Impulse by Ellen Hopkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I really enjoyed Impulse. Ellen Hopkins uses a psychiatric hospital/bootcamp setting for a group of troubled teenagers who have each tried to commit suicide. Tony, a sexually abused and now confused young runaway who overdosed after his best friend/father-figure died of AIDS; Connor, a popular jock comes from a wealthy family, who finally succumbs to the pressures of the constant competition with his twin sister and shoots himself in the chest; and Vanessa, a cutter, who has been burned during her short lifetime by love, an absent father fighting in the Middle East, and a mentally ill mother.
Ellen Hopkins takes us along on the teens' journey of self discovery, and we cheer each new level of freedom that they achieve, as well as mourn their setback.
I found Impulse to be well worth the read. This novel, oddly enough given the shocking ending, has a more hopeful tone than some of Ms Hopkins other novels.
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