Author: Ellen Hopkins
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Pub. Date: January 23, 2007
Length: 672 Pages
Series: Impulse #1
Summary (from goodreads):
Sometimes, you don't wake up. But if you happen to, you know things will never be the same.
Three lives, three different paths to the same destination: Aspen Springs, a psychiatric hospital for those who have attempted the ultimate act -- suicide.
Vanessa is beautiful and smart, but her secrets keep her answering the call of the blade.
Tony, after suffering a painful childhood, can only find peace through pills.
And Conner, outwardly, has the perfect life. But dig a little deeper and find a boy who is in constant battle with his parents, his life, himself.
In one instant each of these young people decided enough was enough. They grabbed the blade, the bottle, the gun -- and tried to end it all. Now they have a second chance, and just maybe, with each other's help, they can find their way to a better life -- but only if they're strong and can fight the demons that brought them here in the first place.
My thoughts: "Memory is a tenuous thing. . . . flickering glimpses, blue and white, like ancient, decomposing 16mm film. Happiness escapes me there, where faces are vague and yesterday seems to come tied up in ribbons of pain. Happiness? I look for it instead in today, where memory is something I can still touch, still rely on. I find it in the smiles of new friends, the hope blossoming inside. My happiest memories have no place in the past; they are those I have yet to create." ~ from Impulse
One word: Wow.
Ellen Hopkins is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. She writes these powerful, hard-to-read-at-times stories in verse, yet still manages to make me love them and draw me in completely. I loved everything about Impulse... except one thing, the ending. I don't mean how it ended, but the way the ending felt. It didn't seem very final at all and seemed to lack the right emotion. Or maybe it didn't and I'm just in denial XD
I looooved Impulse, and I can't even fully explain why. I can't quite remember the ending but it was upsetting considering what happened.
ReplyDeleteDid you know there's going to be a sequel?? The characters in Impulse will be making some appearances. I can't wait!
This novel is one of the first I've read from Hopkins, and I'm glad i finally picked this book up from the shelf and read it. I loved it personally, because I am a huge fan of poetry, and this book uses a lot of cascading, poetic lines. This book hit me emotionally like a big fat blow to the chest. I cried, yeah, but that's what makes you really love a book - when you care for the characters as if they were people you knew and loved.
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