Ellen Hopkins author of Identical.

Ellen Hopkins is known for tackling the difficult issues in her young adult novels. In her debut 2004 novel, Crank, Hopkins’ protagonist is a 16-year-old methamphetamine addict. Burned, published in 2006, is about an abused, sexually active girl from a ridiculously strict family. Hopkins’ 2007 novel, Impulse, describes the bonding between three suicidal teens in a psychiatric hospital. Hopkins is known and praised for her characters who are developed not like caricatures but like real people going through a hard time. Likewise, situations the characters survive are frighteningly real.

 

Hopkins has never shied away from the tough problems pressing teens today and feels that it is her duty to shed light on her characters. She notes on her web page, www.ellenhopkins.com, “I feel it’s important to be a voice for people who experience problems like addiction or thoughts of suicide, and hopefully help them realize they’re not alone and that there’s help if they just go looking for it.”

 

In her writings, first and foremost, Ellen Hopkins is a poet.  These stories are written in verse, each page a little poem. Hopkins is quoted as saying on her web page that, “Poetry is an interior form of writing. I like to get into my characters’ heads and take a good look around. Poetry helps me do that.” Reading Hopkins’ verse is like perusing a secret diary or eavesdropping on a private conversation – satisfying in an illicit sort of way.

 

Her philosophy of realistic, poetic writing extends to the 2008 novel Identical in which identical twins struggle through their lives. To the spectator, Kaleigh and Raeanne seem to have a blessed life. Their father is a district court judge and their mother is a politician, they live in a huge house and have all the benefits that money can buy. Yet lingering below the surface they keep dangerous dark secrets: Kaleigh is being molested by her alcoholic father. Raeanne knows about the abuse but mostly feels abandoned by the attention that Kaleigh receives and rebels using drugs and sex to dull the pain of perceived rejection. Their mother is completely absent as she spends most of her time traveling on the campaign trail and their grandparents are also not in the picture, for some secret reason.

 

Kaleigh and Raeanne know that what is being done to them is wrong; they know that this is not what a father’s love should feel like. Hopkins uses her poetic talents to relate the personal cycle of violence prevalent in sexually abusive families as well as the resulting  emotional damage. As I read, I felt confusion as well as sympathy for the girls’ situation. But I also was angry that they didn’t speak out and get help when they had the opportunity. I got caught up in the emotions and the difficult situation they had been placed in, by no fault of their own, and just wanted to reach out and help them.

 

The reader realizes that in situations of sexual abuse there are no easy answers or any simple path to take. The individuals involved get so caught up in their own cycle of pain they don’t see the people willing to help them. As Hopkins indicates, one of her goals is to reach out to those in need and let them know they are not alone. Neighbors and friends want to help and in the novel, go to great lengths to help Kaleigh and Raeanne despite their hesitance to accept help.

 

The book is a hefty 565 pages but reads quickly. Hopkins drops the reader in the middle of the situation and later gives the back-story. The novel is superbly written; however, at some points it was difficult to read because of the inappropriate relationship between the father and Kaleigh. This is a fast paced novel that really draws the reader into the well-developed characters. If this had an action storyline it would be like The Terminator, with huge explosions, fight scenes, and car chases. Instead, it has emotional intrigue, tension, and drama (not to mention the incredible twist at the end that this reader DID NOT see coming!).

 

You can find this book on the shelves of the library with many more by Ellen Hopkins.

 

Ellen Hopkins will be speaking at the Southern Kentucky Book Fest, April 18th, 2009, at the Sloan Convention Center.  The Book Fest is a partnership project of the Warren County Public Library, Western Kentucky University Libraries, and Barnes and Noble.

Kara Ripley is a librarian at the Warren County Public Library in Bowling Green, Kentucky. She earned her BA in English and Philosophy and her Masters in Library Science from Indiana University. Kara lives with her husband Matt, and spends most of her time reading and/or knitting.