Tricks

Title: Tricks
Author: Ellen Hopkins
Published: Aug 2009
ISBN: 9781416950073
Price: 10.99
Genre: realistic fiction, novels in verse
Reading Level: 5th grade
Interest Level:  10th-12th grade
Awards: Rainbow Lists
Plot Summary: The story is about 5 troubled teens who fall into teenage prostitution. Each teens situation and background is different. Seth is teen who lives with his conservative father on their farm but Seth is gay and has been hiding it from his father. He has been secretly dating a man but when he tells Seth that his moving away Seth falls into depression. Then Seth is forced to leave when his father finds love letters from his boyfriend. With no money and no options Seth becomes the lover to an older wealthy man who in exchange for sex takes care of Seth. There is Eden, who is the daughter of a conservative preacher. Eden falls in love with a guy despite her parents strict rules on dating. When they discover Eden's hidden relationship they send her off to camp Zion to be cleansed of the devil. Soon Eden realizes her only escape is to trade sexual favors for what she needs. Whitney is dating a guy who she thinks loves her but when he takes her virginity and then dumps her she is completely lost. She then falls for an older guy who seems to care about her feeling and is nothing like her ex boyfriend. But when they run away together things change for the worse. Soon he is getting her high and using her for sex and then he starts to force strange men on her. Ginger always swore she would never become her mother who sells herself for sex, especially after she was raped by some of the strange men Ginger brings around. But when Ginger finds out that her mother allowed these rapes in exchange for money Ginger runs off with her girlfriend to Las Vegas. but soon Ginger finds that she is forced into her mother's profession. Lastly there is Cory who has a hot new girlfriend and a good life that is until his step father dies and leaves his family broke. Cory tries to gamble his way out of poverty but when that doesn't work he turn to prostitution. But how can Cory have sex with men if he isn't gay, or maybe he is, Cory doesn't know anymore.
Review: Ellen Hopkin's books are dark, gritty, and extremely graphic. Tricks presents some very challenging and graphic content that at times is disturbing. But there is something in the way that Hopkins writes that doesn't allow you to put the book down, even when the content is disturbing. You can't help but feel that these stories are real. The 5 stories all seem to flow together as each character falls into prostitution. I like how Hopkin's shows that different teens from different backgrounds can all fall victim to teenage prostitution. She does't just stick to stereotypes of drugged out teens but instead shows the spiral of desperation that lead these teens to their position. The story doesn't end happily but Hopkin's at least gives readers a glimmer of hope with a few of the characters stories.
Reader's Annotation: Five different teens from across the country all find themselves involved in teenage prostitution. This is not what they thought love was about.
Bibliotherapeutic usefulness: The story deals with drug addiction, rape, prostitution, love, acceptance, LGBT issues, poverty and family issues. Teens can experience these tragic and often disturbing issues through the safety of a book. The book also act as almost a warning on how some teens fall prey to teenage prostitution.
Issues: There is a lot in Hopkins books that people will take offense with. The book contains very graphic sex sense involving men and woman, woman and woman and also men with men. There is a lot drug and alcohol use by teens and other characters. There is scenes of violence, abuse and rape. The story is extremely graphic in nature and deals with a controversial issue.
Book Talk Ideas: This books would be difficult to book talk due to it's very graphic and disturbing content. I think the best way to book talk a book like this is to be very upfront about the stories content but to also focus on the personal struggles of the characters. That is what teens will connect with.
Main Themes: rape, prostitution, drug abuse, families, love, abuse, identity
Read-alikes: Fallout by Ellen Hopkins
Author Website: http://ellenhopkins.com/
Professional Reviews: Kirkus Reviews
Why this book was chosen: Ellen Hopkins books are known for their graphic and realistic nature. It is because of this that her books are often banned or censored. The books have huge appeal to teens, especially reluctant readers.