For fans of Ellen Hopkins
Ellen Hopkins' fans may be attracted to her writing because they enjoy stories that explore issues of drug abuse, domestic violence and family stress and trauma. They may also enjoy her writing style which combines poetry with storytelling. The list below combines books that touch on either of these interests -- or both.
Wintergirls, Anderson.
Eighteen-year-old Lia comes to terms with her best friend's death from anorexia as she struggles with the same disorder.
Go Ask Alice, Anonymous.
Based on the diary of a fifteen-year-old drug user chronicling her daily struggle to escape the pull of the drug world.
You, Benoit.
Fifteen-year-old Kyle discovers the shattering ramifications of the decisions he makes, and does not make, about school, the girl he likes, and his future.
Candy, Brooks.
Joe is a clean-cut English teen who falls for Candy, a troubled, addicted teen, and Joe risks everything to help her.
Hate List, Brown.
Sixteen-year-old Valerie, whose boyfriend Nick committed a school shooting at the end of their junior year, struggles to cope with integrating herself back into high school life, unsure herself whether she was a hero or a villain.
Because I am Furniture, Chaltas.
The youngest of three siblings, fourteen-year-old Anke feels both relieved and neglected that her father abuses her brother and sister but ignores her, but when she catches him with one of her friends, she finally becomes angry enough to take action.
You Know Where to Find Me, Cohn.
In the wake of her cousin's suicide, overweight and introverted seventeen-year-old Miles experiences significant changes in her relationships with her mother and father, her best friend Jamal and his family, and her cousin's father, while gaining insights about herself, both positive and negative.
After, Efaw.
In complete denial that she is pregnant, straight-A student and star athlete Devon leaves her baby in the trash to die, and after the baby is discovered, Devon is accused of attempted murder.
Willow, Hoban.
Sixteen-year-old Willow, who was driving the car that killed both of her parents, copes with the pain and guilt by cutting herself, until she meets a smart and sensitive boy who is determined to help her stop.
Cut, McCormick.
While confined to a mental hospital, 13-year-old Callie slowly comes to understand some of the reasons behind her self-mutilation, and gradually starts to get better.
Dancing on the Edge, Nolan.
A young girl from a dysfunctional family creates for herself an alternative world which nearly results in her death but which ultimately leaders her to reality.
The Burn Journals, Runyon.
Brent Runyon was fourteen years old when he set himself on fire. In this book he describes that suicide attempt and his recovery over the following year.
Living Dead Girl, Scott.
Alice, a fifteen-year-old girl who was abducted by Ray when she was ten, lives in fear of what he is going to do to her and hopes death will save her from the nightmare.
Tweak, Sheff.
Nic Sheff was drunk for the first time at age eleven. In the years that followed, he would regularly smoke pot, do cocaine and Ecstasy, and develop addictions to crystal meth and heroin. Even so, he felt like he would always be able to quit and put his life together whenever he needed to. It took a violent relapse one summer in California to convince him otherwise. In a voice that is raw and honest, Nic spares no detail in telling us the compelling, heartbreaking, and true story of his relapse and the road to recovery. As we watch Nic plunge the mental and physical depths of drug addiction, he paints a picture for us of a person at odds with his past, with his family, with his substances, and with himself. It's a harrowing portrait--but not one without hope.
Keesha’s House, Frost.
Seven teens facing such problems as pregnancy, closeted homosexuality, and abuse each describe in poetic forms what caused them to leave home and where they found home again.
Saint Iggy, Going.
Iggy Corso, who lives in city public housing, is caught physically and spiritually between good and bad when he is kicked out of high school, goes searching for his missing mother, and causes his friend to get involved with the same dangerous drug dealer who deals to his parents.
Punkzilla, Rapp.
"Punkzilla" is on a mission to see his older brother "P", before "P" dies of cancer. Still buzzing from his last hit of meth, he embarks on a days-long trip from Portland, Ore. to Memphis, Tenn., writing letters to his family and friends.
Can’t Get There From Here, Strasser.
Tired of being hungry, cold, and dirty from living on the streets of New York City with a tribe of other homeless teenagers, a girl named Maybe ponders her future and longs for someone to care about her.
Nothing, Teller.
When thirteen-year-old Pierre Anthon leaves school to sit in a plum tree and train for becoming part of nothing, his seventh grade classmates set out on a desperate quest for the meaning of life.
Glimpse, Williams.
When thirteen-year-old Pierre Anthon leaves school to sit in a plum tree and train for becoming part of nothing, his seventh grade classmates set out on a desperate quest for the meaning of life.
Rules of Survival, Werlin.
Matthew recounts his attempts, starting at a young age, to free himself and his sisters from the grip of their emotionally and physically abusive mother.
Eighteen-year-old Lia comes to terms with her best friend's death from anorexia as she struggles with the same disorder.
Go Ask Alice, Anonymous.
Based on the diary of a fifteen-year-old drug user chronicling her daily struggle to escape the pull of the drug world.
You, Benoit.
Fifteen-year-old Kyle discovers the shattering ramifications of the decisions he makes, and does not make, about school, the girl he likes, and his future.
Candy, Brooks.
Joe is a clean-cut English teen who falls for Candy, a troubled, addicted teen, and Joe risks everything to help her.
Hate List, Brown.
Sixteen-year-old Valerie, whose boyfriend Nick committed a school shooting at the end of their junior year, struggles to cope with integrating herself back into high school life, unsure herself whether she was a hero or a villain.
Because I am Furniture, Chaltas.
The youngest of three siblings, fourteen-year-old Anke feels both relieved and neglected that her father abuses her brother and sister but ignores her, but when she catches him with one of her friends, she finally becomes angry enough to take action.
You Know Where to Find Me, Cohn.
In the wake of her cousin's suicide, overweight and introverted seventeen-year-old Miles experiences significant changes in her relationships with her mother and father, her best friend Jamal and his family, and her cousin's father, while gaining insights about herself, both positive and negative.
After, Efaw.
In complete denial that she is pregnant, straight-A student and star athlete Devon leaves her baby in the trash to die, and after the baby is discovered, Devon is accused of attempted murder.
Willow, Hoban.
Sixteen-year-old Willow, who was driving the car that killed both of her parents, copes with the pain and guilt by cutting herself, until she meets a smart and sensitive boy who is determined to help her stop.
Cut, McCormick.
While confined to a mental hospital, 13-year-old Callie slowly comes to understand some of the reasons behind her self-mutilation, and gradually starts to get better.
Dancing on the Edge, Nolan.
A young girl from a dysfunctional family creates for herself an alternative world which nearly results in her death but which ultimately leaders her to reality.
The Burn Journals, Runyon.
Brent Runyon was fourteen years old when he set himself on fire. In this book he describes that suicide attempt and his recovery over the following year.
Living Dead Girl, Scott.
Alice, a fifteen-year-old girl who was abducted by Ray when she was ten, lives in fear of what he is going to do to her and hopes death will save her from the nightmare.
Tweak, Sheff.
Nic Sheff was drunk for the first time at age eleven. In the years that followed, he would regularly smoke pot, do cocaine and Ecstasy, and develop addictions to crystal meth and heroin. Even so, he felt like he would always be able to quit and put his life together whenever he needed to. It took a violent relapse one summer in California to convince him otherwise. In a voice that is raw and honest, Nic spares no detail in telling us the compelling, heartbreaking, and true story of his relapse and the road to recovery. As we watch Nic plunge the mental and physical depths of drug addiction, he paints a picture for us of a person at odds with his past, with his family, with his substances, and with himself. It's a harrowing portrait--but not one without hope.
Keesha’s House, Frost.
Seven teens facing such problems as pregnancy, closeted homosexuality, and abuse each describe in poetic forms what caused them to leave home and where they found home again.
Saint Iggy, Going.
Iggy Corso, who lives in city public housing, is caught physically and spiritually between good and bad when he is kicked out of high school, goes searching for his missing mother, and causes his friend to get involved with the same dangerous drug dealer who deals to his parents.
Punkzilla, Rapp.
"Punkzilla" is on a mission to see his older brother "P", before "P" dies of cancer. Still buzzing from his last hit of meth, he embarks on a days-long trip from Portland, Ore. to Memphis, Tenn., writing letters to his family and friends.
Can’t Get There From Here, Strasser.
Tired of being hungry, cold, and dirty from living on the streets of New York City with a tribe of other homeless teenagers, a girl named Maybe ponders her future and longs for someone to care about her.
Nothing, Teller.
When thirteen-year-old Pierre Anthon leaves school to sit in a plum tree and train for becoming part of nothing, his seventh grade classmates set out on a desperate quest for the meaning of life.
Glimpse, Williams.
When thirteen-year-old Pierre Anthon leaves school to sit in a plum tree and train for becoming part of nothing, his seventh grade classmates set out on a desperate quest for the meaning of life.
Rules of Survival, Werlin.
Matthew recounts his attempts, starting at a young age, to free himself and his sisters from the grip of their emotionally and physically abusive mother.