People Kill People
Books | Young Adult Fiction / Social Themes / Violence
4
(805)
Ellen Hopkins
“Fall’s most provocative YA read.” —Entertainment Weekly A New York Times bestseller. Someone will shoot. And someone will die. A compelling and complex novel about gun violence and white supremacy from #1 New York Times bestselling author Ellen Hopkins.People kill people. Guns just make it easier. A gun is sold in the classifieds after killing a spouse, bought by a teenager for needed protection. But which was it? Each has the incentive to pick up a gun, to fire it. Was it Rand or Cami, married teenagers with a young son? Was it Silas or Ashlyn, members of a white supremacist youth organization? Daniel, who fears retaliation because of his race, who possessively clings to Grace, the love of his life? Or Noelle, who lost everything after a devastating accident, and has sunk quietly into depression? One tense week brings all six people into close contact in a town wrought with political and personal tensions. Someone will fire. And someone will die. But who?
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More Details:
Author
Ellen Hopkins
Pages
448
Publisher
Simon and Schuster
Published Date
2018-09-04
ISBN
1481442953 9781481442954
Community ReviewsSee all
" Intense character-driven book with an actually effective plot twist. Despite having an "oh, duh" moment at the end, I really couldn't have guessed it. Hopkins always writes very fleshed-out characters you deeply invest in. I enjoyed a more typical writing style with some of her poetry interspersed to pack extra punch. Despite being a clearly political book, it doesn't feel forced, and even the bad guys aren't one-sided. While the author could have easily fallen back on stereotypes, she didn't. TW: DEATH, GUNS, CHILD SA, DRUGS, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE"
"Ugh. This book was not likable. I begrudgingly read it for the Emergency Preparedness segment of my YA literature course in grad school. I understand that it was meant to make people uncomfortable, because gun violence and white supremacy and misogyny are not comfortable topics to discuss, but it was just frustrating to read. Not a single character in this book was likable. I am pretty sure none of them were capable of loving another being, they were all completely self absorbed, and they all were obsessed with power and control. <spoiler>There was also a detailed account of child sexual abuse, which, again, I understand was put in to make people uncomfortable and usually I am all for raw, real accounts of painful, traumatic events because they need to be openly talked about, but this one really disturbed me.</spoiler><br/><br/><B>Also</b><br/>the author randomly writes<br/>in free verse<br/>thinking it is deep when<br/>it is not<br/>at all<br/><br/>And it's REALLY ANNOYING. This book isn't as deep as the author thinks it is. I would give it 2 stars, but it gets 3 because believe it or not, I was still interested in seeing how it ended and it did hold my attention despite making me mad the entire time."