Tricks

Tricks by Ellen Hopkins

-Anthoulla Themistokleous

            “Some people never find the right kind of love. You know, the kind that steals your breath away, like diving into snowmelt.” This sentence comes from a fantastic novel that has completely blown me away. At times it was painful to read. I’ve never really seen the world in a different way than the way I’ve read it here. It’s hard to understand because I’ve never experienced or went through any of the affairs that these characters have been through. It makes me open my eyes and realize that sometimes you’d do anything just for love. This is shameful because you never know the limit of love and the boundaries you break and the morals you break can change you.

I learned something from each character and each of their stories has different meanings and morals to them. Eden, Ginger, Cody, Seth, and Whitney all share something in common: sex. One way or another they’re all selling their bodies for money and not only is it illegal but they’re teens whose life circumstances have taken them to an increasingly common, yet horrible place. Simple survival is their motivation for selling sex for money. This has changed my way of thinking because I now know how love can change you and make you turn into a   totally different person, a  monster. I also understood the impact they put on their families the worry and the constant feeling as to what they’re doing and where they are. How can someone so young do such vile things?

"When all choice is taken from you, life becomes a game of survival." I’ve never been in love before, and I find that this novel really opened my mind. It’s all about finding yourself and really identifying who you are. At a young age, you can’t really understand and uncover your identity and where you belong, and that can change a person’s living.

People change, and that’s what really inspires me the most about life and this book. At the end, Eden, Ginger, Cody, Seth and Whitney all became mindful as to what they did and what they went through for love, sex, money, drugs, and to find a place in this world. The moral is: no matter what the situation is, in the end, you finally manage to understand your mistakes.  Honestly it’s hard to realize and surpass what you been through, but in the end you wake up and find the quality of life. This novel definitely takes you to another world and you sort of put yourself in each and every one of their shoes.