Character Development

At the beginning of the story, Pattyn is a good little Mormon girl and is one of seven children, all girls. She attended church regularly with her family. Her father struggled with alcohol abuse and beat her mother. Throughout the book his problems worsened. Pattyn also changed throughout the story. She began to have inappropriate dreams and started to question whether or not she believed in her religion. She started dating a boy that wasn't Mormon so she didn't tell her parents because she knew they wouldn't approve. She started drinking when she hung out with him and started fooling around with him, too. She realized that he was a jerk when her dad caught them and was going to kick her out and make her go live with her aunt and he just stopped talking to her. At her Aunt's house she started to feel better about herself and feel pretty when she got the attention of an older, good looking boy. However, she continued drinking and fooling around with the new boy. She ends up getting pregnant and is going to run away with Ethan, the new boy, but they get in a car wreck and Ethan and the baby are killed. Her father's struggle with alcohol is at an all time high at this point and he has moved on from just beating his wife to beating his wife and his older children.