Review: Smoke by Ellen Hopkins

Title: Smoke
Author: Ellen Hopkins
Published: September 10th 2013
Source: Library
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
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Caution: WILL contain some spoilers from the first book

Pattyn Von Stratten’s father is dead, and Pattyn is on the run. After far too many years of abuse at the hands of her father, and after the tragic loss of her beloved Ethan and their unborn child, Pattyn is desperate for peace. Only her sister Jackie knows what happened that night, but she is stuck at home with their mother, who clings to normalcy by allowing the truth to be covered up by their domineering community leaders. Her father might be finally gone, but without Pattyn, Jackie is desperately isolated. Alone and in disguise, Pattyn starts a new life, but is it even possible to rebuild a life when everything you’ve known has burned to ash and lies seem far safer than the truth?

My Thoughts:

Burned was the first Ellen Hopkins book I read. It was quite an experience for me, completely new and tragic and wonderfully written. I was compelled, and it being written in verse had me completely sucked in and added to the emotions evoked. When I heard there would be a sequel, I was so excited and yet a little bit worried. If you have read Burned, you know what I'm talking about (if you haven't read Burned but are interested in it, please do not keep reading this review because there are somewhat spoilers). Unfortunately, my worries were justified.

With the tragedy that happened at the end of the first book, I had a feeling I knew how this book would go, and I wasn't wrong. Maybe the story needed to be told, maybe not. Seeing what happened after was unnecessary. It did tie the story up instead of leaving you hanging. By the end I felt a lot better because there was redemption and resolution for some of it. You can't fix everything and that's why I do love Ellen Hopkins. She is explicit about the facts and the whys and not all things are perfect or can be fixed entirely.

Smoke didn't completely live up to my expectations. I found myself irritated throughout the majority of the story. The religious views kill me, they really do. I like Burned by itself, and I would recommend that book up and down to anyone who wants a very serious novel to read. But when you do read Burned, it's a toss up as to whether I would tell you to read the sequel. If you really want to know what happens next, go for it. If you don't want to know, you're not missing much.

My Rating:

Review: Triangles by Ellen Hopkins

Title: Triangles
Author: Ellen Hopkins
Published: October 18th 2011
Source: Purchased
Genre: Adult Contemporary
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Caution: May contain spoilers

Three female friends face midlife crises in #1 New York Times bestselling author Ellen Hopkins’s no-holds-barred exploration of sex, marriage, and the fragility of life. Holly is filled with regret after eighteen years at home with her three children. She sheds sixty pounds and loses herself in the world of extramarital sex. Andrea is a single mom watching her friend Holly’s meltdown with a mixture of concern and contempt. Holly is throwing away what Andrea has spent her whole life searching for. So what if she picks up Holly’s castaway husband? Marissa has more than her fair share of challenges—a gay, rebellious teenage son; a terminally ill daughter; and a husband who buries himself in his work.

As one woman’s marriage unravels, another’s rekindles. As one woman’s family comes apart at the seams, another’s reconfigures into something bigger and better. In this story of connections and disconnections, one woman’s up is another one’s down, and all of them will learn the meaning of friendship, betrayal, and forgiveness.

Unflinchingly honest, emotionally powerful, surprisingly erotic, Triangles is the ultimate page-turner, told in gorgeous, expertly honed poetic verse that perfectly captures the inner lives of Hopkins’s unforgettable characters.

My Thoughts:

Being the huge Ellen Hopkins fan that I am, when I found out she was going to step into Adult Contemporary for her next novel, I was thrilled. I've read practically all of her Young Adult novels and absolutely loved them. There's something about the characters and story lines she puts together that throw you smack dab into a situation that could really happen. These stories aren't just some formulaic "everyone lives happily ever after"--they often showcase real life consequences, not all of them painful and tragic, sometimes they're good learning experiences.

Like in the case of this book, there are a lot of lessons to be learned for all of the characters. Parents dealing with their children, trying to make sure they make the right decisions. Husbands and wives struggling to keep their marriage in tact despite the obstacles in their way. I can't go into detail on these things without giving away how the story goes and ends. It goes to show how the little things and the big things can bring people together or tear them apart.

The characters themselves were believable, and I found myself either infuriated, frustrated, fascinated, or respecting them. My favorite character was Marissa's son, Shane. He was one of those persons you just want to applaud for how great they are. He was constantly doing these wonderful things for his mom and sister. It makes me really want to read the YA companion novel, Tilt, that has his POV.

Triangles is definitely compelling. There's something about Ellen Hopkins' books, like this crashing fluidity of the facts of life. The way she brings out these serious issues within marriage and between lovers and among children. This strong tie between it all keeps me reading to find out how people really think about things, to understand why they act the way they do. I really enjoyed this one, maybe not as much as I do her YA books, but it was still amazing just the same.

My Rating:

Review: Perfect by Ellen Hopkins

Title: Perfect
Author: Ellen Hopkins
Source: Purchased
Genre: Young Adult
Buy: Amazon ~*~ Barnes & Noble
Add to your Goodreads shelf
Caution: May contain spoilers

Everyone has something, someone, somewhere else that they'd rather be. For four high-school seniors, their goals of perfection are just as different as the paths they take to get there.

Cara's parents' unrealistic expectations have already sent her twin brother Conner spiraling toward suicide. For her, perfect means rejecting their ideals to take a chance on a new kind of love. Kendra covets the perfect face and body—no matter what surgeries and drugs she needs to get there. To score his perfect home run—on the field and off—Sean will sacrifice more than he can ever win back. And Andre realizes that to follow his heart and achieve his perfect performance, he'll be living a life his ancestors would never have understood.

Everyone wants to be perfect, but when perfection loses its meaning, how far will you go? What would you give up to be perfect?

A riveting and startling companion to the bestselling Impulse, Ellen Hopkins's Perfect exposes the harsh truths about what it takes to grow up and grow into our own skins, our own selves.

~synopsis from Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Being the Ellen Hopkins novel (and poetry) lover I am, I had to pick this one up. Especially since it’s a companion to my favorite of her books, Impulse. I remember reading that one until, yep, one in the morning. I spent the trip back from NC reading Perfect. And I couldn’t put it down.

That’s exactly the effect her novels have when you read them. You’re so compelled to continue until you finish. I knew I had to wait until vacation to read it, otherwise I’d focus all my attention on this one instead of the ones I was obligated to finish first. It really was an amazing novel; it captured the heart behind the façade people show. All of the characters she created were believable and all the stories she developed were unimaginable. It’s hard to talk in too much detail about the story lines or characters, otherwise I’d be giving away a lot of the connections through the story.

I will say this, every last character in this book is very real. The things they think and feel and do, are all real things that could have and probably have happened. All of them are similar in the sense of their connection through the desire or expectation of being perfect, but they are unique in their own way as well. The views of the ones forcing the perfection, it still amazes me that there are people like that out there. But, that’s why Ellen Hopkins chose to write this novel--because there are those people out there. And those people hurt the ones they love because of those high expectations.

This book, as I mentioned, is a companion novel to Impulse. It could definitely stand on its own for sure--but once you read one, you ruin the ending of the other. Each trace along the same path and involved and intertwines together in a few places. There was a lot of similarity between the two novels, but they do have their different premises.

I don’t think I’ve picked up an Ellen Hopkins book that I didn’t love. Although I’m not a fan of unhappy endings or sad stories, there’s always a twinge that comes with each of her novels and for some reason, I'm fine with it. Not that all of them end on a sad note, some do, some just have that element throughout. But that’s what makes her stand out from the rest. She’s not afraid to hit you hard with an emotional roller-coaster. You start to think deeply on the topics she raises. And Perfect was no exception. I would recommend reading this one, but as far as which one you should read first, in my opinion, it should be Impulse. Even if you read Perfect first, I don’t care! Just read something by Ellen Hopkins at least once. You’ll never regret it.

My Rating:

Exceptional: Stay up until at least 1 AM

Waiting On Wednesday #11: Triangles

WoW: Hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine

Title: Triangles
Author: Ellen Hopkins
Read the Goodreads Synopsis


Ellen Hopkins has made her mark as the wildly popular author of several novels for young adults—every one of them a New York Times bestseller, and every one a hard-hitting exploration of tough-to-tackle topics. Now, in Triangles, Hopkins brings her storytelling mastery and fearlessness to take on the challenges of adult dramas.


I love the fact that she's written a novel for adults. I think it's going to be amazing. Not to mention the cover looks awesome. I've been awaiting this one for a long time. I keep up with Ellen Hopkins on her Facebook page so I hear about all kinds of stuff way in advance. ^_^

Teaser Tuesday #9

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


My Teaser:

"I slide my arms around his neck,
pull my head back so I can plunge
into the aqua deep of his eyes.
There's something swimming there,
in the dark pools of his pupils.

Something disquieting."

~Fallout by Ellen Hopkins


That was a hard one to do. It's not easy to pick out two sentences. I felt it necessary to add that last one in.

~Jessica

Waiting On Wednesday #1

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly book meme where we get to let everyone know about what books we are eagerly anticipating the release of. WoW is hosted by Jill over at Breaking The Spine. Want to participate? Grab the logo on her page, post your own WoW entry on your blog, and leave your link on her blog!


One book I am anxiously awaiting is:



Perfect by Ellen Hopkins

"Everyone wants to be perfect, but when perfection loses its meaning, how far will you go? What would you give up to be perfect?

A riveting and startling companion to the bestselling Impulse, Ellen Hopkins's Perfect exposes the harsh truths about what it takes to grow up and grow into our own skins, our own selves."



Huge Ellen Hopkins fan here. I'm actually behind on her books. The book Fallout has been out for awhile and I just haven't gotten it. I've been trying to be good and not buy too many books. I should see if I can find it at my library. :)

~Jessica