Review by Booklist Review
In her poetic sequel to Burned (2006), Hopkins pays homage to the old adage The truth shall set you free. In haunting memories, Pattyn and younger sister Jackie return to the horrifying scene of their father's murder: Caleb's rape of Jackie, their father's discovery of the crime and his brutal beating of his violated daughter, and Pattyn's gunpoint threat. Now Pattyn is on the run, disguised as a California migrant farm worker, while Jackie is a pariah in church, at school, and in her mother's eyes. Hopkins' riveting story line is full of the perpetual premonition of danger, and the simple free-verse format belies the complexity of both plot and craft. The poems are sparse, each word and phrase carefully chosen, each line and stanza designed to convey both girls' desperation and resilience. Each sees herself as damaged and unlovable; each harbors guilt and hate for the father who physically beat her and the mother who emotionally betrayed her. Hopkins also tackles issues of immigration, homosexuality, bullying, Mormon extremism, and America's shadowy antigovernment militia, making for a compelling and thought-provoking read. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Hopkins is a number-one New York Times best-selling author, and her fan base is huge, huge, huge.--Bradburn, Frances Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this sequel to Hopkins's Burned, the story of Pattyn Von Stratten continues as she struggles to start anew after the deaths of her abusive father; her lover, Ethan; and their unborn child. On the run, Pattyn winds up in California and takes work on a ranch as she works to overcome her isolation and rebuild her life. Hopkins's novel comes to life here thanks to the team of LaVoy and Thaxton. Each narrator ably captures the essence of the book, infusing the prose with emotion and providing unique and appropriate voices for the characters. A Margaret K. McElderry hardcover. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 10 Up-Smoke, the sequel to Burned, opens dramatically with Pattyon on the run after the murder of her father and Jackie recovering after being raped by a classmate. Exhausted and emotionally drained, Pattyon finds a new beginning with a Mexican American family in California. Keeping her identity a secret so as not to have to face charges back in Nevada, Pattyon changes her name to Patty and becomes a housemaid on a ranch, slowly falling for one of the ranch hands. Meanwhile, Jackie has no idea where or how her sister is. She struggles to deal with the many changes in her family: her mother's willful ignorance that Jackie was raped, having to face her rapist every day in school or at church, but also finding love and trust in her math tutor, high school senior Gavin. Narrators January LaVoy and Candace Thaxton do a wonderful job reading the roles of the sisters. The only disappointment is that Hopkins's genius free verse schema is lost in audio format, though listeners will still appreciate the lyrical nature of the writing. Very violent situations makes this best suited to mature listeners.-Suzanne Dix, The Seven Hills School, Cincinnati, OH (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Fear and guilt drive sisters Pattyn and Jackie to keep silent about the violence and rape they experienced in Burned. Only when new threats emerge and the girls begin to fear for others do they speak up. Even when apart, the dueling sets of first-person poems sustain the dialogue between the sisters. Per usual, Hopkins lards her plot with extreme characters and melodrama. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Two sisters wrestle with guilt and fear after one kills the father who battered them. Readers last saw 17-year-old Pattyn at the cliffhanger ending of Burned (2006), immediately after her beloved boyfriend and their unborn baby were killed in a car wreck. Stunned with grief and fury, and with nothing left to lose, Pattyn vowed to shoot her long-abusive father, whom she blamed for the accident. This much-desired sequel begins two weeks later--and Dad's dead. Escaping town, Pattyn meets a warm, welcoming family of mostly undocumented farm laborers. They find her a ranch job, where she hides from law enforcement. Meanwhile, 15-year-old Jackie is stuck at home, narrating her own half of the story. Through free-verse poems thick with the weight of trauma, the shooting's details emerge. A schoolmate raped Jackie; blaming Jackie, Dad broke her ribs and loosened her teeth; Pattyn's gun stopped Dad forever. Now Pattyn faces "blood-caked nightmares," while Jackie fights a mother and two LDS church leaders who insist she forget her rape. Waiting for the past to "tackle [them] from behind," both girls struggle toward fragile new connections and inner strength. The lives of undocumented Americans, a renegade hate movement and a wild horse wary of trust are all organic to the plot. A strong, painful and tender piece about wresting hope from the depths of despair. (author's note) (Verse fiction. 13-17)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
