Tricks [Paperback]

 

 

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First of all, this book is called TRICKS, therefore one should easily see that it is about postitution. And what is prostitution without sex? So, yes, obviously this book is about sex and drugs!!! However it is an excellent book which makes you realize how some kids have a hard life which may not be obvious to others! It is very sad to see these kids turn to prostitution, however it demonstrates how each individual was forced to turn to doing tricks because of there families! This book makes you realize how bad some kids have it and makes you appreciate the things you do have! Ellen Hopkins touches various subjects that most kids go through, however these books defenitly make you see drugs, family, sex, etc. in a different ways! I defenitly recommend these books to all teens in hopes of preventing them from doing or going through these scary situations, and if they have, for them to realize they are not alone and there is help out there! Defenitely a five star author!!!!

This book was amazing. Each story was suspenseful, intruiging, disturbing, and in some cases sad. It was terrible to see how each teen ended up turning tricks. But each story was beleivable. The characters are excellently done so that you feel sympathy towards them all. And despite some of their choices all the characters are likeable.

My favorite characters were Ginger, the girl who's mother was a prostitute and as a result has many children to different fathers that she can't take care of, and Whitney, the girl living in her older sisters shadow with a jerk for a boyfriend. The other characters, Cody, Seth, and Eden, also have great stories as well. Each story is seperate but they do interconnect in some subtle ways. Now I can't downplay the role sex and drugs plays in this book which some other reviewers have a problem with, but it is called tricks for a reason. Before picking it up you should know it's about prostitution. This is probably filled with the most brutal stories I've read by Ellen Hopkins. But all in all this book was fantastic. If you liked it i would also recommend reading 'Living Dead Girl.'

Eden, Ginger, Cody, Seth, and Whitney are teens whose life circumstances have taken them to an increasingly common yet horrible place. Simple survival is their motivation for selling sex for money.

Eden never thought about sex. Raised by a fire-and-brimstone father and mother meant hours in a church pew, not on dates and at parties. Meeting Andrew changed her life. He was just as innocent as she was, so the two learned about love together. It was real and special until her parents found out. She was sent away to a terrible place, and she did what she had to in order to escape.

Ginger's life was always filled with sex. Her mother had six kids by five different guys, and her attempt to keep food on the table involved any man looking for what she was willing to sell. Thank goodness for a grandmother willing to take them in and do what she could to provide for them. Ginger vowed to be different, but when her mother began to use her for profit, it was time to leave. But making a change from what you've always known is not as easy as it seems.

Life for Cody and his brother, Cory, improved when their mother married Jack. Jack was great at filling the role of dad, and Cody appreciated it. Cory may have been rebelling, but Cody did his best to be a responsible son and step-son. Then cancer struck and Jack was gone. Things got crazy when there wasn't enough money. Gambling might provide the answer, but he needed a supply of cash to make money that way, forcing him in directions he knew were dangerous.

Seth and his dad survived the death of a mother and wife. Their simple Indiana farm life continued on without her; however, that simple life didn't welcome the fact that Seth had known for quite some time that he was gay. He actually lived two separate lives - the farm life his father assumed he would continue, and the new life he had found in Louisville. As long as he could keep the two lives separate, he could make everyone happy. When a letter caused the two to collide, Seth learned that his father could not accept the truth, so he was forced to leave. A man named Carl made an offer Seth couldn't refuse, but so often those offers don't last forever.

Whitney is popular and beautiful. She is used to having the things she wants but not always the attention she desires. Her doting father is gone a lot on business, which leaves her with a busy mother whose focus has always been on her older daughter. Hooking up with a popular guy gives Whitney a reason to carry on, but when that relationship ends, she is left with anger. That anger drives her in a rebellious direction that she will soon regret.

Ellen Hopkins takes her readers on yet another dangerous journey into lives that have gone wrong. The focus is on the increasingly current trend of teenagers forced into selling themselves to survive. Whether it is out-and-out prostitution or the thinly disguised "escort" services, more and more teens are involved in sex for money.

The five young people in TRICKS all have very different reasons for getting caught up in this destructive lifestyle, and Hopkins paints a stirring and vivid picture of each of their paths into this terrible world. TRICKS is hard-hitting and disturbingly direct as it details the downward spiral of five lives.

Fans of Ellen Hopkins are no doubt anxiously awaiting this new release. One word of caution from this reviewer is that this direct approach to a serious subject is best suited for older teens.

Reviewed by: Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"

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