Perfect by Ellen Hopkins

In Hopkin's sequel, she introduces readers to the need for perfection that some teenagers face, which leads them to feed the IMPULSE. Cara, Conner's twin sister, has her entire life planned for her, and everything seems to be falling into place until she realizes a part of herself that no longer wishes to stay hidden. Sean, Cara's boyfriend, has a plan, too: earn a baseball scholarship to Stanford and make Cara love him. But, what happens when half of the equation refuses to play the game? Then, there is Kendra. Beautiful, ambitious Kendra, who is willing to sell her life for a modeling career. As her stock begins to soar, she wonders if the cost will prove deadly. And, finally, Andre is a young man who must decide if his dreams are worth having, or if they're simply fantasies keeping him from reality.

The novel begins from Cara's perspective right after Conner attempts suicide and is sent to Aspen Springs. Although he isn't at the center of the novel, he is the glue that holds a lot of it together. For instance, Kendra is in love with him, Cara is distraught about his attempted suicide, Sean was his teammate, and Andre dates Kendra's sister, who knows all four main characters. Hopkins does a good job of weaving in and out of Conner's story to flow into their personal demons, constantly tying them together. Even though I enjoyed this book, I felt like it became repetitive in several places. I know that the goal was to present certain events from different perspectives, which I liked; however, I'm referring to the fact that each character of the story seemed to repeat what they said and did in the previous section. For instance, every time Sean surfaced, I knew he was going to whine about Cara and baseball - nothing new. When it was Andre's turn, I knew that Jenna (Kendra's sister, his girlfriend) and he would go on a date, and she would ruin it by acting insensitive; then, he would apologize and tell her how much he loved her. Kendra was going to count calories and not eat; Cara was going to question her entire life. For me, I would have liked more action and interaction so that the story didn't become dull. Hopkins did throw in a couple of twists towards the end, which really helped the novel end powerfully. I just wish that more of those events would have been woven throughout the entire novel.

This novel could be stand-alone; however, the ending of the first book will be spoiled.

Tricks by Ellen Hopkins

Five teenagers. Five very different lives. Only one solution. Ellen Hopkins takes statistics about female prostitution, and weaves a tale of betrayal, hopelessness, and want. Each teen, through unforeseeable circumstances, finds themselves alone and unable to care for themselves. Some are tricked into prostitution by pimps masquerading as would-be saviors while others fall into it because they see no other choice. Some make it out; some can't walk away; and some disappear, but they all carry scars - deep, gaping scars that will never
heal.

Like all of Hopkins' books, this one provides a stark look at America's dirty-little-secret. People who like to pretend that prostitution is something limited to drug addicts and women who don't want to earn honest wages need to stay away from this book because it will shatter those stereotypical assumptions. Instead, it will show readers that their neighbors, friends, and even children could easily slip into the abyss and never claw their way out. Hopelessness has no bias, and if money is the root of all evil, then what's the big deal with turning a trick or two?

Powerful, powerful book. The main thing that people need to take away from this novel is to be less judgemental and more kind. When we see people in need, we should be good samaritans.

I will warn readers that there are multiple, explicit sex scenes. These are not glorified, nor are they presented to entertain the reader. They are meant to show the degredation of human decency when survival is all that is left.

**Mature readers only!**