Collateral by Ellen Hopkins

I rate this novel 3.5 out of 5

Ashley is stuck in a game of waiting. Waiting for news of Cole. Waiting for him to come home. Waiting for him to be taken away again. This is what happens when you decide to fall in love with a marine; it is the path in life you agree to trudge. And Ashley has excepted and embraced this reality, or mostly at least. Now however she is starting to change her mind about some things. Her job, her Master’s program, her future career, and now Cole are all looking a lot less permanent. Can two people stay in love when they are hardly together and growing apart every day? Ashley must face these questions and the consequences of her own choices as the story of collateral unfolds. 

Ellen Hopkins, acclaimed and widely known for her Young Adult books, is and probably always will be one of my favorite writers. Her unique poem novels tell stories in a way I have found irresistible since the moment I picked her up for the first time. Of course I have favorites, or ones that are less intriguing to me than the others. That being said, I have to admit that Collateral has fallen into the latter. 

It was a good novel, the story sucked me in, and I was pretty consistently glued to the pages as the book came to its climax. Hopkins' voice remains an informative and interesting narration. However, I was slightly disappointed in comparing it to her other novels. Perhaps the story was just not my thing, or it had something to do with my dislike of the main character. However my reaction stands: it was a good novel but it wasn't her best.

-Alissa Tsaparikos

Smoke by Ellen Hopkins

I give this YA novel 5 out of 5 

Pattyn Von Stratten is still breathing, even though her heart is still with the love of her life and their unborn child, ripped from life by a car crash. Living a life far from home under an assumed name Pattyn tries to move on, but remains weighed down by the guilt of what she now considers ill sought revenge. Back in their Mormon home, Pattyn’s sister Jackie reveals the struggle of a family trying to knit itself back together, but can something that was never really whole be fixed? Can either of these sisters ever find peace and move forward?

Raw and arresting, Smoke is the Burned sequel every Ellen Hopkins fan has been waiting for. Hopkins picks right up from where the story last ended in its devastation and weaves a tale of hope and renewal. Still filled with twists and unexpected turns, Smoke is not short on excitement or drama. It is a careful line to be drawn, but somehow Hopkins always manages to hit it just right, delivering narration and story that seems so real and human that a reader can’t help but connect to it.

Though her eleventh book written and a sequel to boot, this poem novel is equal to her best writing. It seems with Hopkins’ writing it only gets better. And in the case of Burned, Smoke gives Pattyn and her family the resolution they always deserved.

A forever fan of Hopkins’ books and style of writing, I’ve always recommended Burned as a great read, only warning that its end is harsh and can really take it out of a reader emotionally. However, with an end-cap like Smoke to depend on, the story is even more worth the read.

By Alissa Tsaparikos