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Tricks #1
Tricks
Five teenagers from different parts of the country. Three girls. Two guys. Four straight. One gay. Some rich. Some poor. Some from great families. Some with no one at all. All living their lives as best they can, but all searching ... for freedom, safety, community, family, love. What they don't expect, though, is all that can happen when those powerful little words "I love you" are said for all the wrong reasons.
Five moving stories remain separate at first, then interweave to tell a larger, powerful story—a story about making choices, taking leaps of faith, falling down, and growing up. A story about kids figuring out what sex and love are all about, at all costs, while asking themselves, "Can I ever feel okay about myself?"
Five moving stories remain separate at first, then interweave to tell a larger, powerful story—a story about making choices, taking leaps of faith, falling down, and growing up. A story about kids figuring out what sex and love are all about, at all costs, while asking themselves, "Can I ever feel okay about myself?"
627 pages, Hardcover
First published August 20, 2009
1,161 people are currently reading
40.4k people want to read
About the author
Ellen Hopkins
52Ìýbooks18.8kÌýfollowersEllen Hopkins is the New York Times bestselling author of Crank, Burned, Impulse, Glass, Identical, Tricks, Fallout, Perfect, Triangles, Tilt, and Collateral. She lives in Carson City, Nevada, with her husband and son. Hopkin's Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Pinterest pages get thousands of hits from teens who claim Hopkins is the "only one who understands me", and she can be visited at ellenhopkins.com.
Like most of you here, books are my life. Reading is a passion, but writing is the biggest part of me. Balance is my greatest challenge, as I love my family, friends, animals and home, but also love traveling to meet my readers. Hope I meet many of you soon!
Like most of you here, books are my life. Reading is a passion, but writing is the biggest part of me. Balance is my greatest challenge, as I love my family, friends, animals and home, but also love traveling to meet my readers. Hope I meet many of you soon!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,137 reviews
January 9, 2016
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When I went to pick this book up at the library, I was surprised at how small and fat it was. Great, just what I need…a 600+ page book and hardly enough time to read. When I opened up the book and glanced at the first few pages, I was delighted and shocked the margins were so wide and there were no more than seven words per line. Then I thought, “wait a minute, this is freakin� poetry!� Since I read so little poetry and never developed an appreciation for it, I left the library slightly disappointed. Well, Tricks isn’t exactly poetry, but a novel written in verse. Once I started reading, I couldn’t put the book down. Dishes were piling up, dust bunnies were fighting back, and I was late to work.
Tricks is a story about five deeply troubled teenagers, all from different areas, backgrounds, and family situations who end up falling into prostitution.
Each character has a story to tell. These stories are brief, and jump from one character to the next and back again. At the beginning, I was a little frustrated at how short their stories were and was afraid that I would not be able to distinguish one character from the next. It turns out there was no need to worry. Hopkins does a brilliant job of infusing her characters with life, personality and emotions. As I continued to read, and the characters� situations became more harrowing, I found the stories very intense and was relieved there was some separation. I was also surprised at how much I enjoyed the writing style. These stories told in verse allowed me to get into the minds and feelings of the characters without extraneous detail, and helped me feel a deeper connection with them.
Tricks broke my heart and made my stomach churn. The stories were gripping, painful, and honest. My own teenage years, painful memories, wrong choices, and difficulty with parents all came flooding back. I wish my own parents could have read a book like this, just to see how their own behavior and actions could irreparably damage a child’s life.
When I went to pick this book up at the library, I was surprised at how small and fat it was. Great, just what I need…a 600+ page book and hardly enough time to read. When I opened up the book and glanced at the first few pages, I was delighted and shocked the margins were so wide and there were no more than seven words per line. Then I thought, “wait a minute, this is freakin� poetry!� Since I read so little poetry and never developed an appreciation for it, I left the library slightly disappointed. Well, Tricks isn’t exactly poetry, but a novel written in verse. Once I started reading, I couldn’t put the book down. Dishes were piling up, dust bunnies were fighting back, and I was late to work.
Tricks is a story about five deeply troubled teenagers, all from different areas, backgrounds, and family situations who end up falling into prostitution.
Each character has a story to tell. These stories are brief, and jump from one character to the next and back again. At the beginning, I was a little frustrated at how short their stories were and was afraid that I would not be able to distinguish one character from the next. It turns out there was no need to worry. Hopkins does a brilliant job of infusing her characters with life, personality and emotions. As I continued to read, and the characters� situations became more harrowing, I found the stories very intense and was relieved there was some separation. I was also surprised at how much I enjoyed the writing style. These stories told in verse allowed me to get into the minds and feelings of the characters without extraneous detail, and helped me feel a deeper connection with them.
Tricks broke my heart and made my stomach churn. The stories were gripping, painful, and honest. My own teenage years, painful memories, wrong choices, and difficulty with parents all came flooding back. I wish my own parents could have read a book like this, just to see how their own behavior and actions could irreparably damage a child’s life.
September 20, 2015
Damn. All of Ellen's books are rough as hell. I love them, but they get right into your bones and tear you apart!
I have to share an excerpt from the book that I'm all too familiar with:
Some People
Never find the right kind of love.
You know, the kind that steals
your breathe away, like diving into snowmelt.
The kind that jolts your heart,
sets it beating apace, an anxious
hiccuping of hummingbird wings.
The kind that makes every terrible
minute apart feel like hours. Days.
Some people flit from one possibility
to the next, never experiencing the incredible
connection of two people, rocked by destiny.
Never knowing what it means to love
someone else more than themselves.
More than life itself, or the promise
of something better, beyond this world.
More even (forgive me) than God.
Lucky me. I found the right kind
of love. With the wrong person.
I feel so bad for these kids, it's so hard to be a child. I am going to tell you the names of these 5 kids, but I'm not saying which one is going through what exactly. You have Eden, Seth, Whitney, Ginger, and Cody.
Each of these children have a shitty home life, but in different ways.
One has a mother who is a hooker and there are 6 children which includes one of them. They all live with their grandma, two of them have the same dad, the others all have different dads, no dad comes around. One child is sold by their mother to their boyfriends for sex.. after the second time and the realization of this comes out, they run away with their best friend.
One child is gay, but can't tell their father or they will be shunned until the day the father reads a letter and kicks the kid out.
Another kid has a history of drugs in the family, loses a family member and has to find a way to pay all of the bills.
One child has a father that is a preacher and not the nice real preacher kind, the brimstone and.. well from what I read... torture kind of preacher.
And the final child has a mother that ignores them and lavishes their sister and a dad that comes home occasionally.
Now a couple of these kids are mistreated by their boyfriend or girlfriend.
All of these things lead to one thing... these kids are all on the run and they all in up in the most horrible of situations, hence the name of the book.
It's a vicious book, but great none-the-less. FYI: I would like to beat the shit out of every jerk in the book.. just saying.
July 27, 2010
"Tricks" was my second Hopkins' book. I read "Impulse" a while ago and remember devouring it in a matter of hours and loving it. I wish I felt the same way about "Tricks."
Hopkins has established herself as a crusader of tough teen issues - drug use, suicide, abuse. This book was no exception. The author approached teen prostitution head-on, not sugar-coating it and without unnecessary moralizing. I applaud Hopkins for that, not many authors have guts to touch this kind of subject. As for the novel itself, it left me cold.
First, I was (to my own surprise) extremely bored by the narration, so much so that I started contemplating to drop the book altogether. I might have felt this way because of the multitude of the POVs - too many switches, too little time to get attached to any character. Very often I found myself confused who was the narrator, the stories started to blend together.
I also thought the book was just too wordy, too drawn out when it didn't need to be (too much info about Cody's gambling problems, for instance) and too quick or superficial when some events needed to be explored deeper. I felt I needed more to understand what drove Eden to so easily give herself over to Jerome for a couple of strawberries or how Ginger took on stripping.
Some events in the book felt a bit too cliche or gimmicky - Lucas' reasons for breaking up with Whitney (because she was a virgin and not great in bed - really?) or Carl's transformation to an abusive sugar daddy in a matter of... minutes.
Long story short, too often I felt I was being emotionally manipulated rather than truly touched by the characters' plight. I read another "issue book" not so long ago - "Living Dead Girl." Alice felt real to me, I never truly believed in Seth, Cody, Whitney, and Eden, only Ginger and her story had some authenticity.
The story picked up significantly in the last 100 pages or so, once everybody hit the rock bottom. Those pages were great, gritty and disturbing and painful to read. But it took way too long to get there and by that point in the story I was already tired of the book.
Will I recommend this book? Absolutely, the subject of it is important and has to be brought to light. Is this the best written book about teen prostitution? I don't think so.
Hopkins has established herself as a crusader of tough teen issues - drug use, suicide, abuse. This book was no exception. The author approached teen prostitution head-on, not sugar-coating it and without unnecessary moralizing. I applaud Hopkins for that, not many authors have guts to touch this kind of subject. As for the novel itself, it left me cold.
First, I was (to my own surprise) extremely bored by the narration, so much so that I started contemplating to drop the book altogether. I might have felt this way because of the multitude of the POVs - too many switches, too little time to get attached to any character. Very often I found myself confused who was the narrator, the stories started to blend together.
I also thought the book was just too wordy, too drawn out when it didn't need to be (too much info about Cody's gambling problems, for instance) and too quick or superficial when some events needed to be explored deeper. I felt I needed more to understand what drove Eden to so easily give herself over to Jerome for a couple of strawberries or how Ginger took on stripping.
Some events in the book felt a bit too cliche or gimmicky - Lucas' reasons for breaking up with Whitney (because she was a virgin and not great in bed - really?) or Carl's transformation to an abusive sugar daddy in a matter of... minutes.
Long story short, too often I felt I was being emotionally manipulated rather than truly touched by the characters' plight. I read another "issue book" not so long ago - "Living Dead Girl." Alice felt real to me, I never truly believed in Seth, Cody, Whitney, and Eden, only Ginger and her story had some authenticity.
The story picked up significantly in the last 100 pages or so, once everybody hit the rock bottom. Those pages were great, gritty and disturbing and painful to read. But it took way too long to get there and by that point in the story I was already tired of the book.
Will I recommend this book? Absolutely, the subject of it is important and has to be brought to light. Is this the best written book about teen prostitution? I don't think so.
August 27, 2009
Oh my god. So I got this book the first day it became available at the book store (yesterday), and I couldn't wait to read it. So I did. And it was AMAZING. Ellen Hopkins does it again in this beautifully written novel told in verse titled "Tricks". It is about five teenagers who each come from different backgrounds, some in the upper class, some in the lower class. Three girls, two boys. Four are straight, one is gay. But they all have one thing in common: they are all searching for acceptance, love, freedom, and they will all do whatever it takes to survive, in the unrelenting cold, cold world they will each be a part of. By the way, the last paragraph of the review will contain *major* spoilers.
Eden Streit is an innocent girl. She really is. Her mother and father are both heavily religious folk, her dad being the lead priest of their local church, and her mom being the trophy wife that he's always proud to come home to. Eden and her sister Eve (get it?) are both obedient and never cause any trouble. But when a decent young man who is two years older than Eden, named Andrew, decides to come into Eden's life and sway her off her feet, her parents are not happy. In fact, they send Eden away so she can reform her sins. And Eden will do absolutely anything to get out of that horrible place. Anything.
Seth Parnell is an Indiana country farm boy. He lives with his father, and they are both living through a terrible loss. The loss of a wife, and a mother. Seth also has to deal with the fact that he's gay. So when Seth decides to act on his urges, he comes to face to face with a nice man named Loren. Everything seems good for a little bit, with Loren treating Seth out to musical theather and to eat at fancy dining, but good things never last. So when Seth is cast out on his own to survive, there is nothing much he can barter with... besides his body.
Whitney Lang is the epitome of popularity and beauty. Although she would probably be better off without her mom and sister, she still has her loving dad and caring boyfriend Lucas to come home to every day. But what happens when Whitney gives something away to Lucas, something precious that a girl must be careful with, and it turns out that Lucas dumps her because of it? Whitney makes a rash decision driven by teenage rebellion - a decision she will soon regret.
Ginger Cordell just might want to be a writer when she grows up. But it's hard to focus on that when she has to take care of her four brothers and sisters, escpecially when her mom is always out hooking up with strange men to pay the rent. She is sick of always being surrounded by the stench and disgusting feeling of sex, so she decides to run away with her friend. But this change of scenery will not be just any walk in the park.
Cody Bennett has a nice, civil family. He has a younger brother named Cory, a loving mom, and a stepfather named Jack. He pretty much is living the life. But when Jack suddenly passes away, his family is torn apart and sinks faster than the Titanic while hitting the iceberg. With his mom out of commision and a younger brother that gets sent to juvy, Cody has to find a way to pay the bills somehow, right?
Gahhh I loved this book. Seriously, it was just amazing... breathtaking. Hopkin's prose is beautiful, this book just made me want to read more even though at times I was absolutely disgusted. Like a car crash you can't look away from. Everything about this book, the characters, the plot, it was just so magnificent. *spoilers beyond here*
Eden's story was probably the "happiest one", I think she was the character that only got the happy ending. Seth's ending really sucked for me, he never even gets out of prostitution! That made me really sad and depressed. I really liked him. Whitney... she was okay, she had a nice ending too, although for most of the second half of the book she was too buzzed for me to really get deep into her character. I felt so bad for Ginger, and this may be a bad thing to say but Iris totally deserved to get HIV. I can't believe she would sell her own daughter's body! What kind of sick parent would do that to her own child!? And last but not least, Cody. I felt for him too, although it would've been nice to be able to see if he could resolve the issue about his sexuality.
FIVE STARS!!!
Eden Streit is an innocent girl. She really is. Her mother and father are both heavily religious folk, her dad being the lead priest of their local church, and her mom being the trophy wife that he's always proud to come home to. Eden and her sister Eve (get it?) are both obedient and never cause any trouble. But when a decent young man who is two years older than Eden, named Andrew, decides to come into Eden's life and sway her off her feet, her parents are not happy. In fact, they send Eden away so she can reform her sins. And Eden will do absolutely anything to get out of that horrible place. Anything.
Seth Parnell is an Indiana country farm boy. He lives with his father, and they are both living through a terrible loss. The loss of a wife, and a mother. Seth also has to deal with the fact that he's gay. So when Seth decides to act on his urges, he comes to face to face with a nice man named Loren. Everything seems good for a little bit, with Loren treating Seth out to musical theather and to eat at fancy dining, but good things never last. So when Seth is cast out on his own to survive, there is nothing much he can barter with... besides his body.
Whitney Lang is the epitome of popularity and beauty. Although she would probably be better off without her mom and sister, she still has her loving dad and caring boyfriend Lucas to come home to every day. But what happens when Whitney gives something away to Lucas, something precious that a girl must be careful with, and it turns out that Lucas dumps her because of it? Whitney makes a rash decision driven by teenage rebellion - a decision she will soon regret.
Ginger Cordell just might want to be a writer when she grows up. But it's hard to focus on that when she has to take care of her four brothers and sisters, escpecially when her mom is always out hooking up with strange men to pay the rent. She is sick of always being surrounded by the stench and disgusting feeling of sex, so she decides to run away with her friend. But this change of scenery will not be just any walk in the park.
Cody Bennett has a nice, civil family. He has a younger brother named Cory, a loving mom, and a stepfather named Jack. He pretty much is living the life. But when Jack suddenly passes away, his family is torn apart and sinks faster than the Titanic while hitting the iceberg. With his mom out of commision and a younger brother that gets sent to juvy, Cody has to find a way to pay the bills somehow, right?
Gahhh I loved this book. Seriously, it was just amazing... breathtaking. Hopkin's prose is beautiful, this book just made me want to read more even though at times I was absolutely disgusted. Like a car crash you can't look away from. Everything about this book, the characters, the plot, it was just so magnificent. *spoilers beyond here*
Eden's story was probably the "happiest one", I think she was the character that only got the happy ending. Seth's ending really sucked for me, he never even gets out of prostitution! That made me really sad and depressed. I really liked him. Whitney... she was okay, she had a nice ending too, although for most of the second half of the book she was too buzzed for me to really get deep into her character. I felt so bad for Ginger, and this may be a bad thing to say but Iris totally deserved to get HIV. I can't believe she would sell her own daughter's body! What kind of sick parent would do that to her own child!? And last but not least, Cody. I felt for him too, although it would've been nice to be able to see if he could resolve the issue about his sexuality.
FIVE STARS!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 10, 2015
So painful, oh so very painful.
December 20, 2016
Wow! I'm not sure whether it's Hopkins writing style or subject matter that shakes you to your core, or both, but either way, it's nothing short of spectacular and I know that days from now, I will still be thinking about this book. Well, perhaps haunted would be a better term.
By the title alone, you can deduce what awaits these characters, a life of teen prostitution, but what you will not expect is the events and choices that will lead them there. It's enlightening and heartbreaking, it will make you cringe and it will make you cry, it will probably even make you thank your blessed stars that you were lucky enough not to suffer from the same fate, and wonder if you could have these characters brand of courage and determination. It is nothing short of amazing to see how something as simple as choosing to love someone can alter your life so completely, and not always for the better, even with the best of intentions. And it's terrifying to know what a guise love can be, and how easily people can play upon it.
Some of these characters make stupid choices, one's that you will scoff at, some make the only choices available to them, and more than one never had a choice at all. Some of these characters you will become endeared to from the start, one in particular will make you want to write him off (I thought Cody was a loser), but by the end, I found myself crying for Cody, though I disliked him tremendously. Why? Because no one deserves his fate. I suppose it was Hopkins's genius to throw in such a gray area as Cody.
This book is not an easy read, it’s vivid and graphic and deals with a very risqué subject matter but I would encourage everyone to read it, especially teens. I’m amazed this made YA standards, but thankful that it did, because teens are the very ones who should read this book. Parents, if you are reading this review, read this book with your teen. False beauty can hide ugliness, just as ugliness can hide beauty and you will be doing your child a tremendous injustice from hiding knowledge of either from them. It may prevent them and you from making monumental mistakes. I’m certain that Hopkins has brought hope and understanding to more than a few readers.
By the title alone, you can deduce what awaits these characters, a life of teen prostitution, but what you will not expect is the events and choices that will lead them there. It's enlightening and heartbreaking, it will make you cringe and it will make you cry, it will probably even make you thank your blessed stars that you were lucky enough not to suffer from the same fate, and wonder if you could have these characters brand of courage and determination. It is nothing short of amazing to see how something as simple as choosing to love someone can alter your life so completely, and not always for the better, even with the best of intentions. And it's terrifying to know what a guise love can be, and how easily people can play upon it.
Some of these characters make stupid choices, one's that you will scoff at, some make the only choices available to them, and more than one never had a choice at all. Some of these characters you will become endeared to from the start, one in particular will make you want to write him off (I thought Cody was a loser), but by the end, I found myself crying for Cody, though I disliked him tremendously. Why? Because no one deserves his fate. I suppose it was Hopkins's genius to throw in such a gray area as Cody.
This book is not an easy read, it’s vivid and graphic and deals with a very risqué subject matter but I would encourage everyone to read it, especially teens. I’m amazed this made YA standards, but thankful that it did, because teens are the very ones who should read this book. Parents, if you are reading this review, read this book with your teen. False beauty can hide ugliness, just as ugliness can hide beauty and you will be doing your child a tremendous injustice from hiding knowledge of either from them. It may prevent them and you from making monumental mistakes. I’m certain that Hopkins has brought hope and understanding to more than a few readers.
August 14, 2018
You can read this book for FREE at rivetedlit.com until 9/9/18! 😊
That’s what I did! Naturally I loved it so much that I bought the ebook as soon as I finished reading (as well as the sequel!) and quickly re-highlighted all of my favourite first read passages before agonising about what I could write about this book without wandering into spoiler territory.
Trigger warnings include sexual assault, gambling, abandonment, alcohol and drug use, murder, homophobia, seriously dodgy parenting, religion used as a weapon and probably a whole range of heartache I’ve already repressed.
Ellen opens my eyes in a way that I don’t think any other author ever has, and she does it over and over again. She takes issues I know about from personal experience, validates my feelings, shows me other perspectives and introduces me to characters who are willing to discuss what people I know don’t/won’t. She also takes issues I only know anything about from reading news stories, blogs or textbooks and gives me insights and understanding I may never have gained any other way.
I found myself with a preconceived stereotypical notion that all of the characters would eventually meet one another on the streets in Vegas. I was wrong. As I began to read about the five main characters I couldn’t help wondering how their lives were going to intersect. I became attached to the five as well as others like Ginger’s Gram and younger sister Mary Ann, and Andrew, who made me want to believe in true love.
Although I read the blurb prior to reading that told me otherwise I still assumed that most of the kids who feature in this book would come from extremely abusive families; probably because everyone I know personally who has been homeless has been for that reason. Again I was wrong.
You can find the book trailer .
I need to know what happens to these kids so I’m diving straight into the sequel.
P.S. My official review is finished. This rant is unrelated to the content of this book and is not aimed at the author in any way. This is going to sound like a whinge and you’re right; it is.
What I Didn’t Like: The price! This was the most expensive ebook I’ve ever purchased - $17.51! Even more when you convert that to Australian dollars. I could have bought the paperbacks of this and its sequel (if Amazon US still sold anything but ebooks to Australian customers) for $9.23! What the?!
I guess in hindsight that’s why I refused to buy it before now. Yes, as I’ve already mentioned, you can read Tricks for free until 9/9/18 but I’m all for supporting authors I love and although I’m having a whinge I probably would have still bought it if it was double the price. I’d love to ask the publisher why this ebook and another couple of Ellen’s ebooks are so much more expensive than the rest though.
I adore Ellen’s books! She’s one of my all time favourite authors so I want to be able to read her books over and over again. If I could afford it I’d buy a complete set of hardcover books as well but as it stands I’m struggling to even afford a set of ebooks. Okay, my whinge is over. You really need to read this book! 😃
That’s what I did! Naturally I loved it so much that I bought the ebook as soon as I finished reading (as well as the sequel!) and quickly re-highlighted all of my favourite first read passages before agonising about what I could write about this book without wandering into spoiler territory.
Trigger warnings include sexual assault, gambling, abandonment, alcohol and drug use, murder, homophobia, seriously dodgy parenting, religion used as a weapon and probably a whole range of heartache I’ve already repressed.
Can you tell me. Whenever I begin one of her novels I know I’m setting my heart up to be broken. It always feels as though my heart is being folded into some distorted origami design each time one of her characters is hurt or betrayed. Then the inevitable happens; one fold too many breaks me.
how you ended up in “the business�?
More mostly truth. “I never wanted to.
I just didn’t know any other way to survive.�
When you sell your body, youWhy do I put myself through this? Because it’s worth it! I don’t think there’s an Ellen book I’ve read where I haven’t come away changed by the experience. They’re just so real and I love that about them.
also sell what’s inside. Piece
by piece, you sell your soul.
Ellen opens my eyes in a way that I don’t think any other author ever has, and she does it over and over again. She takes issues I know about from personal experience, validates my feelings, shows me other perspectives and introduces me to characters who are willing to discuss what people I know don’t/won’t. She also takes issues I only know anything about from reading news stories, blogs or textbooks and gives me insights and understanding I may never have gained any other way.
When all choice is taken fromEllen breaks my heart but she also enlarges it. I come away with empathy I didn’t know I still had. I come away with the confidence that regardless of how dire your situation may look and feel there is hope. If Ellen’s books had been published in the dark ages when I was a teenager I don’t think I would have felt so alone.
you, life becomes a game of survival.
What is wrong withEllen opens my mind, allowing me access to people I don’t know in my life outside books. She takes topics that people discuss in terms of statistics and humanises them. Her characters stay with me when I finish reading and in the case of this book I wanted to adopt all of the kids I encountered.
me? Why aren’t I worth loving?
I found myself with a preconceived stereotypical notion that all of the characters would eventually meet one another on the streets in Vegas. I was wrong. As I began to read about the five main characters I couldn’t help wondering how their lives were going to intersect. I became attached to the five as well as others like Ginger’s Gram and younger sister Mary Ann, and Andrew, who made me want to believe in true love.
Although I read the blurb prior to reading that told me otherwise I still assumed that most of the kids who feature in this book would come from extremely abusive families; probably because everyone I know personally who has been homeless has been for that reason. Again I was wrong.
You might be surprised atI loved the book’s title even more after reading it. Tricks. I originally associated it solely with prostitution yet while I was reading I also began to associate it with the deception employed by the adults in the book.
what you can do, should
circumstances dictate.
You can find the book trailer .
I need to know what happens to these kids so I’m diving straight into the sequel.
P.S. My official review is finished. This rant is unrelated to the content of this book and is not aimed at the author in any way. This is going to sound like a whinge and you’re right; it is.
What I Didn’t Like: The price! This was the most expensive ebook I’ve ever purchased - $17.51! Even more when you convert that to Australian dollars. I could have bought the paperbacks of this and its sequel (if Amazon US still sold anything but ebooks to Australian customers) for $9.23! What the?!
I guess in hindsight that’s why I refused to buy it before now. Yes, as I’ve already mentioned, you can read Tricks for free until 9/9/18 but I’m all for supporting authors I love and although I’m having a whinge I probably would have still bought it if it was double the price. I’d love to ask the publisher why this ebook and another couple of Ellen’s ebooks are so much more expensive than the rest though.
I adore Ellen’s books! She’s one of my all time favourite authors so I want to be able to read her books over and over again. If I could afford it I’d buy a complete set of hardcover books as well but as it stands I’m struggling to even afford a set of ebooks. Okay, my whinge is over. You really need to read this book! 😃
July 1, 2015
Tricks, a novel by Ellen Hopkins, introduces five teenagers and their initial struggles with love. Eden, the daughter of religious zealots, is torn between their strict teachings and her desire for Andrew, her caring boyfriend. Seth is a farm boy who wants (but can’t have) both his father’s approval and the warm embrace Loren, the boyfriend he met through a personal ad on the Internet. Whitney tries to find the love her mother has always denied her by turning to a boy named Lucas. Ginger tries to take care of her younger siblings with her grandmother while avoiding her irresponsible mother and her abusive boyfriends. Cory tries to help pay the family bills with his gambling addiction while his step-father grows increasingly sick. Most are rejected by those they trusted, all are taken advantage of, and eventually the five find themselves in desperate situations. The only way out seems to be turning tricks� or is it?
Teenagers should be allowed, even encouraged, to discuss and read about difficult subjects. There is no point in trying to protect them from the darker sides of life. If they haven’t already seen those sides, they will eventually, and it is better that they have some awareness rather than none when coming across these types of situations in their lives. Teen prostitution is certainly one of those subjects. However, although Hopkins should be applauded for taking on such a hard subject, this book should not be.
This book was extremely explicit, giving detailed accounts of oral sex, rape, threesomes, and more. At times, it seems that Hopkins was writing solely for shock-value, forcing her readers� noses into terrible and graphic scenes simply to horrify, as opposed to writing a book with meaningful plot. While this may have done the job of showing readers the dangers and awful realities of teen prostitution, it doesn’t lend itself to an enjoyable, or even meaningful, read. Perhaps this aspect wouldn’t be so striking if there had been one character to follow as opposed to five. Instead of being able to deeply connect with anyone or to fully understand a character’s perspective and situation, the book is rushed along several story lines. Important choices and reasons for them are omitted; instead, the reader is forced past any possibility of character development or plot points and left only with the horror scenes. (Having said that, Hopkins does do a good job in not blaming any of the teenagers for their situations; rather, they were all deceived and taken advantage of by people they trusted.) The endings to each story are equally quick and filled with more questions than resolutions. Finally, although many celebrate Hopkins’s use of poetry format, often these poems seemed forced and flat. The opening poems to each section in particular are dreary, mainly because she is trying to fit them all into a particular style. The structure seems to be more important than the words, emotion, or meaning.
Ellen Hopkins is a very popular author in the young adult world and should certainly be represented in a high school library. However, before adding this particular book to the collection, first read it to make sure you are comfortable defending it if needed.
Teenagers should be allowed, even encouraged, to discuss and read about difficult subjects. There is no point in trying to protect them from the darker sides of life. If they haven’t already seen those sides, they will eventually, and it is better that they have some awareness rather than none when coming across these types of situations in their lives. Teen prostitution is certainly one of those subjects. However, although Hopkins should be applauded for taking on such a hard subject, this book should not be.
This book was extremely explicit, giving detailed accounts of oral sex, rape, threesomes, and more. At times, it seems that Hopkins was writing solely for shock-value, forcing her readers� noses into terrible and graphic scenes simply to horrify, as opposed to writing a book with meaningful plot. While this may have done the job of showing readers the dangers and awful realities of teen prostitution, it doesn’t lend itself to an enjoyable, or even meaningful, read. Perhaps this aspect wouldn’t be so striking if there had been one character to follow as opposed to five. Instead of being able to deeply connect with anyone or to fully understand a character’s perspective and situation, the book is rushed along several story lines. Important choices and reasons for them are omitted; instead, the reader is forced past any possibility of character development or plot points and left only with the horror scenes. (Having said that, Hopkins does do a good job in not blaming any of the teenagers for their situations; rather, they were all deceived and taken advantage of by people they trusted.) The endings to each story are equally quick and filled with more questions than resolutions. Finally, although many celebrate Hopkins’s use of poetry format, often these poems seemed forced and flat. The opening poems to each section in particular are dreary, mainly because she is trying to fit them all into a particular style. The structure seems to be more important than the words, emotion, or meaning.
Ellen Hopkins is a very popular author in the young adult world and should certainly be represented in a high school library. However, before adding this particular book to the collection, first read it to make sure you are comfortable defending it if needed.
June 17, 2019
3 Stars.
I liked this one. I appreciated all the different narratives going on in the book although I did wish that some of the characters stories would just have keep going. I found myself not wanting to be interrupted by some of the other characters stories, not that they weren't interesting just I found I connected, was more intrigued and got so into some stories more than the others but, as always I love Ellen Hopkins style of writting in verse and the depth I find in her characters.
I liked this one. I appreciated all the different narratives going on in the book although I did wish that some of the characters stories would just have keep going. I found myself not wanting to be interrupted by some of the other characters stories, not that they weren't interesting just I found I connected, was more intrigued and got so into some stories more than the others but, as always I love Ellen Hopkins style of writting in verse and the depth I find in her characters.
March 12, 2014
Maybe I've just overdosed on Ellen Hopkins (again), but the overwhelming emotion this book left me with was relief. Relief that this book was done, relief that there wasn't another of her books in my stack at home. That makes it sound like I hated this book, and I didn't. Maybe I'm just emotionally exhausted by her writing, which can best be described as intense. Maybe if I read this book again in a year or two, maybe after a cheerful middle grade fantasy, I'd like it better. And maybe one day I'll do that, but right now it isn't looking likely.
I've complained about Hopkins using too many viewpoints before, but this time I just can't bring myself to complain about the five (five!) viewpoints in Tricks. She isn't telling the same story five different ways, or five different stories that don't really have much to do with each other. This time, she's using the multiple viewpoints to show that teen prostitutes don't all have the same story. They get there different ways, and they get out different ways. If they get out. She couldn't have really done that with just one viewpoint character, so in this case it worked.
I did have some trouble truly connecting with many of the characters, though. I felt for all of them, to varying degrees and with varying frequency. But I didn't really connect like I have with some of her other books. This is probably just me, having read too much of her work in too short a period of time. It may also be because I disliked Cody from very early on, and I never really did get over that. And yet, Hopkins is a skilled enough writer that she can make a character hard to like and still make me care about what happened to them.
I went back and forth on the star rating for this book more times than I can count. I liked it, but not four stars' worth. But it is very well-written, and about a very important subject. 3.5 stars sounds right, for a good book with a topic that needed to be covered, that probably just hit me at the wrong time. But we don't have half stars on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ. In the end, I decided to bump it up instead of down. I guess I just admire Hopkins as a writer, for her skill and her boldness, enough to give her the benefit of the doubt.
I've complained about Hopkins using too many viewpoints before, but this time I just can't bring myself to complain about the five (five!) viewpoints in Tricks. She isn't telling the same story five different ways, or five different stories that don't really have much to do with each other. This time, she's using the multiple viewpoints to show that teen prostitutes don't all have the same story. They get there different ways, and they get out different ways. If they get out. She couldn't have really done that with just one viewpoint character, so in this case it worked.
I did have some trouble truly connecting with many of the characters, though. I felt for all of them, to varying degrees and with varying frequency. But I didn't really connect like I have with some of her other books. This is probably just me, having read too much of her work in too short a period of time. It may also be because I disliked Cody from very early on, and I never really did get over that. And yet, Hopkins is a skilled enough writer that she can make a character hard to like and still make me care about what happened to them.
I went back and forth on the star rating for this book more times than I can count. I liked it, but not four stars' worth. But it is very well-written, and about a very important subject. 3.5 stars sounds right, for a good book with a topic that needed to be covered, that probably just hit me at the wrong time. But we don't have half stars on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ. In the end, I decided to bump it up instead of down. I guess I just admire Hopkins as a writer, for her skill and her boldness, enough to give her the benefit of the doubt.
March 11, 2025
I was publicly slandered as being the kind of librarian who has this book in my middle school library by the author of the Adirondack Kids book series. While I knew that I would never have any such book in the ms library, I did figure I had it in the high school library, since Ellen Hopkins has been pretty popular among teens who usually won’t read anything else. Ellen Hopkins writes books about real, troubling issues that some teens actually have, in a very accessible way.
Since this was on the top part of the list of the most pornographic books I was supposedly carrying in the library, I figured I would read it and see what all the fuss is about. Now that I have read it, I think this is one of the most important books to have! Not only was it very difficult to put down, but it reminded me of a life-saving book I read when I was in high school, Can Steffie Come Out To Play?
Tricks weaves together the story of five teenagers from very different backgrounds who ultimately end up in Las Vegas engaged in some form of prostitution or another. At 52% of the way through, I still could not believe that there was going to be anything too objectionable in this book because most readers would not expect what ended up happening. That is primarily the point. No child thinks that they want to be a prostitute when they grow up. It’s a terrible thing that happens for various reasons and in some pretty consistent ways, and all of that is demonstrated in this book.
I know that reading about Steffie when I was a teen saved me. I never again fantasized about running away from my very normal teenage problems. I knew what could happen to me. I was overly cautious and protective of myself after reading that book, and I was much more streetwise without having to experience the horrors that the protagonist did on my own. There was not a chance that I was ever going to experiment with certain drugs or succumb to peer pressure because I experienced the tragic outcomes with Steffie. I expect that in the same way some of our students will benefit from reading this harrowing, rather cautionary tale.
The irony of this situation is that I actually didn’t have this book in our library, so it was kind of a waste for me to read it, but there is much value to this book as a whole, and I am glad that it exists. Readers will be completely captivated by the downfall of these protagonists while absorbing the anti-gambling, anti-drug, anti-premarital sex, pro-getting help message of the author. And as a bonus? Readers will maybe walk away with some extra empathy for people in bad situations, and they may want to dedicate their lives to making a difference by being a person who offers kindness to people in trouble or by going into a profession such as social work or counseling, or maybe they will want to direct their charitable offerings in the future to helping wayward teens. This is the kind of impact I see such a book having on adolescents who have chosen to read this book for whatever reason. I am glad this book is available to them. It is in no way "pornographic."
Since this was on the top part of the list of the most pornographic books I was supposedly carrying in the library, I figured I would read it and see what all the fuss is about. Now that I have read it, I think this is one of the most important books to have! Not only was it very difficult to put down, but it reminded me of a life-saving book I read when I was in high school, Can Steffie Come Out To Play?
Tricks weaves together the story of five teenagers from very different backgrounds who ultimately end up in Las Vegas engaged in some form of prostitution or another. At 52% of the way through, I still could not believe that there was going to be anything too objectionable in this book because most readers would not expect what ended up happening. That is primarily the point. No child thinks that they want to be a prostitute when they grow up. It’s a terrible thing that happens for various reasons and in some pretty consistent ways, and all of that is demonstrated in this book.
I know that reading about Steffie when I was a teen saved me. I never again fantasized about running away from my very normal teenage problems. I knew what could happen to me. I was overly cautious and protective of myself after reading that book, and I was much more streetwise without having to experience the horrors that the protagonist did on my own. There was not a chance that I was ever going to experiment with certain drugs or succumb to peer pressure because I experienced the tragic outcomes with Steffie. I expect that in the same way some of our students will benefit from reading this harrowing, rather cautionary tale.
The irony of this situation is that I actually didn’t have this book in our library, so it was kind of a waste for me to read it, but there is much value to this book as a whole, and I am glad that it exists. Readers will be completely captivated by the downfall of these protagonists while absorbing the anti-gambling, anti-drug, anti-premarital sex, pro-getting help message of the author. And as a bonus? Readers will maybe walk away with some extra empathy for people in bad situations, and they may want to dedicate their lives to making a difference by being a person who offers kindness to people in trouble or by going into a profession such as social work or counseling, or maybe they will want to direct their charitable offerings in the future to helping wayward teens. This is the kind of impact I see such a book having on adolescents who have chosen to read this book for whatever reason. I am glad this book is available to them. It is in no way "pornographic."
November 20, 2015
"That's what he said
Follow me, and find
The meaning of love
In my bed.
I followed,
Found sheets cold
As death. Neither of us
Could warm them,
Not me, not
Him.
Not a maelstrom
Of body heat so intense
It felt like fever. After
We slept, chilled.
He tossed
And turned, lost
In some obnoxious
Dream. And when we
Woke, he ordered me
Away."
*trigger warning for rape, depression.
Tricks is, in true Ellen Hopkins fashion, a tough book to read. It follows five young teenagers as they explore sex for the first time and their eventual downfall into prostitution. Each story in unique in that the characters have different motivations, feelings, sexual orientation, and views of love. This book gets progressively harder to read the further you get into it. I had to put it down a few times and focus on something more uplifting. Hopkins captures the desperation and bleakness of each situation with intense clarity.
I first read this book sound 7 years ago and rates in a four star, however I am changing my review to 5 stars. I don't think I fully understood and grasped the point of the novel.
Overall, Tricks is not for the faint of heart. It deals with teenage prostitution in harsh light and will most definitely leave you feeling disgusted.
Follow me, and find
The meaning of love
In my bed.
I followed,
Found sheets cold
As death. Neither of us
Could warm them,
Not me, not
Him.
Not a maelstrom
Of body heat so intense
It felt like fever. After
We slept, chilled.
He tossed
And turned, lost
In some obnoxious
Dream. And when we
Woke, he ordered me
Away."
*trigger warning for rape, depression.
Tricks is, in true Ellen Hopkins fashion, a tough book to read. It follows five young teenagers as they explore sex for the first time and their eventual downfall into prostitution. Each story in unique in that the characters have different motivations, feelings, sexual orientation, and views of love. This book gets progressively harder to read the further you get into it. I had to put it down a few times and focus on something more uplifting. Hopkins captures the desperation and bleakness of each situation with intense clarity.
I first read this book sound 7 years ago and rates in a four star, however I am changing my review to 5 stars. I don't think I fully understood and grasped the point of the novel.
Overall, Tricks is not for the faint of heart. It deals with teenage prostitution in harsh light and will most definitely leave you feeling disgusted.
February 15, 2016
When you sell your body,
you also sell what's inside.
Piece by piece, you sell your soul.
Tricks has a ton of glowing reviews, so I was expecting to enjoy this one when I picked this up. To add to that, I just recently finished Impulse and really liked it. However, this one fell flat for me. I tried so hard to like it, but I rarely felt sympathy for the characters and the plots all kind of ran together to the point where I forgot who was who.
This book has five points of view. Five. Usually, I wouldn't mind that. After all, one of my favorite series, Unwind, has more than five POVs. It's all about how the author handles that many characters voices. In Unwind, I could distinctly tell who was narrating. In Tricks, all of the stories kind of blend together, and I had to constantly flip back to see who was currently speaking.
Besides that, I never really liked any of the characters. Of course I felt bad for all of them. Either they had a mother who sold them into prostitution, or a boy kicked out by his father for his sexuality, or a religious mother who sends her daughter to a rehabilitation facility. This book has too many terrifying topics in it packed into it. Whereas Impulse mainly focused around suicidal teens, this one had no main focus. It was everywhere and it became overwhelming for even myself. It was hard to like some of the characters. I mean, the girls do absolutely idiotic things that make us seem like we don't have a brain. They're kind of rude too.
Someone should tell
Paige that "skinny jeans" are
most def not her best friend.
Some of the poems in this left me utterly confused. They didn't flow with the story or provide any significant value in my opinion. They just seemed thrown in there to make this already 600 page book longer. The poems at the beginning of each POV didn't sound like something a teenager could write. The ones in between, yes, because they're just sentences shaped like prose. I mean, sometimes they had a cool rhyme scheme or something interesting about them, but for the most part...not really.
I do appreciate how Ellen Hopkins is trying to educate her usually teenage readers about how bad influences can lead you down a dark road with no escape. Whether it's substance abuse, teenage prostitution, etc, she really knows how to scare the reader into never venturing into those horrific worlds. However, all of her stories run together. I've read pretty much all of her books except for a few, and if you asked me a couple years from now what happened in each book, I don't know if I'd be able to correctly answer.
I'm sad to say this might be my least favorite Hopkins book to date. There was just too much going on, and I never felt like picking this up. I might read the second one sometime in the distant future, but it's definitely not at the top of my priority list.
March 8, 2017
4 stars. I don’t consider myself a Hopkins fan; I’ve read many of her books and hated most of them. But I actually genuinely love this book.
This is my favorite of Ellen Hopkins� series mostly because it doesn't just read like torture porn. A lot of her books don't even have hopeful endings: someone dies or doesn’t make their way out, every single time. Tricks allowed the characters to leave and improve their lives. With emotional and physical trauma, but not dead. This book was ultimately hopeful, which is very different from many of her others.
The characters in here are very well developed. Ginger is the best character by far, with a great character arc and a likable personality. She’s so realistic and she feels like a completely real person. Her resentment for her mother and love for her grandmother contrast well with each other. Also, that “four straight one gay� thing which seems to ignore bi people exist?
The other characters stand out as well, although not to the same degree as Ginger (for me personally). Eden has a bit of instalove in her plotline, but her desire to escape her parents is very well portrayed. Seth wants to be accepted for his sexuality. Whitney comes off as whiny and annoying for much of the book, yet Hopkins gets you to feel immense sympathy for her. She wants to be loved, and that leads to her downfall. Cody is maybe the weakest character here. He comes off as a bit of a fuckboy, frankly, although he did become more sympathetic later on.
In terms of plotting, this book suffers from the same pacing issues as many of Hopkins' books. But ultimately, that can be forgiven due to the excellent character work and prose. I highly recommend this duology.
This is my favorite of Ellen Hopkins� series mostly because it doesn't just read like torture porn. A lot of her books don't even have hopeful endings: someone dies or doesn’t make their way out, every single time. Tricks allowed the characters to leave and improve their lives. With emotional and physical trauma, but not dead. This book was ultimately hopeful, which is very different from many of her others.
The characters in here are very well developed. Ginger is the best character by far, with a great character arc and a likable personality. She’s so realistic and she feels like a completely real person. Her resentment for her mother and love for her grandmother contrast well with each other. Also, that “four straight one gay� thing which seems to ignore bi people exist?
The other characters stand out as well, although not to the same degree as Ginger (for me personally). Eden has a bit of instalove in her plotline, but her desire to escape her parents is very well portrayed. Seth wants to be accepted for his sexuality. Whitney comes off as whiny and annoying for much of the book, yet Hopkins gets you to feel immense sympathy for her. She wants to be loved, and that leads to her downfall. Cody is maybe the weakest character here. He comes off as a bit of a fuckboy, frankly, although he did become more sympathetic later on.
In terms of plotting, this book suffers from the same pacing issues as many of Hopkins' books. But ultimately, that can be forgiven due to the excellent character work and prose. I highly recommend this duology.
October 25, 2010
First of all, let me say I'm about 100 pages from finishing and I just simply can't. It's not that it isn't good. It is. It's just the subject matter is so heartbreaking, terrifying, and too voyeristically gratituous that I can't bring myself to do it. Frankly, the descriptions of the rapes, kids prostituting themselves, etc, were just too much for me...I literally became nauseated. It's the same feeling I got after reading Living Dead Girl. Yes, these are characters, but the fact that you KNOW it really happens to children disturbs you on so many levels that it is unbearable. It's also something that you feel very helpless about.
I'm not naive enough to believe that things like this aren't happening every day. I know they do. I work with kids that molestation and rape have been a part of their lives. Therefore, I'm very sensitive it it. I do not feel, however, that they need to be described in such detail. And the excessive detail concerns me for some teens.
Eden's story for me did not seem believeable at all. A virgin so in love with Andrew, her love, that she's willing to prostitute herself out of the facility her overzealot religious parents sent her too? It just didn't bode well with me. And the studly Cody working as a male escort?
I'm not naive enough to believe that things like this aren't happening every day. I know they do. I work with kids that molestation and rape have been a part of their lives. Therefore, I'm very sensitive it it. I do not feel, however, that they need to be described in such detail. And the excessive detail concerns me for some teens.
Eden's story for me did not seem believeable at all. A virgin so in love with Andrew, her love, that she's willing to prostitute herself out of the facility her overzealot religious parents sent her too? It just didn't bode well with me. And the studly Cody working as a male escort?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 13, 2010
In typical Hopkins fashion, she spends the entire book creating salacious details and very little time with the consequences of her characters actions. Skip it and hid it from young readers!
August 30, 2009
Tricks tells the stories of 5 teens who find themselves, due to various situations, leading dangerous lives in prostitution and "turning tricks". Eden is from an ultra-conservative and religious family who disapprove of her dating; Seth works with his father on a farm in a rural area and struggles with his homosexuality; Whitney can't seem to live up to her sister or earn her mother's love; Ginger's own mother is addicted to drugs and engages in prostituting herself; and Cody finds himself in financial straits after becoming addicted to gambling. The book describes how their situations lead them to prostitution and then further illustrates typical scenarios they deal with.
I realize Ellen Hopkins takes on issues that many people shy away from or are scared to confront. Teenage prostitution is definitely one of them. However, I felt that this book did almost nothing but describe sex scene after lewd sex scene. I couldn't help but feel "dirty" after I read this, and I don't consider myself a prude. I mean, at my job I interview children about sexual abuse on a daily basis and the descriptions in this book still bothered me. I felt the book was overly focused on the sexual scenes and less on the actual stories.
One thing that may have made this book more enjoyable/tolerable was to tell each character's story straight through, making the book almost like a collection of "short stories" of teens who have been in this situation. It would have been just over 100 pages per character which isn't bad when written in free verse. Instead, the book focuses on one character and then abruptly stops and changes to the next character all throughout the book. It was advertised that the stories would interweave to tell one powerful story, but that HARDLY happened. The characters mentioned one or two of the other almost in passing. The stories really had nothing to do with each other except that they were each about teen prostitution. The start and stop of each character's story made it more difficult to get to know each character and it made their individual stories too choppy.
So would I still recommend Ellen Hopkins's books to readers? Absolutely. She grapples very difficult topics that need to be brought to life and her verse writing is so alluring. However, I would NOT recommend this as one of the first books to read by her. I do feel that this book could have been done much better and would have had a much better impact, at least for me.
I realize Ellen Hopkins takes on issues that many people shy away from or are scared to confront. Teenage prostitution is definitely one of them. However, I felt that this book did almost nothing but describe sex scene after lewd sex scene. I couldn't help but feel "dirty" after I read this, and I don't consider myself a prude. I mean, at my job I interview children about sexual abuse on a daily basis and the descriptions in this book still bothered me. I felt the book was overly focused on the sexual scenes and less on the actual stories.
One thing that may have made this book more enjoyable/tolerable was to tell each character's story straight through, making the book almost like a collection of "short stories" of teens who have been in this situation. It would have been just over 100 pages per character which isn't bad when written in free verse. Instead, the book focuses on one character and then abruptly stops and changes to the next character all throughout the book. It was advertised that the stories would interweave to tell one powerful story, but that HARDLY happened. The characters mentioned one or two of the other almost in passing. The stories really had nothing to do with each other except that they were each about teen prostitution. The start and stop of each character's story made it more difficult to get to know each character and it made their individual stories too choppy.
So would I still recommend Ellen Hopkins's books to readers? Absolutely. She grapples very difficult topics that need to be brought to life and her verse writing is so alluring. However, I would NOT recommend this as one of the first books to read by her. I do feel that this book could have been done much better and would have had a much better impact, at least for me.
February 1, 2015
I absolutely loved this book and I have an absolute love for all of her books! This book is by far the best of her works that I have read. I can't wait until this fall when the sequel comes out. All the characters and plot were amazing. I just don't know what to say because she always makes me speechless.
November 23, 2024
Toxic love in many forms.
Heartbreaking, and well written.
Excellent narration, it was a bit less powerful than the Crank series, but maybe just because of all of the characters, so that you didn't get as attached to them.
The way that humans treat other humans is gross.
The poetry at the end of each event was well done.
4-4/5 Stars
Heartbreaking, and well written.
Excellent narration, it was a bit less powerful than the Crank series, but maybe just because of all of the characters, so that you didn't get as attached to them.
The way that humans treat other humans is gross.
The poetry at the end of each event was well done.
4-4/5 Stars
May 18, 2018
“When all choice is taken from you, life becomes a game of survival.�
“Tricks� is the second book that I have read by Ellen Hopkins and once again, she left me feeling so many different emotions. Something that I have learned to appreciate in her books is her poetry. Ellen Hopkins really speaks through her poetry. The book itself isn’t exactly poetry but has parts in it that are novels, written through poetry. Ellen Hopkins doesn't sugar-coat in this book at all. She hits prostitution head-on. There are five main characters in this book - five teenagers from different parts of the country, all going through different things. The teen's names are Eden, Seth, Whitney, Ginger, and Cody.
This book is fiction. The intended audience is mainly for mature teens or adults. The purpose of this work is just to make it clear that life is sometimes crazy. It is about rape, fake love, and sex trafficking. Life sometimes isn’t fair and I think that’s what the author is trying to make clear. We live in a very cruel world and the decisions you make can affect you for the rest of your life.
Throughout the story, all of these teens go through very traumatic things. Most of them will get into drugs, or get disowned by their own parents. Their virginity was lost in very traumatic ways and they will have to live with that. This book has many terrifying topics in it that some people may not be able to handle. I think that the point that Ellen Hopkins is trying to make is that your decisions, can spiral down a road that will ruin your life. The question is, can you get out of it? The teens must make decisions in order to find peace, love, and happiness. This story isn’t one those stories that start off bad and gets better. This story starts off bad and gets worse. Even though all of the craziness and bad decisions that were made by these teens, you find yourself feeling bad for them and rooting for them no matter what.
This book is written in five different points of views, and although each one is short, you are able to connect with them almost instantly. I will be honest and say that they were so short that when I got around to one of the characters again, I was like, “Wait, which one was this again?� It was just hard to remember who the character was. That was the only problem that I had with this entire book, Other than the way it was switched from person to person, it was overall an amazing book. It is arranged in sections. I think that it would be super confusing if it were arranged in chapters, considering it jumps to five different stories every few pages. The story started with telling me about one teen's life and then it continues on to other stories. I think that this would be a good chapter book if these teens knew each other, but they all live in different parts of the country. Not only do they live in different states, but all of their stories are different. They all struggle with different things, but none of them have easy lives.
Concluding this book, I would say the theme of this book certainly stands out. It’s mainly about love and sex and wondering what love really is. The author of my book is always writing stories about what could happen in real life. When she writes, she doesn’t write about fairy tales and happy endings. Although, there could be a happy ending in real life, rarely does she write about them. The theme of all of her book is just about real-life events. Whether it be sex trafficking or drug addictions, she does it all. Another theme in this book would be relationships - toxic and nontoxic ones, healthy and unhealthy ones. The themes are very effective because it shows you that in the real-world, some people are just sick. Some people are supposed to love you but could be the ones to use you at the end of the day.
“Tricks� is the second book that I have read by Ellen Hopkins and once again, she left me feeling so many different emotions. Something that I have learned to appreciate in her books is her poetry. Ellen Hopkins really speaks through her poetry. The book itself isn’t exactly poetry but has parts in it that are novels, written through poetry. Ellen Hopkins doesn't sugar-coat in this book at all. She hits prostitution head-on. There are five main characters in this book - five teenagers from different parts of the country, all going through different things. The teen's names are Eden, Seth, Whitney, Ginger, and Cody.
This book is fiction. The intended audience is mainly for mature teens or adults. The purpose of this work is just to make it clear that life is sometimes crazy. It is about rape, fake love, and sex trafficking. Life sometimes isn’t fair and I think that’s what the author is trying to make clear. We live in a very cruel world and the decisions you make can affect you for the rest of your life.
Throughout the story, all of these teens go through very traumatic things. Most of them will get into drugs, or get disowned by their own parents. Their virginity was lost in very traumatic ways and they will have to live with that. This book has many terrifying topics in it that some people may not be able to handle. I think that the point that Ellen Hopkins is trying to make is that your decisions, can spiral down a road that will ruin your life. The question is, can you get out of it? The teens must make decisions in order to find peace, love, and happiness. This story isn’t one those stories that start off bad and gets better. This story starts off bad and gets worse. Even though all of the craziness and bad decisions that were made by these teens, you find yourself feeling bad for them and rooting for them no matter what.
This book is written in five different points of views, and although each one is short, you are able to connect with them almost instantly. I will be honest and say that they were so short that when I got around to one of the characters again, I was like, “Wait, which one was this again?� It was just hard to remember who the character was. That was the only problem that I had with this entire book, Other than the way it was switched from person to person, it was overall an amazing book. It is arranged in sections. I think that it would be super confusing if it were arranged in chapters, considering it jumps to five different stories every few pages. The story started with telling me about one teen's life and then it continues on to other stories. I think that this would be a good chapter book if these teens knew each other, but they all live in different parts of the country. Not only do they live in different states, but all of their stories are different. They all struggle with different things, but none of them have easy lives.
Concluding this book, I would say the theme of this book certainly stands out. It’s mainly about love and sex and wondering what love really is. The author of my book is always writing stories about what could happen in real life. When she writes, she doesn’t write about fairy tales and happy endings. Although, there could be a happy ending in real life, rarely does she write about them. The theme of all of her book is just about real-life events. Whether it be sex trafficking or drug addictions, she does it all. Another theme in this book would be relationships - toxic and nontoxic ones, healthy and unhealthy ones. The themes are very effective because it shows you that in the real-world, some people are just sick. Some people are supposed to love you but could be the ones to use you at the end of the day.
December 13, 2016
Did a reread of this book this year, and my thoughts are pretty much the same from the first time that I read this back in 2014.
Another profound read from Ellen Hopkins. Whether she is telling a true to life story or a fiction each of them always touch me in a very emotional way. She writes with such realism that you have no choice but to feel what our characters are feeling, and to experience what they are going through. So much emotion comes to the forefront when I read one of her books.
In this story we journey with 5 teenagers, Eden, Seth, Whitney, Ginger, and Cody. They have experienced horrendous people, acts, and situations in their lives that I could never even imagine being witness to. They each have to struggle through situations and figure out how to climb back out of the abyss where their lives had pushed them. So many bad elements surround each of them pushing them to limits unknown.
The characters are all so very real in this story that it is hard to choose any favorites. All of them had very bad outside forces which led them to the positions they found themselves in. I would love a book just on those people and make them pay for the harm that they exposed these kids too. Or make them live the same type of lives.
The story itself is so profound yet so heartbreaking because we know these things are happening in our world today. And maybe if there were better parents, and less judgement of others we could live in a different kind of world, but then again that would be a perfect world and that could never happen anyway. If you have never read a Hopkins book, pick one up, you wont be sorry. Please be warned though, this book has many triggers that could affect some people, so read at your own risk.
Another profound read from Ellen Hopkins. Whether she is telling a true to life story or a fiction each of them always touch me in a very emotional way. She writes with such realism that you have no choice but to feel what our characters are feeling, and to experience what they are going through. So much emotion comes to the forefront when I read one of her books.
In this story we journey with 5 teenagers, Eden, Seth, Whitney, Ginger, and Cody. They have experienced horrendous people, acts, and situations in their lives that I could never even imagine being witness to. They each have to struggle through situations and figure out how to climb back out of the abyss where their lives had pushed them. So many bad elements surround each of them pushing them to limits unknown.
The characters are all so very real in this story that it is hard to choose any favorites. All of them had very bad outside forces which led them to the positions they found themselves in. I would love a book just on those people and make them pay for the harm that they exposed these kids too. Or make them live the same type of lives.
The story itself is so profound yet so heartbreaking because we know these things are happening in our world today. And maybe if there were better parents, and less judgement of others we could live in a different kind of world, but then again that would be a perfect world and that could never happen anyway. If you have never read a Hopkins book, pick one up, you wont be sorry. Please be warned though, this book has many triggers that could affect some people, so read at your own risk.
April 10, 2015
Five teens share the traumatic events that lead them to prostituting their bodies.
Meet Eden, Seth, Whitney, Ginger and Cody -- all average teenagers from moderate income homes. In the course of the story, most of them will lose their virginity in traumatic ways, get disowned by their parents or simply fall into the vicious circle of drugs. But once you spiral down into the world of prostitution, can you just as easily get out?
I'd never do that is something you stop saying as you grow up. It's impossible to predict how you'd handle mockery. being cast aside by a parent, rape, poverty -- anything that threatens to permanently remove a smile off your face. Hopkins writing style (verses) is a lot more effective than Crank, perhaps due to the shared spotlight between the five teens. Scenes were cut short, all containing raw details of tricks the characters were forced to perform just so they could survive in the streets.
Not for the fainthearted.
Meet Eden, Seth, Whitney, Ginger and Cody -- all average teenagers from moderate income homes. In the course of the story, most of them will lose their virginity in traumatic ways, get disowned by their parents or simply fall into the vicious circle of drugs. But once you spiral down into the world of prostitution, can you just as easily get out?
I'd never do that is something you stop saying as you grow up. It's impossible to predict how you'd handle mockery. being cast aside by a parent, rape, poverty -- anything that threatens to permanently remove a smile off your face. Hopkins writing style (verses) is a lot more effective than Crank, perhaps due to the shared spotlight between the five teens. Scenes were cut short, all containing raw details of tricks the characters were forced to perform just so they could survive in the streets.
Not for the fainthearted.
March 23, 2025
I sincerely hope that one day, someone will invent the words that will accurately describe how much I hated this book. Until that day� I got nuthin�!
December 3, 2015
5 Stars
Trigger warning for Drug abuse and Rape
It's no secret that I am a huge fan of Ellen Hopkins. I read Crank a few years back and since then I have read all of her novels to date. To this day, Identical remains one of my favorite novels from her. I loved it that much.
does have a lot going for it in that it deals with a really dark topic of teenage prostitution. I've read one book, Calling Maggie May which dealt with the same subject.
The topic of teenage prostitution is really taboo. It's one of the reasons why I love Ellen Hopkins so much. She is not afraid to speak about this kind of subject and does not sugar coat any of it. I will admit, it is a difficult subject. It's raw and real to the point where you take a moment to yourself and realize: This is real. And it happens.
With a cast of five characters, Hopkins did a really great job at giving them their own personality.
Also, side note: The premise inside the dust jacket is kind of misleading about one of the characters. It said four of the characters are straight though I think Ginger is bisexual. I don't know. I hope this is explained in the next book.
Now that I am done with Tricks, I can finally get started with Traffick
Thanks for reading my review!
-Cesar
Trigger warning for Drug abuse and Rape
It's no secret that I am a huge fan of Ellen Hopkins. I read Crank a few years back and since then I have read all of her novels to date. To this day, Identical remains one of my favorite novels from her. I loved it that much.
does have a lot going for it in that it deals with a really dark topic of teenage prostitution. I've read one book, Calling Maggie May which dealt with the same subject.
The topic of teenage prostitution is really taboo. It's one of the reasons why I love Ellen Hopkins so much. She is not afraid to speak about this kind of subject and does not sugar coat any of it. I will admit, it is a difficult subject. It's raw and real to the point where you take a moment to yourself and realize: This is real. And it happens.
With a cast of five characters, Hopkins did a really great job at giving them their own personality.
Also, side note: The premise inside the dust jacket is kind of misleading about one of the characters. It said four of the characters are straight though I think Ginger is bisexual. I don't know. I hope this is explained in the next book.
Now that I am done with Tricks, I can finally get started with Traffick
Thanks for reading my review!
-Cesar
March 11, 2020
I read this book for the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ' book club: Diversity in All Forms!
If you would like to participate in the discussion here is the link: /topic/show/...
"Five teenagers from different parts of the country. Three girls. Two guys. Four straight. One gay. Some rich. Some poor. Some from great families. Some with no one at all. All living their lives as best they can, but all searching ... for freedom, safety, community, family, love. What they don't expect, though, is all that can happen when those powerful little words "I love you" are said for all the wrong reasons.
Five moving stories remain separate at first, then interweave to tell a larger, powerful story—a story about making choices, taking leaps of faith, falling down, and growing up. A story about kids figuring out what sex and love are all about, at all costs, while asking themselves, "Can I ever feel okay about myself?"'
If you would like to participate in the discussion here is the link: /topic/show/...
"Five teenagers from different parts of the country. Three girls. Two guys. Four straight. One gay. Some rich. Some poor. Some from great families. Some with no one at all. All living their lives as best they can, but all searching ... for freedom, safety, community, family, love. What they don't expect, though, is all that can happen when those powerful little words "I love you" are said for all the wrong reasons.
Five moving stories remain separate at first, then interweave to tell a larger, powerful story—a story about making choices, taking leaps of faith, falling down, and growing up. A story about kids figuring out what sex and love are all about, at all costs, while asking themselves, "Can I ever feel okay about myself?"'
July 6, 2023
I don’t think I want to go five but DAMN. Damn. I’m not going to forget this one ever. (Plus, there’s a sequel and I ordered immediately!) This novel in verse is often a banned book and I GET IT. It’s a hard hard haaaard book. I *thought* I got why it was banned very early into reading, but then it just kept piling on. (If you’re a content warning person- here’s the warning. For all of it. All of em. It’s ALL in here.) Going in 100% blind paid OFF on this one; sure, I know how Hopkins normally goes but this was Hopkins to the extreme. She went HARD. I’ll be very vague: What I thought this was about in the beginning…wasn’t what it ended up being about at all. I LOVED the progression of these five stories. I love what she did here. I love how she ultimately wove it together. It was scandalous and hard to read and so awful…but kinda wonderful too. VERY curious about the sequel.
July 15, 2018
Similar to Ellen Hopkins’s other books, this book is written in prose. It is written from the perspectives of five teenagers across the US, who, for various reasons, find themselves entering the world of prostitution and the downward spiral that brought them there.
May 7, 2022
Around the time that this book was published and a little earlier I was going through a stage of getting into and reading Ellen Hopkins books as I inched into my early 20s. Now at 35, I decided this year, and with the access to the Libby app after reading Flirtin with the Monster, to go back and re-read her books. The thing that I love about her books is that they are written in poetry format which makes the story flow nicer as we glide from one character to the next. So far, I have read Burned, Impulse, and now Tricks. This one was an interesting ride, not a massive favorite but still, a powerful read which shows what people(teens) will do to survive especially when your choices and freedom are taken away from you. Tricks feature five teens from all different walks of life who have one thing in common, they are all living their lives the best they can but they still yearning for something extra whether it be love, acceptance, freedom, or safety. Tricks is set in Las Vegas and were inspired by the high rate of prostitution aka turning tricks and the runaway youth looking for something more. The first girl we meet is Eden, her father is a Pastor, and her mum is the Pastor's wife. She falls in love with a boy who is wrong for her in her parent's eyes but deep-down Eden knows he is perfect for her. I have to admit for, Eden's story resonated strongly with me out of all of them as my dad was strict and religious and I fell for a boy just like Andrew but mine didn't even step into a church. Over the years, my dad did come to like him and realized he wasn't going anywhere as it has now been almost 20 years of ups and downs but we are still together and going strong. My Andrew was Bryan. We also have Seth who knows he is gay, but growing up on the farm and in a man's world struggles with his sexuality until he falls in love, and Cody and Cory whose lives are about to be upheaved when their stepdad dies - Cody turns to sex and his brother Cory to crime, Whitney who is beautiful, smart and wealthy but is always compared and made to be treated less than she is and just wants to be loved and Ginger who lives with her Grandma, her six siblings and their mother Iris - Iris is a prostitute and enjoys that life more than being a mother. What happens though when Ginger ends up being sold into prostitution? Despite her strong love for her family, she needs to escape to survive and a road will lead her down a path she never wanted to take.
The overall question of this series is "Can I ever feel okay about myself " or do I need the validation of others to survive and be somebody. Like, Ellen's other books - Tricks is a hard read and touches on some tough subjects.
August 24, 2016
"When all choice is taken from you, life becomes a game of survival."
I was a bit skeptical when I found this for cheap at a used bookstore. All I've heard of Ellen Hopkins is glowing praise, but I wasn't sure whether I would enjoy reading a book written in verse, but her subject matters won me over.
I am so glad I finally read this. The sequel is already on my Amazon wishlist, and I'm on the lookout for more of her works. Turns out that part of what makes her books so emotional and heartfelt is the fact that they're written in verse. The use of verse allows Hopkins to make scenes as detailed or vague as she chooses, without the problem of her prose seeming inconsistent.
I was also a bit nervous about there being five different POVs that all started out in very different locations. The characters start out in Kentucky, California, Idaho, Indiana, and of course, Nevada, where they all cross paths in the end. The variation of lives the characters lead before all falling into the same dark circles is frightening. It showed that while your current situation has factors, anyone, regardless of risk, can fall into the dark underbelly of society.
While I was gripped by some of the characters quicker than others, by the end of the novel, I loved them all as if they were my own children. They each came from different situations, and while some would be looked at as better off due to family situation or financial status, every one of them faced their own issues. I especially enjoyed the look at Eden's situation, since I've seen it so many times growing it up.
I thought the look at the life of a well thought of pastor's kid (or PK as I used to call them) was perfectly ironic and true. Sadly, (at least in my personal experience) the most religious people tend to make the most mistakes. And that was definitely the case in Eden's parents' case.
Seth's story is the story of most gay children living in the "Bible belt." For a group of loving people, they always seem to shy aware from the word "gay" as if it were yet another profane term that gets you sent to the fire filled pit. Since I'm currently stuck living in the "Bible belt," I can say, like Eden, I've seen a bunch of kids going through the problems Seth faces. It's horrible, and makes me want to cover their whole home in rainbow duct tape, but happens all the time.
I've read quite a few books on situations such as Whitney's, and it still kills me to read them. Someone a little too desperate for love, get's sucked into something they would never have agreed to otherwise.
Ginger's life was another sort I'm no stranger to reading-wise. I've read countless novels on her situation. Like Whitney's, no matter how many times I read stuff like this, I count my blessings and cry like a baby.
Unlike the rest, I have never read anything like Cody's decline. Since almost everything that happens to Cody happens more towards the center of the novel, I'm going to mark everything I saw about him as a spoiler. (Just to be safe.)
It you love verse, darker novels, or just books that will keep you up late and stress you out as you read them, this is perfect for you.
I was a bit skeptical when I found this for cheap at a used bookstore. All I've heard of Ellen Hopkins is glowing praise, but I wasn't sure whether I would enjoy reading a book written in verse, but her subject matters won me over.
I am so glad I finally read this. The sequel is already on my Amazon wishlist, and I'm on the lookout for more of her works. Turns out that part of what makes her books so emotional and heartfelt is the fact that they're written in verse. The use of verse allows Hopkins to make scenes as detailed or vague as she chooses, without the problem of her prose seeming inconsistent.
I was also a bit nervous about there being five different POVs that all started out in very different locations. The characters start out in Kentucky, California, Idaho, Indiana, and of course, Nevada, where they all cross paths in the end. The variation of lives the characters lead before all falling into the same dark circles is frightening. It showed that while your current situation has factors, anyone, regardless of risk, can fall into the dark underbelly of society.
While I was gripped by some of the characters quicker than others, by the end of the novel, I loved them all as if they were my own children. They each came from different situations, and while some would be looked at as better off due to family situation or financial status, every one of them faced their own issues. I especially enjoyed the look at Eden's situation, since I've seen it so many times growing it up.
I thought the look at the life of a well thought of pastor's kid (or PK as I used to call them) was perfectly ironic and true. Sadly, (at least in my personal experience) the most religious people tend to make the most mistakes. And that was definitely the case in Eden's parents' case.
Seth's story is the story of most gay children living in the "Bible belt." For a group of loving people, they always seem to shy aware from the word "gay" as if it were yet another profane term that gets you sent to the fire filled pit. Since I'm currently stuck living in the "Bible belt," I can say, like Eden, I've seen a bunch of kids going through the problems Seth faces. It's horrible, and makes me want to cover their whole home in rainbow duct tape, but happens all the time.
I've read quite a few books on situations such as Whitney's, and it still kills me to read them. Someone a little too desperate for love, get's sucked into something they would never have agreed to otherwise.
Ginger's life was another sort I'm no stranger to reading-wise. I've read countless novels on her situation. Like Whitney's, no matter how many times I read stuff like this, I count my blessings and cry like a baby.
Unlike the rest, I have never read anything like Cody's decline. Since almost everything that happens to Cody happens more towards the center of the novel, I'm going to mark everything I saw about him as a spoiler. (Just to be safe.)
It you love verse, darker novels, or just books that will keep you up late and stress you out as you read them, this is perfect for you.
July 28, 2012
Tricks is a riveting tale of the struggle between acceptance and survival. 3 girls and 2 guys must make life changing decisions in their quest to find peace, love and happiness.
Ive read only one of Ellen Hopkins books before (Impulse) and was blown away by it. Besides the fact that her books are written in prose, Hopkins brings out the purest, rawest part of the human condition. The story flows from bad to worse and even through all the horrible decisions and horrifying experiences, you can't help but root for the main characters. I can't even express what her books make me feel. It opens my eyes to a world I know nothing about and yet, these characters are 100% relatable.
The situations and the lifestyles of these kids could be felt throughout the whole teenage community and that's why I respect her books so much. The raw imagery and the stone cold acts of these teenagers point to a life that isn't all perfect. Not every teenager has a house to call home, or a loving person in their life. I respect that Hopkins has the respect and decency to open the general publics eyes to these facts.
I have nothing bad to say about this book. I am definitely not a poem buff and I am far from being an expert in literature, but anyone with a brains can appreciate the true aspects of the story Ellen Hopkins so masterfully tells.
Ive read only one of Ellen Hopkins books before (Impulse) and was blown away by it. Besides the fact that her books are written in prose, Hopkins brings out the purest, rawest part of the human condition. The story flows from bad to worse and even through all the horrible decisions and horrifying experiences, you can't help but root for the main characters. I can't even express what her books make me feel. It opens my eyes to a world I know nothing about and yet, these characters are 100% relatable.
The situations and the lifestyles of these kids could be felt throughout the whole teenage community and that's why I respect her books so much. The raw imagery and the stone cold acts of these teenagers point to a life that isn't all perfect. Not every teenager has a house to call home, or a loving person in their life. I respect that Hopkins has the respect and decency to open the general publics eyes to these facts.
I have nothing bad to say about this book. I am definitely not a poem buff and I am far from being an expert in literature, but anyone with a brains can appreciate the true aspects of the story Ellen Hopkins so masterfully tells.
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