Book Talk: Smoke by Ellen Hopkins

AUTHOR: Ellen Hopkins

PUBLISHED: September 10th 2013 
PUBLISHER:  Margaret K. McElderry Books

PAGES: 543

SERIES/STAND ALONE: Book 2

SOURCE: Book Outlet

CHALLENGES: None

OUTLINE:

Pattyn’s father is dead. Now she’s on the run in this riveting companion to New York Times bestseller Burned, which Kirkus Reviews calls “a strong, painful, and tender piece about wresting hope from the depths of despair.”

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 fatal 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 as a migrant worker on a California ranch. 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?

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In a nutshell

Characters

My Journey through Goodreads

October 3, 2018 – Finished Reading October 3, 2018 –  page 342    62.98% October 2, 2018 –  page 342    62.98% "I feel for Pattyn and Jackie" September 28, 2018 –  page 72    13.26% September 28, 2018 – Started Reading October 13, 2017 – Shelved as: books-i-own-not-read August 14, 2017 – Shelved as: to-read August 14, 2017 – Shelved

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Book Talk: Rumble by Ellen Hopkins

AUTHOR: Ellen Hopkins

PUBLISHED: August 26th 2014 

PUBLISHER:  Margaret K. McElderry Books

PAGES: 550

SERIES/STAND ALONE: Stand alone

SOURCE: Book Outlet

CHALLENGES: None

OUTLINE:

"There is no God, no benevolent ruler of the earth, no omnipotent grand poobah of countless universes. Because if there was ... my little brother would still be fishing or playing basketball instead of fertilizing cemetery vegetation."

Matthew Turner doesn't have faith in anything.

Not in family—his is a shambles after his younger brother was bullied into suicide. Not in so-called friends who turn their backs when things get tough. Not in some all-powerful creator who lets too much bad stuff happen. And certainly not in some "It Gets Better" psychobabble.

No matter what his girlfriend Hayden says about faith and forgiveness, there's no way Matt's letting go of blame. He's decided to "live large and go out with a huge bang," and whatever happens happens. But when a horrific event plunges Matt into a dark, silent place, he hears a rumble … a rumble that wakes him up, calling everything he's ever disbelieved into question.

Video

In a nutshell

Characters

My Journey through Goodreads

Status

September 19, 2018 – Finished Reading September 19, 2018 –  page 200    36.36% September 18, 2018 –  page 200    36.36% "The dad is an asshole." September 18, 2018 – Started Reading December 9, 2017 – Shelved as: books-i-own-not-read August 14, 2017 – Shelved as: to-read August 14, 2017 – Shelved

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Book Talk: Burned by Ellen Hopkins

AUTHOR: Ellen Hopkins

PUBLISHED: April 1st 2006

PUBLISHER: Margaret K. McElderry Books 

PAGES: 431

SERIES/STAND ALONE: Series book 1

SOURCE: Book Outlet

CHALLENGES: None

OUTLINE:

I do know things really began to spin out of control after my first sex dream.

It all started with a dream. Nothing exceptional, just a typical fantasy about a boy, the kind of dream that most teen girls experience. But Pattyn Von Stratten is not like most teen girls. Raised in a religious—yet abusive—family, a simple dream may not be exactly a sin, but it could be the first step toward hell and eternal damnation.

This dream is a first step for Pattyn. But is it to hell or to a better life? For the first time Pattyn starts asking questions. Questions seemingly without answers—about God, a woman's role, sex, love—mostly love. What is it? Where is it? Will she ever experience it? Is she deserving of it?

It's with a real boy that Pattyn gets into real trouble. After Pattyn's father catches her in a compromising position, events spiral out of control until Pattyn ends up suspended from school and sent to live with an aunt she doesn't know.

Pattyn is supposed to find salvation and redemption during her exile to the wilds of rural Nevada. Yet what she finds instead is love and acceptance. And for the first time she feels worthy of both—until she realizes her old demons will not let her go. Pattyn begins down a path that will lead her to a hell—a hell that may not be the one she learned about in sacrament meetings, but it is hell all the same.

In this riveting and masterful novel told in verse, Ellen Hopkins takes readers on an emotional roller-coaster ride. From the highs of true love to the lows of abuse, Pattyn's story will have readers engrossed until the very last word. 

Video

In a nutshell

Characters

My Journey through Goodreads

Status

September 27, 2018 – Finished Reading September 25, 2018 – page 140  32.48% September 25, 2018 – Started Reading October 13, 2017 – Shelved as: books-i-own-not-read September 7, 2011 – Shelved

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Blog Tour & Giveaway: Traffick by Ellen Hopkins

The sequel to “Tricks,” Hopkins’ latest book follows five teenage victims of sex trafficking — from all walks of life and gender orientations — as they try to extricate themselves from their current situations and find a new way of life.

About The Book:

TRAFFICK (Tricks, #2) By: Ellen Hopkins Release Date: November 3, 2015 Pages: 528 Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Five teens victimized by sex trafficking try to find their way to a new life in this riveting companion to the New York Times bestselling Tricks from Ellen Hopkins, author of Crank.

In her bestselling novel, Tricks, Ellen Hopkins introduced us to five memorable characters tackling these enormous questions: Eden, the preacher’s daughter who turns tricks in Vegas and is helped into a child prostitution rescue; Seth, the gay farm boy disowned by his father who finds himself without money or resources other than his own body; Whitney, the privileged kid coaxed into the life by a pimp and whose dreams are ruined in a heroin haze; Ginger, who runs away from home with her girlfriend and is arrested for soliciting an undercover cop; and Cody, whose gambling habit forces him into the life, but who is shot and left for dead.

And now, in Traffick, these five are faced with the toughest question of all: Is there a way out? How these five teenagers face the aftermath of their decisions and experiences is the soul of this story that exposes the dark, ferocious underbelly of the child trafficking trade. Heart wrenching and hopeful, Traffick takes us on five separate but intertwined journeys through the painful challenges of recovery, rehabilitation, and renewal to forgiveness and love. All the way home.

Goodreads | IndieBound | B&N | Amazon | Powell's |BAM |S&S

Pimps - The Trailer:

Traffick Teasers:

ABOUT AUTHOR

Goodreads | Website | Twitter |Facebook | Pinterest | Tumblr           

Ellen Hopkins is a poet, freelance writer, and the award-winning author of twenty nonfiction titles and five NY Times Bestselling novels-in-verse. She has published hundreds of articles on subjects ranging from aviation to child abuse to winegrowing. Ellen mentors other writers through her position as a regional adviser for the Nevada chapter of the Society of Children√ïs Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). She is a regular speaker at schools; book festivals and writers conferences across the US, and now throughout the world.       

Follow The Tour:

November 2^nd – Batty for Books – Review

November 2^nd – Acting Up With Books – Review

November 3^rd – Reads All The Books  – Review

November 3^rd – Christine Abee  – Review

November 4^th– anything but vanilla book blog – Top Ten List

November 4^th – Bookish Lifestyle – Guest Post

November 4th– A Diary Of A Book Addict – Review

November 4^th– Beauty's Library – Review/Author Interview

November 5^th – KDH Reviews  – Review

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November 5^th – Reads and Treats  – Review

November 6^th – Book Chic  – Review

November 6^th – The Power of Three Readers – Review

November 9^th– Reading Junky's Reading Roost – Review

November 9^th – Backseats and Airports – Review  

 November 10^th – Journeys & Life  – Review

November 10^th – heyheyheyjackie – Review

November 10^th – Books and Ladders – Review

November 10^th – Bookish Lifestyle – Review

November 11^th–   Reading Is Better With Cupcakes – Review

November 11^th – Heather Ann's Book Reviews – Review

November 11^th – She Reads New Adult – Review

November 12^th – BookAHolics Anonymous – Review

November 12^th – Erin Fanning – Guest Post

November 13^th – Heather Harlen – Random Ten’s List

November 13^th – Alec John Belle  – Review

November 13^th – Confessions of a Kid-lit Lover  – Review

November 13^th – Melissa Martin's Reading List – Review / Interview

November 13^th – The Phantom Paragrapher – Review

November 13^th – Teen Librarian Toolbox – Review / Interview

November 13^th – Miranda's Book Blog – Guest Post 

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Book Review: Crank by Ellen Hopkins

AUTHOR: Ellen Hopkins

SERIES: Series (Glass and Fallout)

PUBLISHER: Margaret K. McElderry Books  

PAGES: 537

SOURCE: Bought

OUTLINE:In Crank, Ellen Hopkins chronicles the turbulent and often disturbing relationship between Kristina, a character based on her own daughter, and the "monster," the highly addictive drug crystal meth, or "crank." Kristina is introduced to the drug while visiting her largely absent and ne'er-do-well father. While under the influence of the monster, Kristina discovers her sexy alter-ego, Bree: "there is no perfect daughter, / no gifted high school junior, / no Kristina Georgia Snow. / There is only Bree." Bree will do all the things good girl Kristina won't, including attracting the attention of dangerous boys who can provide her with a steady flow of crank

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Quick Thought (or not)

If you haven't read any Ellen Hopkins books you're missing out. I know I say this with just about all her books I've read and reviewed, and it never changes.  

I read Crank at the end of 2013, and although it took me awhile to finish it that in no way portrays my feelings for a book such as this. Normally, I do my reviews with a quick thought, pacing, characters, and ending. This book however isn't that type of review layout I'm going to use because truthfully there's no way to put it into that. 

While I'll admit I love my vampires, werewolves, dystopian, witches, spies and all the others, Crank is not a book to be taken lightly. It is not a love story between a boy and a girl, but a girl and her addiction. It is not a book for the weak of mind, or the heartless. You have to read it with an open mind, and a caring heart. You're probably thinking why should I do that when this girl, Kristina gets addicted to this monster. 

Kristina's life hasn't been easy with an almost absent father, and when she goes and visits him her world as Kristina is turned upside down, and Bree steps up. As Kristina lets Bree take over she soon discovers the monster, and it is soon after that she begins to crave it, need it. willing to do anything for that next high. I can't tell you how she's feeling, but I know from talking to some who have done this that it's not something you'd wish on anyone else. I don't remember Kristina having anybody to lean on, or anyone who would stand beside her, and guide her through this darkness. With a dad not much better, and a 0n/0ff again boyfriend who helps her get that fix Kristina seems to be doomed, but near the end something happens that could pull her out of this slump. The question is will Kristina take charge of her life again and show Bree that Kristina is the stronger one

Now that I've sat here, and done the review I think I should really try and read the last two. The ending to Crank will leave you with questions as to what happens with Kristina/Bree and the obstacles she's facing. Sometimes falling and hitting rock bottom brings hope, and other times it's the place where it ends.

Book Review: Identical by Ellen Hopkins

AUTHOR: Ellen Hopkins
PUBLISHER: Margaret K. McElderry
PAGES: 565
SERIES/STAND ALONE: Stand Alone I think
SOURCE: Bought
OUTLINE:
Kaeleigh and Raeanne are 16-year-old identical twins, the daughters of a district court judge father and politician mother running for Congress. Everything on the surface of their lives seems Norman Rockwell perfect, but underneath run deep and damaging secrets. Kaeleigh is the good girl-her father's perfect flower, something she has tried so hard to be since she was nine and he started sexually abusing her. She cuts herself and vomits after every binge, desperate to feel something normal. Raeanne uses painkillers, drugs, alcohol, and sex to numb the pain of not being Daddy's favorite. Both girls must figure out how to become whole, but how can they when their world has been torn to shreds?