It is written in verse, as many of her books are, and she presents many issues-abortion, suicide, mental health-with what some call depth, and what others call shallowness. Impulse delves into the triangular relationship that develops between the three characters, set against the backdrop of the hospital.

They end up at Aspen, brought there by pain, and together they try to work out if the alleviation of their shared pain is possible, thereby being able to leave the very place that brought them together. And Conner, who seems outwardly perfect, is beguiled by inner demons that urge him to pull a trigger in his own direction. Tony’s painful childhood finds relief only in pills. Vanessa carries secrets that push her towards a knife. The impulse to kill themselves is exactly what brings them to Aspen, and is exactly what brings them together. Fallout brings some closure as Kristina’s drug-addicted children reunite and find some bond and meaning to tie them together and break the cycle of addiction and misery the family had only thus far known.Īspen Springs Psychiatric Hospital is the place three characters meet in Ellen Hopkins’s coming of age poetry book, Impulse. HellĬrank chronicles the descent into hell of Kristina, and Glass, written in verse, depicts it with even more intensity. Under the influence of drugs, she discovers another entity within her, whom she calls Bree, and whom is the antithesis to Kristina. Kristina is from a good family, she is a bright student and a classic grade-A daughter… until she meets the man who brings drugs into her life. Its main character is Kristina, who is basically a portrayal of her own daughter Cristal. Another daughter, from her four children, Cristal, also fell into an abusive relationship and became addicted to drugs, which caused years of suffering for all those around her.įrom a now safer and calmer space in her life, and married to the love of her life living in Nevada, Ellen Hopkins writes with experience and feeling, with a grittiness and understanding for an audience who truly adore her-and those who don’t at least truly respect her ability to write and galvanize and extract emotion.Ĭrank is the name of the first book of a trilogy and the name of the trilogy itself. One of her daughters married an abuser who kidnapped her and hid her for three years. She dropped out of university to get married, only to find herself in an abusive marriage. She was adopted as a child by elderly parents having been given away at birth. Her graphic depictions of a harsh reality coupled with mercy stem from the pen of an author who has had her fair share of grief.

Impulse by ellen hopkins series