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Impulse (Impulse, #1)

Ellen Hopkins

Start date: January 1, 2020

Finish date: January 30, 2020

Discussion: Author's Pick

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by Ellen Hopkins
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by Ellen Hopkins

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What Members Thought

Jul 21, 2013 Mariah Roze rated it really liked it

Shelves: diversity-in-all-forms-book-club

"Three lives, three different paths to the same destination: Aspen Springs, a psychiatric hospital for those who have attempted the ultimate act—suicide.
Vanessa is beautiful and smart, but her secrets keep her answering the call of the blade.
Tony, after suffering a painful childhood, can only find peace through pills.
And Conner, outwardly, has the perfect life. But dig a little deeper and find a boy who is in constant battle with his parents, his life, himself.
In one instant each of these young ...more

11 likes · Like · see review

Nov 18, 2017 Zephyr rated it liked it

Shelves: battle-of-the-books-yr-2

If you are legitimately depressed, please, please, please do not read this book.

**Major trigger warning for self injury, rape, suicide, and almost everything in between.**

I won’t talk too much about how stuffed full of problems Hopkins likes to make her characters, because that’s been talked about way to much in the reviews for this book. Yes, she does tend to add more and more problems into her characters, but I find based on the people I know and what I’ve personally gone through, it’s almost If you are legitimately depressed, please, please, please do not read this book.

**Major trigger warning for self injury, rape, suicide, and almost everything in between.**

I won’t talk too much about how stuffed full of problems Hopkins likes to make her characters, because that’s been talked about way to much in the reviews for this book. Yes, she does tend to add more and more problems into her characters, but I find based on the people I know and what I’ve personally gone through, it’s almost realistic. If someone has a problem, it usually goes as deep as Hopkins writes it is. Yes she goes overboard, but just writing a character who is just a cutter isn’t at all possible. First, there’s an original reason for that character to cut, then there’s how/why they began to cut instead of signing up for wrestling or aggressively taking things apart as a coping mechanism, and of course, after that, there’s then the resulting problem from being so deeply intrenched into an addiction to self-mutilation. And that’s just one example. There is always more than just that one problem, and Hopkins handles writing that fairly well. Not phenomenally, not really super well, but fairly well. Better than some other authors, but not at all approaching perfect, either. And I think my point of view on this is a direct result of what I’ve gone through and overcome and still endure. But enough about me.

What I have a huge problem with in this book is the romanticism of such things that should not be romanticized but talked about in realistic way. I felt like Hopkins wrote like being depressed was cool and that killing yourself was the best way to solve your problems and it’s not. I felt like she wrote with a flippant disregard for the people with these legitimate problems. One of those ways was stockpiling each person with so many problems it was hard to keep track of, as if being raped wasn’t enough of a problem to make someone feel bad for them. And another was simply writing these characters in such a realistic way that those who have these problems can’t read it lest they be majorly triggered about something, and those who don’t have these problems can empathize but not in a way that helps the situation.

Awesome concept and a honorable attempt at writing these characters, but the writing choices Hopkins made are ones I can’t get behind. Sorry, Ellen. And sorry to those who loved this book. I just felt a disconnect in this one.

3.0 Stars ...more

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Jul 17, 2018 Kate rated it liked it

This is similar to the author’s other books as it is written in verse. It is written from the perspective of three teenagers who are all in a residential treatment facility for various mental health conditions. All of these teens have different diagnoses and different life experiences so far. This book tells the story of how their relationships and friendships evolve.

4 likes · Like · see review

Jan 19, 2018 Stay Fetters rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: thrift-store-find

"Forever has no meaning when you're living in the moment."

When I first got into reading, Ellen Hopkins helped me find a way for my love of books to grow. She helped me find that nothing has to be perfect in life and was the first author I've witnessed that used verse to get her moving point across.

I think my time has ended where her books finally reach something inside of me. Usually, I'm hooked instantly and this one felt like so many of her other books. There didn't seem to be anything differ ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Dec 12, 2015 Cecily Black rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I really enjoyed this book as I do all the Ellen Hopkins books that I have read thus far. It was interesting hearing from three perspectives and their different aspects of mental illness and fighting for their lives. This book can definitely be a trigger book so make sure you are in the right frame of mind when you are getting ready to read it. I look forward to reading the next installment.

2 likes · Like · see review