Burned

So I just finished this young adult book. It was a page turner and it certainly helped that the entire book is written in poetry format. While I enjoyed this book, there is NO way I would ever recommend it for a young adult in my classroom.

The book is about a Mormon girl who is breaking away from her faith and I learned a lot about the Mormon belief system as well as some shocking information about "down winders" in Nevada in the 50's. Apparently the US government did research on people who lived in the Nevada area, encouraging them to come and watch their test bombs and then followed them to see what affect the radiation exposure had on them over a lifetime. Pretty twisted.

Anyway, this book will not be recommended in my classroom because it borders on the line of erotic. There is quite the romance between the protagonist and her love. I could just hear the moms now. What kind of emails would that elicit?

But, if you make it a habit to read young adult fiction, check this book it out. It's incredibly raw at moments and you empathize with the hopelessness of the main character. Just when things are looking up, Ellen Hopkins takes things for a turn.