an intersting character and he will have some sort of important impact on the book later on. The book is an excellent and easy read. At this point in time I would recommend it to someone.

The Last Song pgs 25-38

In chapter three, Ronnie, she decides to explore the Georgia coast by herself. She finds everything uninteresting just like her pessimistic outlook on life. Ronnie decides that she will go to the peir and look at all the shops first although she thinks that she will find nothing. When she gets there she was right, she finds nothing interesting although in this chapter it shows an intersting part of Ronnies character. She walks up to a puppy shelter showing love and compassion towards the puppies. Which is very unlike her negative apparel and outlook. She then donates to the puppies fund for a home. This part in the book proves Steves premonitions about Ronnie still being the sweet little girl he has always known, on the contrary beleif of her mom.
After donating, Ronnie decides to look at beach volleyball game going on below the peir. Although she is not one for sport watching or partaking she decides to give it a look because there is nothing better to do in this "boring town". When she gets down there she notices the stereotypical croud, the good looking boys playing and then the pretty, tan and blonde girls fawning over them. After Ronnie has a good staredown, she notices one of the boys, thinks that he actually doesnt look that arrogant but then corrects herself. She then gets bored and starts to leave and just as shes walking past the game a ball goes flying at her which soon she gets ran over by the cute boy she had noticed earlier. While she had been nearly trampled she also had her entire drink spilt all over the front of her.
She notices the kindness and true regret of the boy but she still is pretty standoffish toward him. When he tries to make amends by the only way he knows how, flirting, she completely shuts him down by walking away annoyed.
So far I am really liking this book. I think it is a very easy read, but even though it is not very challenging I still am very enveloped into this book reading every single detail. I love the character of Ronnie, maybe it is some alter ego I wish I had, who knows.. And I am still looking foreward as always to reading more

The Last Song pgs 13-24

In chapter two, Steve, the book changes to the perspective of Ronnies dad Steve. Steve is a loving father that still believes that there is still good in Ronnie, even though she is failing all of her classes, doesnt play the piano anymore and she failed her SAT's. Even in the book her father says "Do you know how smart you have to be to miss every single question on the SAT?" Steve really loves his family although he moved all the way to Georgia. He feels terrible though that his daughter, Ronnie, hates him. She feels that he abandoned her bother and her during the divorce. Steve shows that he is really dedicated to his family even though Ronnie may disagree. Steve however, hides a secret that none of his family knows. He is sick and has been getting sicker, the book does not reveal what sickness he has but it does convey that it is serious.
This chapter also talks about how Ronnies dad got the house that he lives in. Steve was an apperentice for the stained glass window maker at the church, and hwen the stained glass window maker passed away. The community gave the house to Ronnies dad, even though the house is very old and a mess, he likes his house although he is embarassed to say.
Steve was also in a fire. Although he does not know the details on how the fire started, Steve was playing the piano in the church late one night and then before he knew it he was getting carried out of the buring church by firemen. Many people of the community believe that Steve started the fire himself but he knows that he didnt.
This book has kept me interested the whole time. It really uses alot of the details. Even though I saw the movie before I read the book I still find the book to be very interesting and I am finding many details in the book that were not in the movie that furthers the characters personalities and the strengthens the story. I am looking foreward to reading more.