Ellen Hopkins is, hands down, my favorite author of all time. Her novels are written in a flowing, completely unique style of poetry and informal colloquies, designed in a way to make the reader think. Don't let the poetry part fool you though - her books are far from boring. If you didn't know any better, you wouldn't even notice it was poetry. Most of her books, with a few exceptions, revolve around more than one character with different (albeit similar) stories. All are written in the first person, switching back and forth between characters in the books that have more than one protagonist... but not in a way that's confusing.
She is also arguably the most controversial author out there. Despite the fact that she is technically a YA author (she just came out with her first "adult" novel however), every single one of her books touches on a specific real-life issue - sex, drugs, homicide, prostitution, rape, incest, mental disorders, suicide - practically anything you can think of. She has had guest appearances cancelled by school boards at the last minute, her books pulled off of high school shelves completely, and one of her books was straight up banned.
While reading her book titled Perfect, I came across a quote that seriously hit home for me. I love all of the books Ellen Hopkins creates, but Perfect is probably one of my favorites so far, because I can relate to it a lot - especially to this quote. There are five characters who's stories are followed, all of which are on self-destructive quests for... what else? Perfection.
This quote comes from Kendra's character, a teen model who will do anything to get to the top. This includes tons of plastic surgery, sleeping with her agents, starving herself (anorexia), over excercising... and, of course, being in denial that she's anorexic and has a problem, despite the people around her telling her so. Her parents are split up and her father is also abusive. She copes with the pressure of all this by... what else? Popping pills. I'm not anorexic and I don't sleep with people to get to where I need to go in life... but the popping pills part? THAT I can relate to. And that is what this quote is about, which I think we can all relate to through some extent:
Hit the nail on the head. Do we not all use drugs as some sort of form of control? Whether it's self medication or just wanting to have fun... the urge to control the way you feel is still there. Something I, as well as many of you I'm sure, can relate with all too well.
Since this blog is about Ellen Hopkins as an author, I'll try to quickly describe her other books. Broken families are a common theme in all of her books, and are almost always the catalyst for the main issue the book focuses on.
Impulse: A companion to Perfect, though Impulse was written four years before Perfect was released. One of the stories it follows is Conner, who is Cara's brother (Cara is one of the five characters in Perfect), and Kendra's boyfriend. It's about three kids sent to the same mental institution for different reasons. Touches mainly on suicide, various mental disorders, cutting, homosexuality.
Burned: Follows one character, Pattyn, who is from a strong Mormon family. Her father is a highly abusive, misogynistic alcoholic. Because of this, Pattyn eventually rebels against her family and her religion - getting into fights, drinking, having sex - until her parents find out and force her to move to a different state with her aunt in order to "straighten her out". There she learns about self-acceptance, love, and becoming an individual... which is the main theme of the book. Issues it touches on: alcoholism, several types of violence, sex, death, corruption within churches, homicide. A companion novel titled Smoke will be released in 2013. (Can't wait!)
Identical: Follows two characters, who are twins. Their mother is an absentee politician, and their father is... well, a pig who forces on the twins to have sex with him constantly. I'm not going to say more than that, because it would be a huge spoiler - this book, more than her other books, had a twist ending that left me reeling... definitely my favorite one of hers. Main issues it touches on: death, drugs, sex, incest, schizophrenia, rape.
Tricks: Follows four different characters, who are all forced into prostitution in one way or another. The title of the book is Tricks... enough said. Although prostitution is the main issue, the theme of the book seems to be finding a way "out" so to speak. Main issues it touches on: teen prostitution, male/female homosexuality, rape, death, homicide, gambling.
Crank, Glass, and Fallout (the Kristina trilogy): Crank is the first book, and it follows Kristina. She starts off well - good grades, good family - until she visits her dad and is introduced to... what else? Crank. Meth. Speed. Whatever you want to call it. She quickly falls into a self-destructive pattern, is raped and impregnated, and has the baby at the end. Issues it touches on: drugs (duh), sex, rape, petty crime. Glass is Crank's sequel, again following Kristina. After having her baby, she struggles to stay off meth... but decides to take a "pick-me-up" one day to keep up with the exhaustion of motherhood and schoolwork. Of course that leads her back down the destructive path she was on before. At the end of the book, she has become a target of the Mexican mafia, is thrown in prison... and is pregnant again. Issues it touches on: teen motherhood, drugs (duh again), sex, felonious and high crime. Fallout is the final novel. Instead of following Kristina, it follows her children and how her decisions have affected their lives. All live in different states with different families - one with her grandfather, one with Kristina's parents, and one is in foster care. None of them, except for one, know much about Kristina until the end of the book. Each of them has their own issues. Whereas Kristina was a likeable character the reader feels sorry for in the first two books, she quickly becomes the villain in this one. Main issues it touches on: alcoholism, drugs, sex.
That's it for the ones I've read so far. Other books of hers are: Triangles (in the process of reading it since it's brand new, so I can't explain it on here like with the others; it's her first adult novel), Tilt (which will be released in 2013 and a companion to Triangles), Flirtin' with the Monster (a companion of sorts to the Kristina trilogy, except it's a non-fiction book about meth use), Collateral (an individual novel that will be released in 2012), and Smoke (which will be released in 2013 as a companion to Burned.)
Regardless, ALL of her books are good and have touched me in some way... so I figured I'd give Ellen Hopkins a shout out. If you haven't read any of her books, I highly recommend you do! Despite the YA categorization, trust me - they are not for the faint of heart, and anyone can enjoy them as they touch on real world issues that effect people of EVERY age. I guarantee you she's written at least ONE book that you (yes, you!) can relate to. Find out which one it is from my descriptions and then go read it!
No seriously. You won't regret it.
She is also arguably the most controversial author out there. Despite the fact that she is technically a YA author (she just came out with her first "adult" novel however), every single one of her books touches on a specific real-life issue - sex, drugs, homicide, prostitution, rape, incest, mental disorders, suicide - practically anything you can think of. She has had guest appearances cancelled by school boards at the last minute, her books pulled off of high school shelves completely, and one of her books was straight up banned.
While reading her book titled Perfect, I came across a quote that seriously hit home for me. I love all of the books Ellen Hopkins creates, but Perfect is probably one of my favorites so far, because I can relate to it a lot - especially to this quote. There are five characters who's stories are followed, all of which are on self-destructive quests for... what else? Perfection.
This quote comes from Kendra's character, a teen model who will do anything to get to the top. This includes tons of plastic surgery, sleeping with her agents, starving herself (anorexia), over excercising... and, of course, being in denial that she's anorexic and has a problem, despite the people around her telling her so. Her parents are split up and her father is also abusive. She copes with the pressure of all this by... what else? Popping pills. I'm not anorexic and I don't sleep with people to get to where I need to go in life... but the popping pills part? THAT I can relate to. And that is what this quote is about, which I think we can all relate to through some extent:
Hit the nail on the head. Do we not all use drugs as some sort of form of control? Whether it's self medication or just wanting to have fun... the urge to control the way you feel is still there. Something I, as well as many of you I'm sure, can relate with all too well.
Since this blog is about Ellen Hopkins as an author, I'll try to quickly describe her other books. Broken families are a common theme in all of her books, and are almost always the catalyst for the main issue the book focuses on.
Impulse: A companion to Perfect, though Impulse was written four years before Perfect was released. One of the stories it follows is Conner, who is Cara's brother (Cara is one of the five characters in Perfect), and Kendra's boyfriend. It's about three kids sent to the same mental institution for different reasons. Touches mainly on suicide, various mental disorders, cutting, homosexuality.
Burned: Follows one character, Pattyn, who is from a strong Mormon family. Her father is a highly abusive, misogynistic alcoholic. Because of this, Pattyn eventually rebels against her family and her religion - getting into fights, drinking, having sex - until her parents find out and force her to move to a different state with her aunt in order to "straighten her out". There she learns about self-acceptance, love, and becoming an individual... which is the main theme of the book. Issues it touches on: alcoholism, several types of violence, sex, death, corruption within churches, homicide. A companion novel titled Smoke will be released in 2013. (Can't wait!)
Identical: Follows two characters, who are twins. Their mother is an absentee politician, and their father is... well, a pig who forces on the twins to have sex with him constantly. I'm not going to say more than that, because it would be a huge spoiler - this book, more than her other books, had a twist ending that left me reeling... definitely my favorite one of hers. Main issues it touches on: death, drugs, sex, incest, schizophrenia, rape.
Tricks: Follows four different characters, who are all forced into prostitution in one way or another. The title of the book is Tricks... enough said. Although prostitution is the main issue, the theme of the book seems to be finding a way "out" so to speak. Main issues it touches on: teen prostitution, male/female homosexuality, rape, death, homicide, gambling.
Crank, Glass, and Fallout (the Kristina trilogy): Crank is the first book, and it follows Kristina. She starts off well - good grades, good family - until she visits her dad and is introduced to... what else? Crank. Meth. Speed. Whatever you want to call it. She quickly falls into a self-destructive pattern, is raped and impregnated, and has the baby at the end. Issues it touches on: drugs (duh), sex, rape, petty crime. Glass is Crank's sequel, again following Kristina. After having her baby, she struggles to stay off meth... but decides to take a "pick-me-up" one day to keep up with the exhaustion of motherhood and schoolwork. Of course that leads her back down the destructive path she was on before. At the end of the book, she has become a target of the Mexican mafia, is thrown in prison... and is pregnant again. Issues it touches on: teen motherhood, drugs (duh again), sex, felonious and high crime. Fallout is the final novel. Instead of following Kristina, it follows her children and how her decisions have affected their lives. All live in different states with different families - one with her grandfather, one with Kristina's parents, and one is in foster care. None of them, except for one, know much about Kristina until the end of the book. Each of them has their own issues. Whereas Kristina was a likeable character the reader feels sorry for in the first two books, she quickly becomes the villain in this one. Main issues it touches on: alcoholism, drugs, sex.
That's it for the ones I've read so far. Other books of hers are: Triangles (in the process of reading it since it's brand new, so I can't explain it on here like with the others; it's her first adult novel), Tilt (which will be released in 2013 and a companion to Triangles), Flirtin' with the Monster (a companion of sorts to the Kristina trilogy, except it's a non-fiction book about meth use), Collateral (an individual novel that will be released in 2012), and Smoke (which will be released in 2013 as a companion to Burned.)
Regardless, ALL of her books are good and have touched me in some way... so I figured I'd give Ellen Hopkins a shout out. If you haven't read any of her books, I highly recommend you do! Despite the YA categorization, trust me - they are not for the faint of heart, and anyone can enjoy them as they touch on real world issues that effect people of EVERY age. I guarantee you she's written at least ONE book that you (yes, you!) can relate to. Find out which one it is from my descriptions and then go read it!
No seriously. You won't regret it.