Impulse
Ellen Hopkins
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Release Date: January 23, 2007
Pages: 666
Source: Read for YA Lit Class

Rating: 4 stars

Aspen Springs Psychiatric Hospital is a place for people who have played the ultimate endgame. The suicide attempt survivors portrayed in this novel tell starkly different stories, but these three embattled teens share a desperate need for a second chance. Ellen Hopkins, the author of Glass and Crank, presents another jarring, ultimately uplifting story about young people crawling back from a precipice.

I’m not gonna lie, I avoided Ellen Hopkins’s books for quite awhile, as I knew they were written in verse, something I am not a fan of at all. I’m not big on poetry, but I found that the way Hopkin’s utilizes it, only enhances the book and never takes away from it. I am sad that I have avoided them for such a long time, as Impulse was really good!

The characters were really well developed. I loved that there was alternating point of views – it really allowed a lot of insight into characters both from their own perspective and from the perspective of others looking in on what they can make of other character’s lives.I really liked all the characters, particularly Tony. He was such a good hearted person after going through a lot of crap, and remained that way.

Hopkins does a great job of putting the reader right in the story. I felt like I was right next to Tony, Conner, and Vanessa all along the way. I also felt very close to them by the end of the book – as Hopkins really allows you to know everything about them. The characters histories are just as interesting as the situation at hand.

Impulse was a really great read. I know need to rush out and read all of Hopkins’s other books, for I have fallen in love with the way Hopkins writes. I would recommend Impulse to all.