Triangles by Ellen Hopkins
Publisher: Atria
Pages: 544
Goodreads: In this emotionally powerful novel, three women face the age-old midlife question: If I'm halfway to death, is this all I've got to show for it? Holly, filled with regret for being a stay-at-home mom, sheds sixty pounds and loses herself in the world of extramarital sex. Andrea, a single mom and avowed celibate, watches her friend Holly's meltdown with a mixture of concern and contempt. Holly is throwing away what Andrea has spent her whole life searching for - a committed relationship with a decent guy. So what if Andrea picks up Holly's castaway husband? Then there's Marissa. She has more than her fair share of challenges - a gay teenage son, a terminally ill daughter, and a husband who buries himself in his work rather than face the facts. As one woman's marriage unravels, another one's rekindles. As one woman's family comes apart at the seems, another's is reconfigured into something bigger and better. In this story of connections and disconnections, one woman's up is another one's down, and all three of them will learn the meaning of friendship, betrayal, and forgiveness before it is through.
Kritters Thoughts: Let me start this review by saying that I was very skeptical for a book in verse. I hadn't experienced one yet and am not much of the poetry fan, so I started this book with some apprehension. After saying that, this is a must read. Although the topics are controversial and the subject matter can be hard to read at times, the fact that it is written in verse worked so well. I was given enough details to feel like I was reading a full book, but not too much, so I could use my imagination. Blown away.
Told from the perspectives of three women who are right around that mid-life crisis point and all are second guessing the decisions they made that lead them to the life they are in currently. I thoroughly enjoyed how Hopkins broke up a few poems for each character and it was all labeled, so I could easily dip back into that characters mind and life and wasn't confused as to who was talking. I experienced every emotion reading this book, from laughing to crying, and even anger towards these women who were making decisions that affected them and their families. The reality of the situations the characters were put in made the verse personal and enabled the story to hit me deeper than I thought it would.
This book can be read by those who love poems and verse AND for those who are a little unsure of this whole different reading experience. I am going now to find her YA books and see how they compare to this adult novel.
Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row
GR Oct-Dec 2011 Challenge: Boxed Set (Madonna, one word titles)
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one copy of this book free of charge from the author in conjunction with Crazy Book Tours. I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.
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I bought this on release date and i'm struggling through it. Definitely try her YA, she holds nothing back.
ReplyDeleteThat is what I expected with this one but it is so chick lit like, I expected hard core emotional because of her YA books.
Even though verse novels are my simple pleasure I have realised I don't enjoy EllenH style.