Book Review: Impulse by Ellen Hopkins

http://ellenhopkins.com/YoungAdult/

Goodreads Synopsis: 

Sometimes you don't wake up. But if you happen to, you know things will never be the same.

Three lives, three different paths to the same destination: Aspen Springs, a psychiatric hospital for those who have attempted the ultimate act -- suicide.

Vanessa is beautiful and smart, but her secrets keep her answering the call of the blade.

Tony, after suffering a painful childhood, can only find peace through pills.

And Conner, outwardly, has the perfect life. But dig a little deeper and find a boy who is in constant battle with his parents, his life, himself.

In one instant each of these young people decided enough was enough. They grabbed the blade, the bottle, the gun -- and tried to end it all. Now they have a second chance, and just maybe, with each other's help, they can find their way to a better life -- but only if they're strong and can fight the demons that brought them here in the first place.

666 pages.   

4.30 average rating on Goodreads

Published 2007

Genre: YA, Drama, Realistic Fiction

 My Review:

This book is yet another tragic story written beautifully in prose poetry by the infallible Ellen Hopkins. Three troubled teens, Tony, Vanessa, and Conner all come from very different upbringings, but meet and become friends when they are all admitted to Aspen Springs, a psychiatric centre for young people.

I really liked that parts of the story were told from the perspective of each of the young people. I love when books are written from more than one perspective, so that you get to see the intimate details of the past that make each character who they are.

Tony, raised by a mother who never wanted to raise him, and ignored by a father who never bothered to know him, turns to pills to deal with his feelings. He is unsure of who he is, who he wishes to become, and how to love other people. Tony is an incredibly nice, friendly person, and we get to see him open more as he learns to forgive his father and figure out who he is.

Vanessa was raised essentially by her grandmother, since her military father was usually absent and her bipolar mother preferred the pill bottle to her children. Vanessa now finds that she herself shows symptoms of bipolar disorder, as well as depression (likely brought on by guilt of a rather dark portion of her past). She cuts herself for no reason other than to feel alive. In this book we see her seeking a close relationship with someone who truly cares about her (unlike her ex-boyfriend, Trevor, who just wanted to get in her pants), and affirmation that she has made good decisions in her life.

Conner, raised with his twin sister in a seemingly perfect household, with two perfectionist parents and a nanny, finds himself finally cracking under the pressure to be nothing less than the best. Conner has grown up starving for attention from a mother who never showed him any, and finds himself drawn to older, female authority figures. Though Conner desperately wants love and approval from his mother, he needs his parents to slack off the pressure and accept his depression, and if they don't, the consequences may be fatal.

I enjoyed reading this book but I wish there would've been more time to get to know each of the characters. Some of the plot twists didn't make sense to me (ahem, Tony and Vanessa), but the ending was a complete surprise that I thought was a perfect fit! I also thought Ms. Hopkins did a great job describing each of the characters' thought processes, giving them their own quirky personalities. 

Although I enjoyed this book and plan to read the second one, Perfect, I probably wouldn't consider it a favorite, and likely won't reread it. However, Crank and Glass by Ellen Hopkins, I do consider favorites! See my review of Glass here: http://with-sugar.blogspot.ca/2014/04/book-review-glass-by-ellen-hopkins.html  

Overall I give this book 3/5 stars, simply because it wasn't as amazing as I'd hoped for. If you are new to Ellen Hopkins books though, I definitely encourage you to read it as you will probably think it's fantastic. 

Thanks for reading! :)

                                        

Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon

Hello everyone! 

As I was surfing YouTube last night I stumbled upon a video posted by Catriona (LittleBookOwl) about the worldwide readathon happening tomorrow, April 26th. 

The point of the readathon is simply to read for 24 hours straight. Of course if you wanted, there are challenges to complete and prizes to be won, but I will simply be reading because I want to, with no particular goals in mind.

Marissa Meyer, author of The Lunar Chronicles, will be reading for charity during this readathon; she offers more insight and information in this blog post: http://www.marissameyer.com/blogtype/24-hours-of-reading-for-charity/

As well, here is the link to the website, where you can sign up to read: 

http://24hourreadathon.com/tag/april-2014/

Of course, you don't need to sign up, but it's completely free and it's nice to feel officially included.

For this readathon, I will be finishing up Impulse by Ellen Hopkins, which tells the story of three teens in a treatment centre who have all tried to "off themselves". I'm currently about halfway through this book, and though I can't say I'm loving it, it's an okay read. 

Next, I will be reading Night by Elie Wiesel, which I have to read for my English class. This is the recounting of real events that Wiesel experienced as a young Jewish boy in Auschwitz as well as a number of other concentration camps during Hitler's power trip. 

Lastly, since Night is such a short read, I am hoping to possibly start reading Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult. I've read a number of books by this author but it's been awhile since my last. I always love her books but they are long, tedious reads with lots of information to swallow and retain. I believe this book the story of a middle-aged woman and how she uses music to cope with the difficulties of life? That may be wrong, it's been a long time since I read the synopsis for this book.

Anywho, thank you for reading, as always, and I hope I've encouraged you to consider participating in tomorrow's readathon! If you do decide to participate, please be sure to comment here and tell me what you'll be reading, or tweet me at @_withsugarontop , and I promise i will reply. 

Happy reading everyone!

My Spring Break TBR!

First of all, yes I am aware how grossly late our spring break is this year. I am also painfully aware that our school is about the only one in our province that is not leaving today on some super awesome international adventure (*cries*). That being said, I am looking forward to a ten day break from school, to catch up on some reading, some much needed sleep, and to focus on getting this blog up and running. My current plan is to make a post everyday of break, excluding the two days I will be out of town. 

The two books I am for sure reading over spring break are:

1. Looking for Alaska by John Green

Goodreads description: 

Before. Miles "Pudge" Halter's whole existence has been one big nonevent, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave the "Great Perhaps" (François Rabelais, poet) even more. He heads off to the sometimes crazy, possibly unstable, and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed-up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young, who is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart.

After. Nothing is ever the same.

This will be my first time reading a book by John Green, and I am SO excited about it! I, as well as everyone else on the planet, have heard endless praise for John Green's writing, so I can't wait to finally see what all the fuss is about! Of course I intend to review this book as soon as I finish it. If anyone has read this already please do leave a comment below and tell me what you thought of it.

2. Impulse by Ellen Hopkins

Goodreads description:

Sometimes you don't wake up. But if you happen to, you know things will never be the same.

Three lives, three different paths to the same destination: Aspen Springs, a psychiatric hospital for those who have attempted the ultimate act -- suicide.

Vanessa is beautiful and smart, but her secrets keep her answering the call of the blade.

Tony, after suffering a painful childhood, can only find peace through pills.

And Conner, outwardly, has the perfect life. But dig a little deeper and find a boy who is in constant battle with his parents, his life, himself.

In one instant each of these young people decided enough was enough. They grabbed the blade, the bottle, the gun -- and tried to end it all. Now they have a second chance, and just maybe, with each other's help, they can find their way to a better life -- but only if they're strong and can fight the demons that brought them here in the first place.

I've just finished reading and reviewing Glass by this amazing author, and gave it 5/5 stars in my review which you can find here: http://with-sugar.blogspot.ca/2014/04/book-review-glass-by-ellen-hopkins.html . I've really enjoyed the two books I've read by Hopkins thus far (I think it's awesome that she writes in verse) and I can't wait to read another. Hopefully it will live up to the high expectations I have for it - if anyone has read this already I would love to hear how you felt about it, or about other books by this author. 

I know that two books in ten days doesn't seem like much, especially given how short Looking for Alaska seems to be, but I am going to be super super busy with blog posts, Easter festivities and such. Also, I am planning to purchase a few new books next week and would like to read at least one of those before continuing with the books on my shelf.

Thank you to everyone who has been reading my posts, please feel free to comment on them, as well as share them with others. I'm new to the blogging community so if you like what you see here please spread the word.

Hope everyone is enjoying their Good Friday! :)

Book Review: Glass by Ellen Hopkins

Glass by Ellen Hopkins 

http://www.ellenhopkins.com

Goodreads description: Crank. Glass. Ice. Crystal. Whatever you call it, it's all the same: a monster. And once it's got hold of you, this monster will never let you go. 

Kristina thinks she can control it. Now with a baby to care for, she's determined to be the one deciding when and how much, the one calling the shots. But the monster is too strong, and before she knows it, Kristina is back in its grips. She needs the monster to keep going, to face the pressures of day-to-day life. She needs it to feel alive.

Once again the monster takes over Kristina's life and she will do anything for it, including giving up the one person who gives her the unconditional love she craves -- her baby.

The sequel to Crank, this is the continuing story of Kristina and her descent back to hell. Told in verse, it's a harrowing and disturbing look at addiction and the damage it inflicts. 

681 pages; 4.29 average rating on Goodreads. Published 2007. Genre: YA, Drama.

This book gave me chills from beginning to end. A fast-paced read with some heavy content that was beautifully written in verse, making it a quick read. I read Crank, the first book of this series last fall, and really enjoyed it. From the very first page I already liked Glass infinitely better. In this book we saw Kristina go from recovering addict attempting to get things together and care for her new baby, to becoming completely intertwined once again with "the monster", crystal meth, and doing no matter what it takes to get it.

I found myself really connecting with Kristina, caring about her as though she were a real person, and rooting for her to find her way again throughout the entire book. There were times at which my heart was breaking for her (when she spent Christmas alone, realized Trey didn't love her as she loved him, realized her baby no longer sees her as mom, etc.), but there were other times I felt she deserved the sad state that she had brought upon herself.

The reason this book was so easy to connect to is also the reason it is so terrifying - this book is so very realistic, and portrays the mind of an addict and their though processes to a tee. In actuality, this book is loosely based on the author's daughter, and her experience with meth. I enjoyed that the book showed how Kristina related to many other characters (her mom, siblings, step dad, baby, etc.) and how her meth addiction had an enormous effect on all of these. 

I feel that addiction and it's impact on the user and those in the user's life can be a very hard topic to accurately portray in a novel - to get inside the minds of the user and their loved ones, to know how they feel about the situation. That being said, Ellen Hopkins does a beautiful job through free verse and concrete poetry of letting the reader inside the minds of Kristina and her loved ones,

This book, though heart wrenching to read at times, is beautifully written and teaches a wonderful lesson of how quickly and drastically things can change with just one bad decision, and how what starts out as "experimenting" or "just this once" can quickly become an addiction. I think this is an important book for all young people to read as they go through the period of their lives in which they are regularly exposed to difficult situations, so they can see in-depth the consequences of making the wrong decisions.

I gave this book 5/5 stars, and sincerely recommend it to anyone and everyone. I look forward to reading more books by Ellen Hopkins and if anyone has any suggestions as to which books I should check out, they would be greatly appreciated! 

Thanks for reading, and please feel free to share your opinions on this book <3