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Sep 09, 2011

Emily rated it:

3.5 stars. The fact is, this is my third read by Ellen Hopkins and all of the books I've read so far have affected me quite deeply. I've discovered in this past year that I really like novels in verse, I couldn't imagine it being my thing before I first picked up Burned but all the ones I've read have been all the more emotional, moving and effective because of it. Before I start on about what I don't like, I'll just say now: this book is worth your time if you are okay with the depressing, dis More...

10 comments like (20 people liked it)

Dec 05, 2008

Jaclin rated it:

Ellen Hopkins. Amazing writer! I have been trying to figure out words that could describe this book and well I have only been abled to come up with a three. Oh My Gosh!! This book is one of those that you have no idea what it will come out as, and let me tell you when I finished it I was crying like a baby. Hopkins has a way of letting you into the charactors mind then trying put you into their shoes. I was told by a friend to read this book and so I took her word for it and like my mom sa More...

2 comments like (17 people liked it)

Mar 02, 2011

V.E. rated it:

I started this book very excited. Firstly, the cover looked interesting, then I saw that the story was written in verse form and my excitement level went higher. Perhaps my expectations multiplied my disappointment. Halfway through the book, I was only reading because I had already started and wanted to finish what I had started. Now what to start with...

1. There were many times when I couldn't distinguish the voices of the three different protagonists. I would start a chapter from a More...

7 comments like (13 people liked it)

Dec 22, 2008

Nicole rated it:

Impulse
By Ellen Hopkins
Illustrated by Sammy Yuen JR.
666 pp. New York, New York
Simon &Schuster Children’s publishing Division. $9.99
ISBN: 1-4169-0357-7

South Beach Sizzle and The Color of Water all have happy endings-- usually the main characters get what they want-- and live the classical “happily ever after.” Taking it to the next level, Impulse does give one out of three main characters desire: death.
In the impacting story, Impulse, 3 tee More...

9 comments like (3 people liked it)

Oct 06, 2008

Madison added it

Text to World

This was a very dark, yet very effective story of three depressed teenagers who end up at the same treatment center. I wanted to use this for text to world because I feel that it is important for people to understand what others around them go through. Each of the teens in this story attempted suicide, and all for different reasons. Whether it be overbearing and harsh parents, torment from previous relationships, or a long life of constant turmoil, these teens have been More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Dec 13, 2008

Emily rated it:

Impulse by Ellen Hopkins
I’ve never known anyone to personally who has attempted suicide or anyone who’s life is pure horror with scarred relationships till I read Impulse by Ellen Hopkins. The book tells from the three character’s point of view about their life and their everyday struggle to control their inner demons. Ellen Hopkins has shown me how lucky I am for having a good life.

Connor is one of the three main characters. He is your typical everyday popular guy. He’s a joc More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Sep 19, 2010

Michelle. rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Sep 05, 2011

Jen rated it:

Originally posted on my blog, A Book and a Latte:

Brutally honest. Depressing. Hopeful.

Vanessa, Tony, and Conner all attempted suicide and failed, and their paths cross at Aspen Springs where they become friends. I won't lie, this is a tough book. Tough to think that there are kids that actually have these lives. Ellen Hopkins is now another author I applaud for tackling real, difficult issues that teenagers face.

Impulse has great pacing, and is written in bea More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 07, 2010

Tatiana rated it:

"Impulse" is not an easy book to read. The plot is rather dark: three teenagers find themselves at the same psychiatric clinic after failed suicide attempts. Vanessa slit her wrist a little too deep during her "routine" cutting experiment. Conner tried to shoot himself in the chest. Tony overdosed on pills. The reasons seem to be typical - Vanessa suffers from bipolar disorder and cutting is her only way to get her mood swings under control. Conner is going through a severe c More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Feb 13, 2009

Kirsten rated it:

This novel, written in free-verse poetry, is set at a mental institution and follows three teens who tried to commit suicide. Conner is a rich kid with a "perfect" life who tried to shoot himself. Vanessa, whose mother is also bipolar, is a cutter who went too far one day. And Tony, who lived on the street after being abused as a child, tried to kill himself with a drug overdose. Now they are all at a private mental hospital, trying to come to terms with what has brought them there More...

2 comments like (10 people liked it)

Nov 18, 2008

Stephanie Michelle rated it:

[Review for Stragetic Reading Nov. 17th 2008]

The free verse story starts off with three troubled teens dealing with failed suicide attempts in Aspen Springs psychiatric hospital. In the midst of all the chaos at the hospital, the three form a bond with one another. An unlikely group, a cutter, a junkie, and a rich kid suffering a self- inflicted gun shot wound. They fight off the demons that haunt them, together. Tony, a youth struggling to find his own sexual identity, becomes engul More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 04, 2008

Courtney rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jul 29, 2008

Allyson rated it:

Impulse is the story of three teenagers who narrowly escaped death after they each attempted suicide. Their stories intertwine as they come together in a mental institution where they are trying to appreciate the fact that they have been given a second chance at life. The book is filled with the shocking revelations about why Tony, Connor, and Vanessa decided to try to take their own lives.

Impulse is written in a style similar to Hopkins’s other books (Crank, Glass, and Burned), wh More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Apr 16, 2008

Tess rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 06, 2008

Karin rated it:

Three troubled teens cross paths at Aspen Springs, a psychiatric hospital, after attempting suicide. Connor, Tony, and Vanessa all have demons that try to pull them under and get them to succumb to the temptation to try it again; this time making sure they succeed.

Connor's overbearing family, only concerned about his GPA, or his making the varsity football team, or getting into an Ivy League college, offer no solace during his time of need. Feeling suicide is t More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 26, 2009

Jereme rated it:

This book was interesting, because I learned from this book that even people who seem like they have it all, sometimes don't want to have it all. There are three main characters in this book; Conner, Vanessa, and Tony. Conner takes pills and its a difficult life for him, parents always wanting him to be best in everything. Vanessa usually cuts her wrists, her mother is loony, says she has a gaurdian angel. Vanessa also has BPD (Bi-Polar Disorder). Tony lost his best friend and foster father, Phi More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 02, 2008

Shay rated it:

This book really hit home for me. The emotion and somewhat depression that is in the book is just like a real life story. Even if people don't want to always admitt that we all have our time or day's when we get that sad, alone and depressed feeling.You really see that in this book that you can be in the middle of time squar and still feel with all them people around you that you are the lonelist person ever. And the great thing about this book is that you realise you aren't and that people are More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 26, 2011

Michaela rated it:

Impulse by Ellen Hopkins is one of the few books that simply takes my breath away.

Impulse tells the story of three teens who meet at a psychiatric hospital after attempting suicide. It follows their story as individuals and as a whole. And it shows how they helped themselves and each other down the long road to a better life.

Hopkins's style of writing is unique and helps bring the story to life. Her characters are developed in such a way that you can't help but truly care fo More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 15, 2011

Tara rated it:

Another 5 star book from Ellen Hopkins with an end, that if you haven't guessed close to it, will shock you completly. I love an author who's not afraid to right with such deepth and truth. Brilliant.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 21, 2009

Brittany rated it:

Without Warning

Sometimes
You're traveling
A highway, the only road
You've ever known
And WHAM! A semi
Comes from nowhere
And rolls right over you
Sometimes
You don't wake up
But if you happen
To, you know things
Will never be
The same
Sometimes
That's not
So bad.
Sometimes
More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Sep 09, 2011

Dylan rated it:

This book is the story of 3 kids who all commit suicide and fail. Because of the concern of their family and friends they are put in a pshyciatric hospital for teens. Even thought they seem like they are on the road to recovery, they still desperately want to kill themselves.

The characters were what drove this story. They were very real and you really care for them. This book is definately a favorite, and if you don't mind reading a novel that's written in verse, than you shoul More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Mar 01, 2009

Damon rated it:

In this book you’ll read about 3 people that all have something in common, they all don’t like the way that they’re living. Even though life is precious some of us don’t really see it that way because in this book it is a composition of poems and it’s very fascinating how well the author wrote the book. In this book there are 3 main characters Connor, Tony, and Vanessa. Connor faces the problem of not really showing how he feels to others. Connor is a popular kid that every girl would die for al More...

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Feb 25, 2009

Melanie rated it:

Recently, I read the novel Impulse, by Ellen Hopkins. I really enjoyed the style of this book because it is all written in small poems but tells a story throughout. To me, this book was a turn pager and it was hard to put down.
This book follows the lives of three teenagers that for different reasons, attempted to commit suicide. These three are all in a rehabilitation center called Aspen Springs. The trick to the book is that each character is his/her own narrator. I like that yo More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 10, 2009

Thomas rated it:

Okay - so, this was the first book I've read from Ellen Hopkins. Before I read it I had been avoiding her writing for a long time because the books looked lengthy and the style of poetry didn't seem to be right up my alley - but I was proved wrong.

Impulse is about three 17 year old teens who have each tried to commit suicide - and failed. They wind up in a treatment camp called Aspen Springs, and eventually find each other. Together, they face their old demons and find new friendship More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jan 09, 2009

Patty rated it:

The genre of Impulse is fiction. I chose the book because it was recommended by a friend. I have also herd a lot of good things about Ellen Hopkins other books. The book is from the point of view of three 17 year olds, Vanessa, Tony, and Connor. They are all protagonists. They are supported by hospital staff like Ms. Boston, Sean, and Raven. Each chapter is what one character experiences at a time. Vanessa and Tony's antagonists are their mom's. Both characters fathers are memories. Connor's ant More...

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Dec 05, 2008

Ashley rated it:

Impulse is an intense book about 3 teenagers(17 years old) who each attempted to coommit suicide a different way. They all survive the accident and get put into an institute for teens. The 3 of them meet in there and become great friends who shares all their secrets together. There’s many surprises and a very twisted ending. My favorite character in the book is Vannessa, she is a strong person on the inside and outside and really wants to get better. She also tries to help Conner whom is so far More...

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Dec 15, 2011

Jody rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like

Nov 22, 2011

Kenna rated it:

This was amazing! I absolutely loved it.
When I first checked it out at the library, I was surprised by how big of a book it was. Then I noticed how it is written in a poem type form, and because of that I didn't want to read it anymore; worried that it wouldn't make sense being written that way. I finally started reading it, and I was hooked immediately. I read it in one day, and I still can't believe how awesome this book was!
I honestly dis-liked how the ending was so abrupt (I total More...

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Nov 15, 2011

Mikella rated it:

I loved Impulse just as much as I’ve loved all of Ellen Hopkins’ books so far. It was different in some ways, because it was the first I’ve read that is from multiple points of view. It was great to see from three very different perspectives. The method was effective, because each of the three characters (Connor, Tony, and Vanessa) have a distinct voice and perception of the world, love and the things that have brought them to Aspen Springs. The only thing that was frustrating about this switch More...

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Oct 17, 2011

Marinea rated it:

Impulse is one of my favorite novels. It is not an easy book to read, but Ellen Hopkins did a phenomenal job.I was in a book store and saw the title and it made me laugh because people always say that I am impulsive. I smelled it, turned it over to read the back and was captivated by this quote. "Act on your impulse, swallow the bottle, cut a little deeper, put the gun to your chest." As someone who struggled with self injury, who abused alcohol, who popped pills, lost loved ones to su More...

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