 | People kill people Author: Hopkins, Ellen | |
| Price: $11.47 | ||
Summary:
Follows six teenagers as they are brought into close contact over the course of one tense week, in a town with political and personal tensions that build until one fires a fatal gunshot.
| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: UG Reading Level: 5.30 Points: 11.0 Quiz: 502111 |
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 06/01/2018 The perennially popular Hopkins returns with another timely novel about an urgent issue; this time it’s the violence that threatens the lives of her ensemble cast of six young adults. Indeed, it is “Violence” itself that tells their stories in a combination of Hopkins’ signature verse and straightforward, unornamented prose. There is Rand, filled with rage at the man who abused him as a child; Cami, his wife, a small-time drug dealer; Silas, a white supremacist; Noelle, brain damaged in a car accident and secretly in love with beautiful Grace; Daniel, a homeless boy who also loves Grace; and Ashlyn, whose father stabbed her mother to death. The lives of all of the teens are interconnected, sharing the common potential that violence might change—or even end—their lives. Hopkins does a fine job of avoiding the didactic while creating a compelling, page-turning story. Yes, there are guns, but it is made obvious that death can come in other ways, for violence never takes a vacation. Librarians should expect a large demand for this one. - Copyright 2018 Booklist.
School Library Journal - 09/01/2018 Gr 10 Up—This novel-in-verse illuminates the potentially powerful and dangerous allure of guns but ultimately lets the message overpower the story. Set in Tucson, AZ, Hopkins's latest follows six teens who have all been witness to or victim of violence in their lives. Over the course of several days, their relationships are tested and ideologies clash. Readers are warned that someone will shoot a gun and someone will die, and as tensions build, it becomes clearer that each character has an incentive for pulling the trigger. Although this novel's themes are timely, the story often comes off as sensationalized, and its characters' traumatic experiences seem forced rather than organic. The alternating verse and second person prose narrative, which switches focus among the six protagonists, makes connecting with each individual especially challenging. Were it not for direct references to age, readers might assume they were in their 20s or 30s by the way they act and speak. This characterization, combined with the story's difficult subject matter—including physical and sexual violence, explicit language, drug use, and racially motivated hatred—makes this novel best suited for a new adult audience. Hopkins has a talent for creating tension and apprehension, and the dramatic ending will no doubt leave readers talking. VERDICT Sure to be a divisive novel, both for its storytelling and themes, this offering spotlights critical social issues but misses the mark on its delivery.—Lauren Hathaway, University of British Columbia - Copyright 2018 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
