Publishers Weekly
In this companion to Hopkins’s adult book, Triangles (2011), the author offers a gripping novel-in-verse about teens whose lives shift dramatically because of sex. High school junior Mikayla is in love, but her relationship with her boyfriend is tested when she gets pregnant. Shane, 16, is dating a boy with HIV and coping with his four-year-old sister’s incurable illness. Harley, a freshman, starts experimenting with drinking and drugs, as an older boy pressures her to have sex. Readers unfamiliar with Triangles may have trouble tracking the characters’ interlinked relationships, but Hopkins’s many fans will find plenty of authenticity, especially in Harley’s story (“I’m Running/ With a fast crowd and I’m not/ sure how I got here... I never expected to go/ this far”), and appreciate the author’s clever touches (the closing words/lines of the three narrators’ sections lead into single-page poems from the POV of other key characters). While these stories are not quite as compelling as those in Hopkins’s previous books, readers will likely move through this installment just as quickly. Ages 14–up. Agent: Laura Rennert, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. (Sept)
The Horn Book Guide
"By turns poised and visceral."
SLJ
"Graphic, bitingly honest, and voluminous verse."
From the Publisher
"This will be recognizable territory to anyone who has read Hopkins’ earlier novels. . . . As a cautionary tale, however, this offers helpful insights into the continuing presence of HIV in teen lives and the urgency of making better choices in matters involving sex."—Booklist
"Brimming with shoes about to drop (some do, some don’t) and the drama her fans devour . . ."—Kirkus Reviews
Library Journal - Audio
04/15/2014
The world is changing for teens Mikayla, Shane, and Harley, who were introduced in Triangles, Hopkins's novel for adults. Mikayla thought she found her true love with Dylan, but that changes quickly when one night of carelessness turns into a lifetime commitment. Harley has always been the good girl, but after altering her looks and behavior, she finds herself in way over her head. Shane, who has come out as gay, experiences first love with Alex, who is HIV positive, after they meet online. But when his four-year-old sister dies, Shane spirals out of control. Hopkins has never pulled any punches when it comes to the reality and grittiness of her characters' lives, and this book is no different. The audiobook is narrated by Kirby Heyborne, Madeleine Maby, and Rebekkah Ross. The use of multiple narrators make it is easier to keep track of who is speaking, and these three do a fantastic job of bringing the characters to life. VERDICT Hopkins fans will pick up this book without a second thought; listeners who enjoy realistic teen-themed works will want to give it a try as well.—Jessi Brown, Huntington City Twp. P.L., IN
Kirkus Reviews
Less artistically sharp than most of her oeuvre, this newest from Hopkins will nonetheless hook fans with its addictive pain and quick-turning pages. Mikayla, almost 18, sneaks out to have lots of sex with her boyfriend. Shane, 16, falls for his first boyfriend, who's HIV-positive. Harley's a 13-year-old late bloomer (for this community) striving not to be. How many real issues can one book hold before soapiness ensues? Alcohol, drugs, rape, infidelity, emotional disconnection, terminal illness, homophobia, teen pregnancy--etc. Threads among the three protagonists (Shane and Harley are cousins; Harley's best friend is Mikayla's sister) expand into a web of multiple narrators from greater Reno, which dilutes focus. Conversely, it supplies a potent variety of first-person perspectives, from Shane's 4-year-old sister Shelby, unable to walk or speak because she has spinal muscular atrophy, to weed-seller Lucas, prowling for "virgin meat." Hopkins' fast-paced, free-verse poems, conveying bare shards of thought, work best for characters who are dissociated (Impulse, 2006; Identical, 2008); here, as in Perfect (2011), the characters are more bored, angry and struggling than dissociated, so the format's a mismatch for--and gives mixed messages about--their level of emotional presence. Brimming with shoes about to drop (some do, some don't) and the drama her fans devour, this will (and should) point them toward Triangles (2011), an adult-aimed version from the protagonists' mothers' perspective. Why not? (Verse fiction. 12-18)
