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.

Ellen hopkins series