Point of View

Ellen Hopkins tells her novel Burned in the first-person from the perspective of protagonist and main character Pattyn von Stratten for at least two reasons. The first is because the novel concerns events directly related to, and changing, Patty's life. The second is because of the sheer force of drama and emotional turmoil Patty faces. By telling the novel in first-person from Patty's perspective, the reader is able to understand Patty's emotional distresses and thrills by reading them firsthand, as if they were being directly related by a friend. This makes Patty much more endearing to the reader, and causes an emotional connection between character and reader.

Setting

The setting of the novel Burned by Ellen Hopkins occurs in Nevada, and works well for the story for at least two reasons. The first is that the American southwest has a large population of Mormons, and Patty's...