Tricks

Content Warning: This section includes discussion of child sexual abuse, substance use, and addiction.

Ellen Hopkins is a best-selling author who writes young adult fiction. Hopkins’s novels deal with themes of abuse, mental illness, and societal pressures for teenagers. Most of Hopkins’s novels are written in free verse, which allows for an easy reading style that contrasts with the severity of the issues she explores. The free-verse style that Hopkins writes in highlights the emotion and pain of the narrators, particularly in a novel like Tricks where the narrator changes repeatedly. Hopkins cites her inspiration for addressing intense themes in her young adult novels as her daughter’s addiction to crystal methamphetamine. A straight-A student who wanted to study art in college, Hopkins’s daughter met someone who exposed her to drugs, a relationship that led her to decades of drug addiction that “affected everyone who cared for her” (Tanner, Courtney. “She’s One of the Most Banned Authors in Utah Schools. This Is What She Has to Say.” The Salt Lake Tribune, 25 Oct. 2023). Crank is Hopkins’s daughter’s and the family’s story, and she wrote that novel and Glass to outline how complicated drug addiction is, which she witnessed firsthand through her daughter.