"Tilt" by Ellen Hopkins

This is likely a very biased review as it is no secret whats-so-ever that I am totally in love with just about everything Ellen Hopkins writes.  But I'm going to review it anyway.

Tilit is the companion to Triangles.  It follows Mikayla (Holly's daughter) and her relationship (and sometimes lack-thereof) with Dylan and the complications brought on by an unplanned pregnancy, Shane (Marissa's son) and his relationship with Alex who is HIV-positive, and Harley (Andrea's daughter) and her desire to have a relationship with just about anyone that will have her. This book takes place during the same time as the events in Triangles.  Told from the perspective of the teens, we get to see why they do the things they do and how they react to their parents actions.  Though you don't need to read one to read the other, I do recommend the two novels one right after the other.  I didn't and my memory of the first book was a little fuzzy.  Something else that I liked about this book was that I could see it being perfect for a mother-daughter book discussion.  I like that we see the adult and the teen perspective and think it would be really interesting to discuss these books with someone (sadly I haven't caused a total Hopkins-craze in my community...yet...).  As always, the poetry in this novel is superb.  Something that caught my eye as I was reading was that each characters section always ended on the same side of the novel and was followed by a poem from the perspective of a (mostly) minor character.  The kind of planning it must have taken to always have the right number of papers per character astounds me.  Hopkins has got to be the most brilliant writer of my generation and I look forward to all of her future work.

Happy Reading! 
-Melly 

"Triangles" By Ellen Hopkins

*Note, I will be attempting my first NaNoWriMo this month.  I may not be posting much during November.  I will do my best to keep up though!

Ellen Hopkins has written yet another wonderful book!  As usual, I danced around happily when I got a copy and had a very difficult time putting it down.  It was interesting to read a book by Hopkins that was not narrated by teenagers.  As you may know, Triangles is the story of three middle-aged women, each one entering a very trying time in her life.  All are struggling with their current relationship (or lack thereof) as well as the ups and down of motherhood.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  I am interested to know what other readers thought.  Did you pick up Triangles because you too are an Ellen Hopkins fan?  Or is this your first by her?  What led you to read it and what did you think?

I have come across most of my favorite authors once they have published multiple titles and don't really get to see how their writing progresses.  It has been fascinating to read each of Hopkins' novels and see how her writing evolves and how her characters just keep becoming stronger and more impactful.  Now I begin the painfully slow process of waiting for the next book by Hopkins (sequel to Triangles in 2012!).

Triangles marks the end of books I am anxiously waiting for this year (there are still books I want to read, but none that I am obsessing over).  Hopefully this means I can start to make a dent in the pile of other books I want to read!

Check out Ellen on LiveJournal, Twitter, and Facebook!

Happy Reading (and Happy Halloween)!
-Melly