Tricks

July 20, 2009
Hopkins again tackles a serious societal problem, this time focusing on teen prostitution. Fans of her work will recognize both her signature free verses and the gritty details she weaves within them. Newcomers, however, may be shocked by the graphic depictions of five struggling teens who find themselves turning tricks (one realizes her mother has sold her “for a good time” with a stranger, while another recounts “pretending to enjoy... deviant sex” to earn the trust of a guard at an ultra-strict religious rehabilitation camp). Some plotting seems clichéd, such as the story of a preacher's daughter from Idaho, whose mother banishes her to the Tears of Zion camp after catching her with her boyfriend. While each story unfolds slowly, readers will understand the protagonists' desperation as well as their complete powerlessness once their descents have begun. Each story is unique (one teen needs money, another was thrown out because of his sexuality, still another was simply looking for love from the wrong person); while readers may connect with some characters more than others, they will long remember each painful story. Ages 14–up.

October 1, 2009
Gr 9 Up-Five teens desperately seek to find their way through the darkness in Hopkins's latest epic novel in verse. Eden flees an evangelical household; Cody blocks out a family illness with gambling and sex; Whitney gives up her body in exchange for the love she finds so elusive; Seth struggles to define himself as a homosexual; and Ginger comes to terms with an awful truth about her neglectful mother. Burden after burden piles on the teens' shoulders until they resort to the unthinkable in order to survive. As they near rock bottom, their narratives begin to intersect. It is only when their paths converge that a glimmer of redemption appears out of the hopelessness. From the punch delivered by the title, to the teens' raw voices, to the visual impact of the free verse, Hopkins once again produces a graphic, intense tale that will speak to mature teens."Jill Heritage Maza, Greenwich High School, CT"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2009
Grades 10-1 Five teenagers from all over the U.S.three girls, two boys, some straight, some gayend up as prostitutes in Las Vegas in this multiple-voiced novel in verse. Among the different stories are a preachers daughter breaking free from abuse, a closeted gay young man who hides his love life from his widowed and homophobic father, and the lesbian daughter of a prostitute. Hopkins has never shied away from tough subjects; descriptions of sex, while not overly graphic, are realistic and will likely provoke controversy. A master of storytelling through free verse, she uses multiple poetic devices to construct well-defined, distinctive voices for the five teens. Like E. R. Franks Life Is Funny (2000), the multiple protagonists are easy to identify and their stories compelling, especially when they begin to intersect. Teens will queue up for this onesome, admittedly, for the sensational subject matterand find Hopkins trademark empathy for teens in rough situations.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2010
Written in Hopkins's trademark style--largely free-verse poems that make use of broken lines, double columns, linked phrases, and other devices--this hefty volume follows five teenagers as they flee troubled families and fall into prostitution. Each character is sympathetic with an independent voice. As usual, Hopkins's preference for excess (the more vices and victims the better) pushes the tale toward melodrama.

(Copyright 2010 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)