I love them, but they get right into your bones and tear you apart! I wish my own parents could have read a book like this, just to see how their own behavior and actions could irreparably damage a child’s life.ĭamn. My own teenage years, painful memories, wrong choices, and difficulty with parents all came flooding back. The stories were gripping, painful, and honest. Tricks broke my heart and made my stomach churn. These stories told in verse allowed me to get into the minds and feelings of the characters without extraneous detail, and helped me feel a deeper connection with them. I was also surprised at how much I enjoyed the writing style. As I continued to read, and the characters’ situations became more harrowing, I found the stories very intense and was relieved there was some separation. Hopkins does a brilliant job of infusing her characters with life, personality and emotions. At the beginning, I was a little frustrated at how short their stories were and was afraid that I would not be able to distinguish one character from the next. These stories are brief, and jump from one character to the next and back again. Tricks is a story about five deeply troubled teenagers, all from different areas, backgrounds, and family situations who end up falling into prostitution.Įach character has a story to tell. Dishes were piling up, dust bunnies were fighting back, and I was late to work. Once I started reading, I couldn’t put the book down. Well, Tricks isn’t exactly poetry, but a novel written in verse. Then I thought, “wait a minute, this is freakin’ poetry!” Since I read so little poetry and never developed an appreciation for it, I left the library slightly disappointed. When I opened up the book and glanced at the first few pages, I was delighted and shocked the margins were so wide and there were no more than seven words per line.

Great, just what I need…a 600+ page book and hardly enough time to read. When I went to pick this book up at the library, I was surprised at how small and fat it was.

Tricks hopkins