Ellen Hopkins verse novels

 Ever since high school, I have read Ellen Hopkins's verse books. Her stories are all about the struggle of an individual. family and friends when drugs are introduced into their lives. Her first book, Crank and some of her other books are based on her own experience with her daughter who was influenced by meth and other narcotics.
The books themselves are written in verse style: a type of narrative poetry where the novel is told using poetry instead of paragraph. Ellen's  writing is rather complex in which she manages to use lines break to form new sentences within the text itself. Each page is a different style of poem but it carries the story further and further. Her most quoted exert from her first book introduces her style in a way that the reader has to read the page over twice to experience both the sentences in the one:

FLIRTING WITH THE MONSTER

LIFE WAS GOOD

BEFORE I 

MET 

THE MONSTER.

AFTER,

LIFE

WAS GREAT.

AT 

LEAST 

FOR A LITTLE WHILE.

Her style is difficult to get into at first but after reading two or three pages the reader is hypnotized by this unique style and shocking content that they can't but the book down until they have finished.

Ellen's an author that exaggerates an issue to create shock value and to a certain extent scare the reader senseless giving them resistance to drug experimentation. Some would say she does this for readers but in my opinion, she does this because she has gone through this story (to a certain extent) and knows that despite all the campaigns and speeches, kids will still experiment with drugs and it can easily get out of hand. Writing with so much exaggeration might very well be what saves a kids life after reading this.

Her poetic style is a great format for teens because of the small amount of writing on the pages but large amount of pages, the reader will feel like they have accomplished a huge book and gives them confidence to read more books with more pages. Not to mention that the poetic style is somewhat like a puzzle; trying to read all the sentences in one sentence is the challenge Hopkins has given her readers.

Her rap sheet of books includes the following with a summary of their content.

ALL OF HER BOOKS ARE WRITTEN IN FREE VERSE

CRANK: Her first novel based on her daughters struggle with meth. Written in the POV of her daughter (name has been changed of course).

BURNED: The story of a young girl who is abused by her father and is sent to live in Nevada with her aunt. She falls in love and experiences sex for the first time and finds out the root of her fathers abuse.

PULSE: The books follows three young kids in a psych hospital all struggling suicide.

IDENTICAL: Named the most intense of the books, Identical follows the lives of twin girls. One of the sisters is sexually abused by their father and not even her twin sister will believe her.

GLASS: The sequel to Hopkins daughter's story Crank in which she continues her story.

TRICKS: Is the stories of five different adolescents who fall into prostitution for different reasons.

FALLOUT: The latest story based around Hopkins daughter, tells the story of her children she abandoned all around the country and how they are dealing with the mysteries of their mother and the struggles of their lives knowing about the result of drug addiction.

PERFECT: This story is relatable to most kids, especially girls who are dealing with the struggles of being "perfect" and desired by friends and crushes.

TILTED: Her latest book, is about the struggles a child faces when their parents separate and their lost of trust with themselves and others.

All of Hopkins' books have some strand of relatability each child can experience in their young lives. Her style of writing is what appeals to that age and the content itself is captivating.