Smoked

“ Do not give up on yourself, on truths you have realized. Do not give in to those who would crush your dreams like nutshells” (528)

                This quote shows the main characters choice to not trust her father. Pattyn, the main character in the sequel Smoked by Ellen Hopkins, is shocked and feels indifferent when everybody finds out she kills her father. Feeling lonely and scared her mom makes her go on a run to hind from the police and everyone after her. On her way, she meets a girl Adrianna who helps her find place to stay. Many teenagers can relate to this story whether or not they have experienced abuse in their lives.

                To begin with, readers can learn how hard it is to deal with an abusive parent even if they’re not going through it at home. Everyone goes through it once in an awhile. If you can connect to Pattyns struggle of being abused and don’t know what to do about it, you can learn some ways Pattyn got through with abuse. But I recommend you don’t follow her way. In the 1^st book Pattyn deals with a lot of obstacles in her way. One of the obstacles was her father. Her father would abuse her, her siblings and her mother. Her father would come home every day drunk and beat her mother for the littlest things.  “Some people are worthy of a bullet straight to the heart because that is where cruelty evolves into evil. Some humans aren’t human at all, despite how they appear.” I feel like Jackie, Pattyn’s sister, means some people deserves a bullet to the heart because their evil and cruel. This saying was meant for her father, who in her mind is eviler than the devil.

                This book can relate to many teenagers. If you are getting abused at home or know someone that’s being abused, you should tell a trustworthy adult. They shouldn’t keep it in to yourself because being abused it’s a good thing; it’s actually very bad and not good for your health.