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disneymagic's review against another edition
4.0
I love Ellen Hopkins- her formatting, her use of fonts, world building and getting into character, the way she handles difficult topics.
This book is the epitome of Hopkins’ writing but for one thing. The poetic style isn’t really there. But I really don’t mind.
People Kill People covers a really heavy topic in a very head on way. I’m personally not okay with the viewpoint of some of the main characters so I knocked it down a star for making me feel uncomfortable but it was a beautifully written story and I’m happy to say I have this as an ARC sitting on my bookshelf.
This book is the epitome of Hopkins’ writing but for one thing. The poetic style isn’t really there. But I really don’t mind.
People Kill People covers a really heavy topic in a very head on way. I’m personally not okay with the viewpoint of some of the main characters so I knocked it down a star for making me feel uncomfortable but it was a beautifully written story and I’m happy to say I have this as an ARC sitting on my bookshelf.
taylorlechat's review against another edition
4.0
I could have done without the poetry and for some reason I had trouble keeping track of the main characters relationships with secondary characters. I did enjoy the ending though which I find rarely happens for me in books, but I wish it would have delved deeper into white supremacy as a whole and guns and gun safety as a whole.
deaton9's review against another edition
5.0
A chilling but powerful look into how hurt and rage can lead to violence.
ktbkitten's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A good story. Very sad and dark. The ending poem is perfect and hit hard.
aquigleyy's review against another edition
1.0
Perhaps it is due to my own aging out of young adulthood, but Ellen Hopkins just doesn’t do it for me anymore like she used to. I used to love her books and wouldn’t be able to get enough, but now I find them to be a bit surface level and predictable. I used to love reading her poem format, but I didn’t love it as much this time around especially as they wove in between the fade in/fade outs (another interesting format choice that I didn’t much care for). While I was expecting the book to be about violence and hatred, I wasn’t expecting so much focus on racism and white supremacy and didn’t particularly enjoy reading through the thoughts of the characters who possessed those ideals – it seemed almost condoned or supported throughout the book. What I did like the voice of ‘violence’ that was present throughout the novel and with all of the characters – we all have the little devil on our shoulder that encourages us to act on our impulses and the italicized voice of violence or self-hatred showed how it affects all of us and is influenced by our subconscious desires. However, the book seemed to end suddenly right as things were climaxing, but the author was generous enough to give us a conclusion for each character. The events were more or less predictable and the viewpoint shifted to a different character just as things were getting interesting, heated, or violent. All in all, I may just have to stick to Ellen’s writings about addiction and mental health as she has a unique ability to write well about those topics, but this one just wasn’t a hit for me.
mrsscherbastsky's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely chilling, Ellen Hopkins never disappoints.
wrathofglasses's review against another edition
5.0
Definitely the Ellen Hopkins I know and love. Great characters, some were a little thin but all around a read I couldn’t put down.
librarytheri's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
marvelouspyt's review against another edition
5.0
People Kill People by Ellen Hopkins is a novel written in verse about gun violence in America. The story starts out with a Zane, an older white man with a distrust of nonwhite people, and his wife Renee. Zane purchases a gun, believing he will soon have to defend himself and his home from those "Middle Eastern Monsters". However, he was the one to destroy his home, after accident;y shooting and killing his wife. Afterwards, he sells the gun online for cash and the guns makes it way to a small neighborhood in Arizona.
We are then introduced to the characters one by one: Rand, Cami, Waylon, Silas, Ashlyn, Daniel, Noelle, Grace and Tim. The story is told in alternate point of views by Rand, Cami, Ashlyn, Daniel and Noelle. Rand and Cami are a teen aged married couple with a young son name Waylon. Silas and Ashlyn are young adults in a white supremacy group. Daniel is a homeless Latino teen who's dating Grace. Noelle is Grace's best friend who suffers from epilepsy bought on by a severe car accident which also caused the death of Grace's father. Each of the characters have access to guns though their reasons for arming themselves are different. The story builds over a week and comes to a conclusion with a riot at an pro-immigration rally.
People Kill People is right on time. It really reflects what is currently going on in America. From racism to gun violence, Hopkins really hits the nail on the head. We are living in tough and scary times and readers will be able to relate to some characters. Hopkins also shows us that rage can come from any and all of us; we all have the potential to do great good or great evil. The only thing separating us from savage is just once choice. It takes one choice or one circumstance for things to fall apart.
It was difficult to read from the point of view of a white supremacist. It is truly mind boggling that they are people out there who can hate someone they have never met just because they have a different skin color and/or religion. Its crazy to know that that level of hate is real and is prevalent in the modern day. In the beginning, Daniel was seen as a sympathetic character but we later find out that he is hiding some dark demons.. The ending was surprising as I was expecting the gunman to be one character at one place but it wasn't. Sadly, the ending has become common as guns are so easily acquired. I would recommend People Kill People to everyone as maybe we can start to work on our culture's fascination with guns and violence.
We are then introduced to the characters one by one: Rand, Cami, Waylon, Silas, Ashlyn, Daniel, Noelle, Grace and Tim. The story is told in alternate point of views by Rand, Cami, Ashlyn, Daniel and Noelle. Rand and Cami are a teen aged married couple with a young son name Waylon. Silas and Ashlyn are young adults in a white supremacy group. Daniel is a homeless Latino teen who's dating Grace. Noelle is Grace's best friend who suffers from epilepsy bought on by a severe car accident which also caused the death of Grace's father. Each of the characters have access to guns though their reasons for arming themselves are different. The story builds over a week and comes to a conclusion with a riot at an pro-immigration rally.
People Kill People is right on time. It really reflects what is currently going on in America. From racism to gun violence, Hopkins really hits the nail on the head. We are living in tough and scary times and readers will be able to relate to some characters. Hopkins also shows us that rage can come from any and all of us; we all have the potential to do great good or great evil. The only thing separating us from savage is just once choice. It takes one choice or one circumstance for things to fall apart.
It was difficult to read from the point of view of a white supremacist. It is truly mind boggling that they are people out there who can hate someone they have never met just because they have a different skin color and/or religion. Its crazy to know that that level of hate is real and is prevalent in the modern day. In the beginning, Daniel was seen as a sympathetic character but we later find out that he is hiding some dark demons.. The ending was surprising as I was expecting the gunman to be one character at one place but it wasn't. Sadly, the ending has become common as guns are so easily acquired. I would recommend People Kill People to everyone as maybe we can start to work on our culture's fascination with guns and violence.
emmmilli's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0