Waiting on Wednesday: Smoke (Burned #2) by Ellen Hopkins

Waiting on Wednesday recognizes that we as bookies pine for books. This post is about what I am impatiently waiting for right now. It was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Ellen Hopkins is an incredible writer. I believe that's a bit of an understatement, but those of you who have read her work know just how difficult it can be to summarize her greatness. Of all the books she's written, Burned  has always been one of my favorites. It was one of the earliest books I reviewed on this site & has remained one of the ones I've always hoped to see be given a sequel. Well it seems my dreams are coming true as Ellen has graciously decided to write the next installment. Smoke due September 10th (such a wonderful gift for my birthday on the 8th) promises to answer some of the lingering questions that remained after we left Pattyn. Check out the summary below.

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?

From Goodreads

An incredible story about the human spirit & our ability to endure, Smoke promises to give a peak into the new life that Pattyn is trying to form. After such horrible experiences at the hands of her father & her community, I can't imagine the difficulties she is trying to face with respect to recovery. With Ellen's lyrical style, this is sure to be one of my favorite books of the year. Do you have a favorite Ellen Hopkins book? Have you read Burned? 

March Genreflecting: Issues: The Basics

I wanted to do a reading challenge for the subject of Genreflecting, but I didn't get much feedback (maybe because it asked you to read 2 books for each genre and discuss them or because it's not really a "reading challenge" per se, but more an educational experiment), so I've turned it into a monthly feature! For each month of 2013, there will be a specific genre that will be analyzed. I'm planning to have author input and at least 2 reviews of books in the genre as well.

March's genre is Issues! Usually dubbed "problem novels" books about issues are just that, issue-driven books. A lot of times these can be considered the "harder" book and often find themselves being challenged for content. At the same time, they are likely to win awards for their handling of some very touchy subjects ranging from homosexuality to abuse to disabilities. Teens usually read these books to feel like they're not alone in their plight or to find solace in the fact that there are worse things to face in life. The issues faced in these books change over time based of what issues real-life teens are currently facing. (paraphrased from Teen Genreflecting 3, 2010)

A few of my favorite authors you may recognize in this genre are:
Ellen Hopkins Identical
Emily Murdoch If You Find Me
Nancy Werlin The Rules of Survival
Gayle Forman If I Stay
Laurie Halse Anderson Wintergirls

I'm excited to say that I've chosen my two books, one older and one newer, to read for this challenge. The older book is Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden (originally published in 1982) and I'll have a review and analysis up on Friday, March 22nd. The newer book is Thirteen Reason Why by Jay Asher (originally published in 2007) and I'll have a review and analysis up on Friday, March 29th. I'll be giving away my copy of Thirteen Reasons Why during the week following it's review post so stay tuned!

Tilt by Ellen Hopkins review

Love—good and bad—forces three teens’ worlds to tilt in a riveting novel from New York Times bestselling author Ellen Hopkins.

Three teens, three stories—all interconnected through their parents’ family relationships. As the adults pull away, caught up in their own dilemmas, the lives of the teens begin to tilt….

Mikayla, almost eighteen, is over-the-top in love with Dylan, who loves her back jealously. But what happens to that love when Mikayla gets pregnant the summer before their senior year—and decides to keep the baby?

Shane turns sixteen that same summer and falls hard in love with his first boyfriend, Alex, who happens to be HIV positive. Shane has lived for four years with his little sister’s impending death. Can he accept Alex’s love, knowing that his life, too, will be shortened?

Harley is fourteen—a good girl searching for new experiences, especially love from an older boy. She never expects to hurdle toward self-destructive extremes in order to define who she is and who she wants to be.

Love, in all its forms, has crucial consequences in this standalone novel.

From Goodreads

Tilt follows the teenagers introduced in her adult novel Triangles. Each of the three teens are facing their own struggles with demons. None of them ever expected to end up in the situations in which they find themselves, but who does? 

Mikayla can't imagine a world without Dylan, so why would he expect her to hurt their baby? Shane has used "light recreational drugs" to help him cope with a dying little sister & the fact that his homosexuality has caused him to be a blight on the family. But how far will he falls when he falls for a doomed lover? Harley is a newly minted high schooler trying to find her own path in a sea of confusion. With no real guiding reference as to what a relationship or proper personal responsibility should look like, she risks losing everything she never knew she'd miss.

As far as the story is concerned, this is a very traditional Ellen Hopkins novel. Told in verse, you're pulled into very hectic situations and tossed in all sorts of directions. Each character has some serious demons to face that they couldn't have really planned for no matter how hard they may have tried. While none of them have perfect parents, I really think their parents' issues cause more damage than the teens are able to cope with at such a fragile time in their lives. 

I'm sure every reader will be able to identify with at least one of the main characters, but I really enjoyed the vignettes from other characters. Between each section of a main character's story is one page from a minor character's point of view. I think this gives the book a different feel than we usually get when reading from just the main characters' views. In a way it breaks down the barrier between how the main characters' perceive events & the reality of the situation.

Unfortunately, this book does not provide the type of closure that I have come to expect from Ellen's books. While her previous books may not have answered every question, I think they still left the reader with some sort of closure or satisfactory ending. The final sections of each character felt very abrupt to me. It's almost as if I was missing a few pages. When I checked, my book was in fact complete. So just a heads up, this one ends messily and in no real way gives the reader or the characters any sort of completion. While that may have been her intention, it didn't really sit that well with me.

Overall though I enjoyed the book, as much as one can say they "enjoyed" such a book. What were your thoughts?

Waiting on Wednesday: Tilt by Ellen Hopkins

Waiting on Wednesday recognizes that we as bookies pine for books. This post is about what I am impatiently waiting for right now. It was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

By now I think we all know that I adore Ellen Hopkins & poetry & verse. Well she's done it again. While I still haven't been able to get my hands on a copy of her adult novel Triangles, I have a feeling that this is kind of the teen version of that basic storyline. I'm not saying it's the same, but I think it will have the same feel to it. Tilt is set to hit the shelves 9/11/12.

Love--good and bad--forces three teens' worlds to tilt in a riveting novel from "New York Times "bestselling author Ellen Hopkins.Three teens, three stories--all interconnected through their parents' family relationships. As the adults pull away, caught up in their own dilemmas, the lives of the teens begin to tilt....

Mikayla, almost eighteen, is over-the-top in love with Dylan, who loves her back jealously. But what happens to that love when Mikayla gets pregnant the summer before their senior year--and decides to keep the baby?

Shane turns sixteen that same summer and falls hard in love with his first boyfriend, Alex, who happens to be HIV positive. Shane has lived for four years with his little sister's impending death. Can he accept Alex's love, knowing that his life, too, will be shortened?

Harley is fourteen--a good girl searching for new experiences, especially love from an older boy. She never expects to hurdle toward self-destructive extremes in order to define who she is and who she wants to be.

Love, in all its forms, has crucial consequences in this standalone novel.

From Goodreads 

These are some very serious subjects that I fully expect Hopkins to handle with the same visceral & adept hand she has used in all her other works. I truly cannot wait to see what happens in this book. What are you waiting on this week?

Armchair BEA Day 2: Best of 2012 & a giveaway!

Welcome back to Armchair BEA! If you're not sure what it's all about be sure to visit the Armchair BEA headquarters. They sum up the event with:

So, what exactly does being a[n Armchair BEA] participant entail? First and foremost, you'll be able to celebrate and participate in an event that happens each year in New York City, Book Expo America, from the comfort of your very own home, hopefully a snugly armchair! Secondly, and we hope equally as important, you'll be able to meet new book bloggers and join together in a celebration of the wonderful community that comes out of book blogging. Last year we had over 600 participants, so you're bound to meet some new great bookish friends! Lastly, it means participating, however you're able to. This can be by posting, tweeting, discussing, or even by simply reading and commenting on participating blogs. Your level of participation is entirely up to you, but we hope you'll find something to get you involved in this fabulous event! 

Each of us has an entirely valid reason for not being able to make to BEA in NYC, including many of the organizers. Because of that the organizers and publicity team are working hard behind the scenes to give you an event that you won't soon forget!

-Posted from 2012 Participant Registration Now Open 

I haven't kept the closest eye on the books that are available at BEA mostly because I am always more interested in the authors. Collecting signed books is a hobby of mine, thus my attendance at author events & signings, but the books that I am most excited about are:

 Alpha & Omega: Vol. 1: Cry Wolf (graphic novel) by Patrica Briggs
 This is the graphic novel version of the book with some exquisite artwork!
 Anna never knew werewolves existed, until the night she survived a violent attack... and became one herself. After three years at the bottom of the pack, she'd learned to keep her head down and never, ever trust dominant males. Then Charles Cornick, the enforcer- and son- of the leader of the North American werewolves, came into her life.

Charles insists that not only is Anna his mate, but she is also a rare and valued Omega wolf. And it is Anna's inner strength and calming presence that will prove invaluable as she and Charles go on the hunt in search of a rogue werewolf- a creature bound in magic so dark that it could threaten all of the pack.

Following Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci
Years later . . . what really happened to Christopher Creed? When Torey Adams posts on his blog that a body has been found in Steepleton—four years after Christopher Creed disappeared—college reporter Mike Mavic sells his laptop and hops a plane to capture the story that will undoubtedly launch his journalistic career. But what Mike finds is a town suffering under a cloud of bad frequency and people with an underlying streak of meanness. To the teens of Steepleton, Chris is nothing more than history—but to Justin Creed, a teen obsessed with his older brother’s memory and balancing on the edge of sanity, discovering what really happened to Chris Creed is a matter of life and death.

Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

Sacred by Elana K. Arnold
Growing up on Catalina Island, off the California coast, Scarlett Wenderoth has led a fairly isolated life. After her brother dies, her isolation deepens as she withdraws into herself, shutting out her friends and boyfriend. Her parents, shattered by their own sorrow, fail to notice Scarlett's pain and sudden alarming thinness. Scarlett finds pleasure only on her horse, escaping to the heart of the island on long, solitary rides. One day, as she races around a bend, Scarlett is startled by a boy who raises his hand in warning and says one word: "Stop."

The boy—intense, beautiful—is Will Cohen, a newcomer to the island. For reasons he can't or won't explain, he's drawn to Scarlett and feels compelled to keep her safe. To keep her from wasting away. His meddling irritates Scarlett, though she can't deny her attraction to him. As their relationship blossoms into love, Scarlett's body slowly awakens at Will's touch. But just when her grief begins to ebb, she makes a startling discovery about Will, a discovery he's been grappling with himself. A discovery that threatens to force them apart. And if it does, Scarlett fears she will unravel all over again.

Tilt by Ellen Hopkins

TILT is the story of three teens inter-related through their parents' family relationships and friendships. As their parents pull away, caught up in their own dilemmas, the kids' worlds tilt, through love--good and bad:

Mikayla, almost eighteen, is over-the-top in love with Dylan, who loves her back jealously. But what happens to that love when Mikayla gets pregnant the summer before their senior year, and decides to keep the baby?

Shane turns sixteen that same summer, and falls hard in love with his first boyfriend, Alex, who happens to be HIV positive. Shane has lived for four years with his little sister's impending death. Can he accept Alex's love, knowing his life, too, will be shortened?

Harley is fourteen—a good girl searching for new experiences, especially love from an older boy. She never expects to hurdle toward self-destructive extremes in order to define who she is and who she wants to be.

(all blurbs from Goodreads)

While I'm rather saddened that I will most likely have to wait until these books come to my local library, one of you lucky folks can win a book! It won't be one of the ones mentioned above, but you will have your choice between one of four novels. To enter, you must be 13 years or older & live in the US. Fill in the Rafflecopter information & you're good to go! Good luck!



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Perfect by Ellen Hopkins review

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.

From Goodreads

This is a companion novel to Impulse & while not necessary to read that one first, it might help some of the relationships presented here make more sense. Just food for thought. :)

These characters overlap all over the place. Cara is the twin sister of Conner (the gunshot suicide attemptee in Impulse) who has her own issues with her perfection-demanding parents & a desperately needy boyfriend. None of that matters to her though when she realizes that what she really needs is to accept herself & forget everyone else who has tried to mold her into their ideal.

Kendra is the girlfriend that Conner dumped & made look like a fool because he was getting it from every woman he could find. She's got it stuck in her head that had she been a perfect enough model that he wouldn't have strayed, so she's taking serious risks in multiple ways to ensure her "future happiness".

Sean is the desperately needy boyfriend of Cara who has their whole future planned out together. He's even basing his college plans on hers & trying to ensure their success by juicing himself into oblivion. Too bad it costs him way more than he bargained for.

Finally we come to Andre who is the son of Kendra's plastic surgeon & the on-again, off-again boyfriend of Kendra's substance-abusing younger sister. He's hiding what he truly desires to do because of what his parents expect of him.

All of this leads to a lot of confusion on the reader's part. As a companion novel I was hoping to see more of the original cast members than in just the final few "chapters" of the book. Worse though was the fact that I felt like I needed a graph to keep up with who was with whom & which person was related to someone else. Needless to say for as little action as seemed to take place, this book had a lot going on.

Enough of the negative though. Ellen Hopkins' poetry has yet to cease amazing me. Her word choice & placement allows the reader to really empathize with the characters in a whole new way. While there was less of an official "poetry fell" to the work this time, the essence was still there. My favorite part of her writing definitely has to be the "hidden" messages in her chapter introductory poems. I always wanted to read those first to see what the character was really trying to say.

The story could be hard to follow at times, but the ending made it worth it. Nothing was tied up in a pretty bow and I think that was the point. None of the issues presented in this book are easily solved & she doesn't sugar-coat that fact. Her books are always a nice dose of reality. There are hard things in this world that everyone is struggling with & teenagers are no exception. If you're a fan, read on. If you haven't enjoyed her work before I strongly suggest starting with Burned or Identical first. I think those are my favorite books so far of those she has written.

Testify by Valerie Sherrard review

In some cases, you really don't want to be stabbed in the front. Shana is a loyal & best friend to Carrie. While the girls have a larger group of about 6 girls who are all friends, Carrie & Shana are the closest to one another. They do typical goofy girl stuff & push the boundaries on rules just enough to test their limits. Carrie is always the instigator, but Shana rarely has a problem going along with Carrie's plans. They do anything for each other out of loyalty, friendship & support. It wouldn't be that big a deal for Carrie to ask Shana to testify that her step father molested her. Only, it didn't happen & Shana knows it. Thinking she's doing the right thing, Shana agrees. She testifies that she saw Carrie's step father grope Carrie & he goes to prison, but it's only the beginning.

With the trial over, all the girls just want to get back to how things used to be before the whole mess; only something's off about their patterns & behavior. When drama unfolds that threatens to tear the group apart, it's up to Shana to get to the bottom of everything. When she gets there, she's so stunned & scared by what she finds. No one is safe as long as there are secrets to cover up & Shana must figure out a way to protect those she cares for and herself.

This was an absolute roller coaster of a book. There are sharp turns that you don't see coming combined with stomach-dropping surprises that will leave you gaping in astonishment. For a 144 page book, Testify packs a serious wallop. Shana is such a caring & trusting character that you can't help but empathize with her situation. She really does think that she is doing the right thing, something that is often over-stressed to young adults, by helping to "put away the bad guy"when in reality she has been duped.

What's truly astonishing about this book are the implications it makes. Who knows how many innocent people have been convicted because of sympathy witnesses & who knows how many teenagers are constantly (both knowingly & unknowingly) being controlled by someone they care about so much. The behavior patterns of these malevolent individuals are obvious if you're looking for them, but seem innocuous to those unaware.

For such a short book, Testify really gives you a lot to think about & I think it gives a startling glimpse at how "good kids go bad." The twist at the end is along the same lines of some of Ellen Hopkins' books. If you've gotten a chance to read this one, what did you think? If you haven't gotten a chance, I highly recommend at least giving it a look. I bet you could read it in the bookstore, it's that engrossing.

Waiting on Wednesday: Perfect (Impulse #2) & Triangles by Ellen Hopkins

Waiting on Wednesday recognizes that we as bookies pine for books. This post is about what I am impatiently waiting for right now. It was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

It's a Waiting on Wednesday double-header celebrating the ever-awesome Ellen Hopkins! She's actually got two books coming out in the next two months & I can't wait to get them both! Perfect (Impulse #2) is releasing on 9/13 & Triangles (an adult book) is releasing 10/18. I think I'm really going to enjoy Perfect because it sounds like one of the best books to put forward in my library for my YASaves display I'm planning. :D

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?

From Goodreads

In this emotionally powerful novel, three women face the age-old midlife question: If I’m halfway to death, is this all I’ve got to show for it? Holly, filled with regret for being a stay-at-home mom, sheds sixty pounds and loses herself in the world of extramarital sex. Andrea, a single mom and avowed celibate, watches 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—a committed relationship with a decent guy. So what if Andrea picks up Holly’s castaway husband? Then there’s Marissa. She has more than her fair share of challenges—a gay teenage son, a terminally ill daughter, and a husband who buries himself in his work rather than face the facts. As one woman’s marriage unravels, another one’s rekindles. As one woman’s family comes apart at the seams, another’s is reconfigured into something bigger and better. In this story of connections and disconnections, one woman’s up is another one’s down, and all three of them will learn the meaning of friendship, betrayal, and forgiveness before it is through.

From Goodreads

How AMAZING do both of those sound?! It looks like her adult novel is going to have the same style as her teen novels & deal with the same kind of pull & tug that I have come to relish in her characters. And Perfect promises to have the same roller coaster of emotions & experiences that make her books so unique. What are you waiting on this week?

Fallout by Ellen Hopkins

Fallout picks up about 18 years after the end of Glass. Kristina is older and has continued her bad habits. So much so that she now has 5 children: Hunter, Autumn, Summer, Donald, and David. This book is told from the alternating point of view of her three oldest children.

Hunter was just an infant when we last saw him, but now he is a 19 year old young man. Raised by Kristina's mother and step-father, he has had a decent life and is currently a radio personality on a local radio station. He's living with his girlfriend and trying to keep his eye on the prize, but he does dabble in weed & other extra-curricular fun. His tumultuous relationship with his birth mother is actual something that gets him into trouble with his girlfriend and alters his future.

Autumn was born of Kristina's relationship with Trey and was given to his father & sister when both of Autumn's parents went to prison. Autumn is a serious teen with OCD & very little social skills. It's always just been her, her aunt, and her grandfather. She's never really branched out much, until Bryce showed up. The new guy in school takes an interest in her like no one else ever has and with her aunt moving on with her life, Autumn will take any kind of attention she can get, at any cost.

Summer was given up by Kristina to the foster system. Having bounced from home to home, she's never really gotten close to anyone. Even her boyfriend Matt is at a distance. All that changes when Matt's best friend confesses his love for her and they start dating. Despite Summer's bouncing from foster home to living with her dad and back into a foster home, they cling to one another. Kyle flirts with the monster, but is determined to keep Summer clean, but when Summer is moved into a foster home far away, this young couple decides to take matters into their own hands.

Three stories, three lives set on their course by their mother's monster addiction.

Fallout is a masterpiece, plain and simple. The format, as always, is poetry and prose, but this time (like in Tricks) it's told in the alternating viewpoints of three individuals. They all have their own tone and their own stories to tell. Each one is unique in that they all had very different experiences as a result of their mother's actions. Their lives are altered by her initial actions. They share feelings of abandonment, resentment, and anger, but each of them focuses more on one of the feelings than the other.

Hunter, Autumn, and Summer, despite their best efforts, all find themselves in a similar situation as Kristina was once in, relating to their own lives. She may not have a significant presence in their existences, but she has certainly laid the foundation for their future behavior. What I really enjoyed reading about was each child's revelation that their mother's life is not their own life. They can be themselves without comparing every action to Kristina's previous actions.

I have to say that I think this is my favorite of her books so far. Burned is a very close second, but it is a definite second. I felt like there was closure with this book and that there is hope for all those involved. A job well done. Enjoy!

Glass by Ellen Hopkins

Hello all! Life caught up with me, but I'm back on track and hoping to get a multitude of posts rolling here soon. Stick with me and you won't be disappointed!

In Glass we pick up a few months after the end of Crank. Kristina is holding on tight to her reality. She's cleaned up, is raising her son Hunter at home with her mom & step-dad's help, and is working towards obtaining her GED. Unfortunately it's too much for Kristina. She wants some independence and considering how much of her parents' trust she lost, that's not so easy to come by. Yet she manages to score a job at the local 7-11 and that allows her some limited freedom.

Soon though, it's too much for Kristina and she starts using the monster again. At first it's just to pep up and keep up with the demands of motherhood, but soon it turns into something she can't function without. With her usage up, she starts hanging out with the wrong kind of guys and is soon booted from her home when her mother figures out that she's using. While living with her dealer she becomes entangled in a three-way love affair and falls deeper into the drug world. Scrambling to make her world work, Kristina is left with few options. What depths will she sink to in order to continue on her walk with the monster?

The second installment is nothing short of astounding. Glass continues the nightmarish world that Kristina lives and breathes in. I was really hoping that she would be able to pull it together in this installment, although I figured she'd fall apart again. I was mesmerized by her justifications and excuses for her drug use and behavior. It was almost convincing when she said "just to get me going in the morning" or "just to lose a few pounds." I found myself almost thinking, "well if it's just a little, that won't hurt too much." I think the way it is written really lends itself to helping the reader understand just how easy it is to relapse into former bad habits.

Ellen continues her amazing ability to tell a story through poetry and prose in a tantalizing manor. I devoured this book in just a day or two despite it's length (688 pages) because the writing was so accessible! I really enjoyed getting to see Kristina's interactions with other drug users and dealers because I think it reinforced her actions. There were people just as misguided as her and they seemed to feed off of each others' actions.

If you've read Crank then you need to read Glass so that you can understand where we stand when you pick up the third, and final, installment in the series Fallout which comes out in late September of this year.

Waiting on Wednesday: Fallout (Crank #3)

Waiting on Wednesday recognizes that we as bookies pine for books. This post is about what I am impatiently waiting for right now. It was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

I am so stoked for the September 14th release of the final chapter in Ellen Hopkin's Crank series. Fallout will continue where we left off in Glass and carry us through to the bitter end.

Hunter, Autumn, and Summer—three of Kristina Snow's five children—live in different homes, with different guardians and different last names. They...more

Hunter, Autumn, and Summer—three of Kristina Snow's five children—live in different homes, with different guardians and different last names. They share only a predisposition for addiction and a host of troubled feelings toward the mother who barely knows them, a mother who has been riding with the monster, crank, for twenty years.

Hunter is nineteen, angry, getting by in college with a job at a radio station, a girlfriend he loves in the only way he knows how, and the occasional party. He's struggling to understand why his mother left him, when he unexpectedly meets his rapist father, and things get even more complicated. Autumn lives with her single aunt and alcoholic grandfather. When her aunt gets married, and the only family she's ever known crumbles, Autumn's compulsive habits lead her to drink. And the consequences of her decisions suggest that there's more of Kristina in her than she'd like to believe. Summer doesn't know about Hunter, Autumn, or their two youngest brothers, Donald and David. To her, family is only abuse at the hands of her father's girlfriends and a slew of foster parents. Doubt and loneliness overwhelm her, and she, too, teeters on the edge of her mother's notorious legacy. As each searches for real love and true family, they find themselves pulled toward the one person who links them together—Kristina, Bree, mother, addict. But it is in each other, and in themselves, that they find the trust, the courage, the hope to break the cycle.

Told in three voices and punctuated by news articles chronicling the family's story, FALLOUT is the stunning conclusion to the trilogy begun by CRANK and GLASS, and a testament to the harsh reality that addiction is never just one person's problem.

From Goodreads

Goodness gracious great balls of fire. Simply astounding. Ellen Hopkins seems to promise us a conclusion that dares to be trifled with. I for one am truly looking forward to seeing where this story goes and what happens to the newly defined children.

Cover for Fallout released!

This is the final chapter in the Crank trilogy by one of my favorite authors, Ellen Hopkins. It's currently scheduled for release on September 14th. How exciting! I can't wait! Just thought I'd share the love. You can read more from Shelf Awareness.

Impulse by Ellen Hopkins

To lighten what will surely be a heavy post, a quote a great 80's movie, "Teenage suicide, DON'T DO IT!" (Brownie points and kudos to you if you get the reference. If you don't, click here.)

Vanessa, Tony, & Conner meet in a very unlikely place for teens to be. They meet at Aspen Springs, a private psych hospital, because they all tried to off themselves. There are lots of other teens here just like them, but these three manage to form a sort of bond even with gender separation and so many regulations it makes their heads spin.

Their stories unfold in an alternating narrative that Hopkins uses a lot in her prose-written stories.

Vanessa is a stresser. She stresses out about lots of stuff, big and little. In order to help manage her anxiety level, she has become a habitual cutter who slices her self open to deal with her troubles. The release is so intense that Vanessa forgets to worry about crazy mother, MIA father, and the secret deed that haunts her to this day. Unfortunately, this last time she cut too deep and her misery and pain flowed out so much that she almost died. It was almost a peaceful and easy death, except that her little brother walked in. Now Vanessa has to face reality and find a new way to deal with what life throws at her.

Tony never had the stability that other kids complain about. His life was a revolving door of his mother's latest loser boyfriend. The last loser was the worst of all. He ruined Tony's sense of self and forced him down a dark path. Finally tired of selling himself to get his fix and wanting to sleep through the memories of a tumultuous childhood, he took a bottle of pills. Sadly, they didn't do the trick and now Tony must come to terms with his place in life and chose his path.

Conner just couldn't hack it with his family, the pressure of performance, and his failed love life. The push to do better and be better finally got to him when it was uncovered that "the love of his life" did not have the same feelings for him. As a last act of defiance, he blew a rather large hole in his chest. The physical hole was patched up by a top notch medical team, but Conner finds himself at Aspen Springs dealing with the emotional hole that is left behind.

Each has their own story to tell and each struggles through their treatment. Through it all, they share a part of themselves with each other and find the courage to take the next leap; only not everyone lands safely on their feet.

Another fast-paced novel from the master craftswoman Ellen Hopkins, Impulse is aptly named. Suicide really is like an impulse that takes control and makes people want to inflict harm on themselves. Hopkins comes through with a breath-taking way of dealing with the issue and isn't afraid to let the true grit shine through. Her characters are quite diverse and represent a pretty good range of the almost 5,000 teens who commit suicide every year.* It is almost eerie to find that you as the reader might share some common attributes with these tormented characters. Vanessa, Troy, & Conner will break your heart, but will move forward with you in tow. An agonizing and harrowing read, Impulse is not for the faint of heart.

If you or someone you know is depressed or considering suicide, please call the numbers below. Remember that there are people who love you and want to help you. You are not alone and you can move forward.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255)
Hopeline: 1-800-442-HOPE (1-800-442-4673)
There is also a listing of specific types of hotlines here. Postpartum (after a child's birth), veterans, teens and more can find specific help at those numbers.

All numbers are for the US, but the websites can point you in the right direction for international numbers as well. Be safe.

*Source

Tricks by Ellen Hopkins

The master of prose-written novels has done it again. Ellen Hopkins has delivered yet another amazing novel dealing with difficult, but applicable subject matter.

Usually a taboo subject, Tricks follows five different teens through their decisions regarding sex. Hopkins deals with the reality of what can happen when things go horribly with careful consideration and a thought-provoking situations.

Eden is the sweet, innocent daughter of a hell-fire-and-brimstone pastor. Her mother and father have forbidden her to date until she is ready to marry, so meeting Andrew was definitely not planned. They shared a love that they hoped could withstand anything. That love is tested when she is sent off to a secluded, religious, reform center to have her "demons" excised. Eden holds on to her memories as she is forced to do unthinkable things in the name of escape and freedom.

Seth is a farmer's son who has hidden his true self for far too long. After finding and losing his first love, Loren, Seth is forced into outing himself as gay to his conservative father. Being forced from his home and everything he knows, Seth becomes the kept arm candy of an older gay gentleman, only he's not so gentle.

Whitney really just wanted to fall in love. She thought that Lucas was the one and even gave him her virginity. Sadly, he used her and then threw her away. Hurt and depressed, Whitney reaches out for help to the only person she can think of. Bryn promises to take care of her, she believes him, and he makes good on his promise; at least in the beginning.

Ginger hates her mother Iris but there's not much she can do about that fact. Being the eldest of six children, the responsibility of taking care of those younger than her falls on Ginger. While her mother is out with her new dirtbag boyfriend, turning tricks, or buzzed out of her mind, Ginger and her grandmother work hard to provide for the little family. After one of the youngest children is severely injured in an automobile accident and Ginger has an all-too-familiar encounter with one of Iris's "friends," Ginger decides to skip town with a friend. The two girls didn't really know how much worse things could get for them.

Cody doesn't know how to make things better. His mom and stepdad Jack are quite happy, until the unthinkable happens and his mom is left on her own with Cody and his little, troublemaker brother Cory. Cody retreats into a world of sex and drugs to cope. Unfortunately he can't shake the responsibility he feels for his family. Desperate time call for desperate measures, but even Cody is a little anxious about the lengths he is willing to go for his family.

Spellbinding and captivating, this book will ensnare your sensibilities and leave you breathless. Hopkins has an interesting way of weaving stories together just enough that you can see characters from another character's point of view. It gives a truly insightful glimpse into the truth that we are all interconnected on some level.

Identical by Ellen Hopkins

In honor of Banned Books Week, an Ellen Hopkins book. Enjoy.

Twin sisters, both with secrets. Not just from each other, but from everyone. Kaeleigh and Raeanne are identical twins with similar, but different problems.

Kaeleigh is emotional detached, a loner. She rides the school bus to be away from others, she works at a retirement home setting up meals, and she does not leave the house without Daddy's permission. Oh, and she is Daddy's replacement since Mom has moved on to the political arena and out from their lives. He drinks himself practically into oblivion and then sneaks into his daughter's bedroom, like he has for quite a few years, and gets the love he desperately misses from his wife. Too bad the only person she really wants is her best friend Ian.

Raeanne is just the opposite. She craves male attention because she feels unwanted by Daddy. She seeks out that attention in sexually with her drug-supplier and another random guy that she meets while fantasizing about her history teacher. She is rebellious in a sarcastic and smart-allick way, knowing when to stop just shy of "the line". Raeanne also feels like a protector for Kaeleigh. While she knows what's going on between her sister and her father, she does nothing to stop it.

As the election draws near tempers begin to flare as the girls' paternal grandparents, long missing from their lives, resurface separately and attempt contact with the family. The girls, unsure how to handle this and confused at their Daddy's vehement hatred of his own parents, set out to get to the bottom of what's going on; naturally they go about it in different ways with shocking results.

A grab-you-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of book, Identical is astonishing and heart wrenching. Ellen Hopkins has done it again with her artful way of writing just enough that you understand, without having to spell out every single action. The rhythm and meter of her work is captivating and will suck you in in no time. True to form as well, this book has a twist that I am sure no one will see coming. I can't wait to read her latest work, Tricks.

Bringing in the Loot

This week I hit the book jackpot between winning a book, receiving my first ARC, my holds came in at the library, and I bought myself some birthday books. Hooray for birthdays!

The top row is loot from the library and when it rains, it pours.

Tricks by Ellen Hopkins, Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, Mr. Darcy, Vampyre by Amanda Grange, The Immortals: Evermore by Alyson Noel, Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson, and Identical by Ellen Hopkins

Ring of Fire by Pierdomenico Baccalario is an ARC I received.

Liar by Justine Larbalestier I won in a contest over on Book Divas.

So it looks like I will be a busy little blogger for at least the next few weeks. Also, Adriana Trigiani will be in town next Friday to promote her new book Viola in Reel Life so stay tuned for that update!

Burned by Ellen Hopkins

Ellen Hopkins has a unique presentation style that is one of a kind. Her books are written in prose format, whose rhyme, meter, and tempo vary page by page. It can be a bit difficult to get into at the start, but once you get sucked in, you could read the whole thing in a single night.

This particular book focuses on the story of Pattyn, a teenage girl growing up in a strict, religious family that she doesn't feel she really fits in. While most teens can relate to that feeling, Pattyn's situation is unique in that she is not allowed to even entertain the thought of boys.

Unfortunately being the teenager that she is, she sneaks around her family to see a boy; and like many teenagers she gets caught. As punishment she is sent away to live with her Aunt for the rest of the summer. There she learns a lot, ranging from her father's shady past, how to drive a manual truck, and how it feels to really fall in love. This story sucks you in lets you experience her heartbreak, her education, and her life. Truly a marvelous read!