Book Club Sets

Book Club Author Suggestion: Ellen Hopkins

"People inspire me. Everyone is such an individual and has unique stories." - Ellen Hopkins

By Regan Harper: Published on
Book Club Sets
Headshop of Ellen Hopkins with her arms crossed in front of her wearing a paisley button front shirt.

Brief Bio:

Ellen Louise Hopkins (born March 26, 1955) is an acclaimed American author and poet, best known for her gripping and emotionally charged young adult and adult novels written in free verse. Her works often explore complex themes such as addiction, mental health, family dynamics, and identity, drawing on her own life experiences for authenticity and depth.

Born in Long Beach, California, Hopkins was adopted and raised in Palm Springs. She demonstrated a passion for writing from an early age, writing poetry and stories as a child.

Hopkins gained widespread recognition with her debut novel, “Crank” (2004), inspired by her daughter’s struggles with methamphetamine addiction. The book, written in free verse, resonated with readers and became a bestseller. She followed up with other successful novels, including “Glass,” “Fallout,” “Impulse,” and “Identical.”

Many of her works have been praised for their raw honesty and for addressing difficult topics that resonate with teens and adults alike. Known for her free-verse poetic style, Hopkins’s books are accessible yet deeply poignant, allowing readers to connect with her characters on an emotional level. Ellen Hopkins’s fearless exploration of challenging subjects has made her a powerful voice in contemporary literature, earning her a dedicated readership and influencing conversations about social and personal issues.

Available Works in the Colorado Book Club Resource

The Book Club Resource has 8+ copies of each title available for 8 weeks at a time to reading groups across the state. The descriptions below were taken from Amazon.com.

Crank (2004) | Discussion Questions

Crank Book Cover Art

Life was good
before I
met
the monster.


After,
life
was great,
At
least

for a little while.

Kristina Snow is the perfect daughter: gifted high school junior, quiet, never any trouble.

Then, Kristina meets the monster: crank. And what begins as a wild, ecstatic ride turns into a struggle through hell for her mind, her soul—her life.

Identical (2008) | Discussion Questions

Identical Cover Art

Beneath their perfect family façade, twin sisters struggle alone with impossible circumstances and their own demons until they finally learn to fight for each other in this poignant tour de force from bestselling author Ellen Hopkins.

Sixteen-year-old Kaeleigh and Raeanne are identical down to the dimple. As daughters of a district court judge father and a politician mother, they are an all-American family…on the surface. Underneath run very deep and damaging secrets. What really happened in the car accident that Daddy caused? And why is Mom never home, always running far away to pursue some new dream?

The girls themselves have become hopelessly divided over the years. Sick of losing Daddy’s game of favorites, Raeanne turns to painkillers, alcohol, and sex to dull her pain her anger. Kaeleigh tries to be her father’s perfect little flower, but being the misplaced focus of his sexual attention has her seeking control anywhere she can—even if it means cutting herself and unhealthy binge and purge eating.

Secrets like the ones the twins are harboring are not meant to be kept—from each other or anyone else. Before long, it’s obvious that neither sister can handle their problems alone, and one must step up to save the other, but the question is…who?

Tricks (2009) | Discussion Questions

Tricks Cover Art

Five troubled teenagers fall into prostitution as they search for freedom, safety, community, family, and love in this #1 New York Times bestselling novel from Ellen Hopkins.

When all choice is taken from you, life becomes a game of survival.

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?”

A brilliant achievement from New York Times bestselling author Ellen Hopkins—who has been called “the bestselling living poet in the country” by Mediabistro.com—Tricks is a book that turns you on and repels you at the same time. Just like so much of life.

Traffick (2015) | Discussion Questions

Traffick Cover Art

Five teens victimized by sex trafficking try to find their way to a new life in this “sincere and moving” (Booklist) companion to the #1 New York Times bestselling Tricks from Ellen Hopkins, author of Crank.

In her bestselling novel, Tricks, Ellen Hopkins introduced us to five memorable characters tackling these enormous questions: Eden, the preacher’s daughter who turns tricks in Vegas and is helped into a child prostitution rescue; Seth, the gay farm boy disowned by his father who finds himself without money or resources other than his own body; Whitney, the privileged kid coaxed into the life by a pimp and whose dreams are ruined in a heroin haze; Ginger, who runs away from home with her girlfriend and is arrested for soliciting an undercover cop; and Cody, whose gambling habit forces him into the life, but who is shot and left for dead.

And now, in Traffick, these five are faced with the toughest question of all: Is there a way out? How these five teenagers face the aftermath of their decisions and experiences is the soul of this story that exposes the dark, ferocious underbelly of the child trafficking trade. Heartwrenching and hopeful, Traffick takes us on five separate but intertwined journeys through the painful challenges of recovery, rehabilitation, and renewal to forgiveness and love. All the way home.

A Few Notable Facts:

  • Ellen Louise Hopkins was adopted at birth by Albert and Valeria Wagner. Her adoptive father was 72, and her mother was 42 at the time of her adoption.
  • Hopkins exhibited a passion for writing from a young age, with her first poem published in the Palm Springs Desert Sun when she was just nine years old.
  • She graduated from Saion High School in 1973 and pursued studies in journalism at Crafton Hills College and the University of California, Santa Barbara. However, she left university before completing her degree to start a family and business.
  • After experiences, including a divorce and the abduction of her daughter, Hopkins relocated to northern Nevada in 1990. There, she embarked on a writing career, beginning with freelance newspaper and magazine articles before transitioning to children’s nonfiction.
  • Hopkins is best known for works that tackle complex issues faced by teenagers. Her debut novel, Crank (2004), is loosely based on her daughter’s struggle with addiction to crystal meth. This was followed by other notable works such as Burned (2006) and Impulse (2007).
  • Several of her novels have achieved New York Times bestseller status, resonating with both teenage and young adult audiences.
  • Beyond writing, Hopkins is a regular speaker at schools, book festivals, and writers’ conferences across the United States and internationally, where she discusses issues such as addiction, mental health, and the challenges faced by today’s youth.
  • Hopkins has been married to her husband, John Hopkins, since the early 1990s. They have a blended family, including their adopted grandson, Orion.
  • Later in life, she reconnected with her biological mother, Toni Chandler, who was also a writer and poet.
  • Ellen Hopkins’s work is distinguished by its raw and honest portrayal of real-life issues, making her a significant figure in contemporary young adult literature.

Quotations:

  • “Believe it or not, I sold my first novel, ‘Crank,’ with only seventy-five pages complete. It was in verse then, and it was hard-hitting then.”
  • “I couldn’t have known ‘Crank’ was going to be published, let alone become a big hit. That book was very personal for me: I had to tell the story for myself.”
  • Nonfiction speaks to the head. Fiction speaks to the heart. Poetry speaks to the soul. It’s the essence of beauty. The essence of pain. It pleases the eye and the ear.”
  • “People inspire me. Everyone is such an individual and has unique stories. I’m a voyeur. I eavesdrop. Sometimes I ask questions. And sometimes people just want to tell me their stories.”
  • “Without poetry, stories would be told in sepia.“
  • “For short term relaxation, I take a hot tub. It’s my best way to unblock writers’ block, too. For a bit longer relaxation, I enjoy camping. Just being in the wilderness, with no phones or computers or anything I have to do really refreshes my spirit.”
  • “And at some point I would like to talk my publisher into doing an anthology of my poetry alongside some teen readers’ poetry. It would be fun, and really wonderful to get their stuff out there.”
  • “I write books for young adults because I truly connect with them on some very deep level. They are our hope, our future, and inspiring them to be the best they can be is very important to me.”
  • “I write poetry anyway and have for years and years. For me, putting fiction and poetry together is like the best of both worlds.”
  • “I never actually plan sequels. They demand to be done.”
  • “There are people who think it’s easier to write books in verse, and it’s definitely not.”
  • “Sometimes, the larger truth of fiction is more valuable than the focused truth of memoir.”
  • “You really have to get inside your characters’ heads and view their world through their eyes.”
  • “You can’t lie or try the old ‘just say no’ thing. Drugs and alcohol will tempt most of them. They can choose not to go there; but honest information is what will help them make the better choices.”
  • “The emotions of my characters largely belong to me. How would I feel/react in that situation? Why or why wouldn’t this character feel/react the same way?”

Additional Resources & Further Reading

Sources

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Regan Harper
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