Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Impulse by Ellen Hopkins

8 reviews

raebaebae's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Blood, Death of parent, Drug use, Self harm, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

jordan_tanes's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Self harm, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, and Drug use

Minor: Pedophilia and Violence

brunoshort's review

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Of all the Ellen Hopkins books I’ve read, this one affected me the least. I saw the ending coming so it wasn’t a surprise. The characters have similar traumas even though they’re from very different backgrounds and families. Only three of the characters have their stories fully told and I really only liked 1 of them. The other two were okay but pretty flat considering the intensity of the subject matter and their backgrounds. The biggest WTF? The final challenge patients go through to get out of the institution. It wasn’t thought out very well considering their demographic. I’ll just leave it at that. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Trafficking, Child abuse, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Incest, Physical abuse, and Rape

Minor: Murder and Vomit

beccam22's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Read this if you like:
🥀🖤 Dark truthful stories
👪👯‍♀️ Found Family


🛑Please read triggers warnings ⚠️

Ellen Hopkins is known for beautiful dark stories and this is nothing less than that. Written in verse, so much is said and conveyed with the lest amount of words and it cuts deep.  Three teenagers go through a treatment program after attempting suicide, each for their own reasons and their own way. They find friendship and love and what is love.

These can be possible spoilers but I feel like it’s needed for some people in depth the possible triggers are: 
 There are detailed descriptions of self harm and suicidal thoughts. All main characters did attempt suicide and it is described in the very beginning how each of them attempted. There is detailed adult/minor relationships as well as rape and grooming. Can be considered forced institutionalization since all main characters are minors and family is requiring them to attend the treatment center. There is a character with bipolar and family history of bipolar, the history does go in depth and how it effected them growing up. There is a character who has an abortion and the guilt from it. There are absent parents, both military and simply leaving for a better life. There are parents who expect perfection and the pressure that comes with that. There is a successful suicide. Please do not read this if you are not in a good head space. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Confinement, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Addiction, Blood, and Grief

Minor: Bullying, Cursing, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Body shaming, Pregnancy, Gun violence, Ableism, Eating disorder, and Homophobia

These can be possible spoilers but I feel like it’s needed for some people in depth the possible triggers are: There are detailed descriptions of self harm and suicidal thoughts. All main characters did attempt suicide and it is described in the very beginning how each of them attempted. There is detailed adult/minor relationships as well as rape and grooming. Can be considered forced institutionalization since all main characters are minors and family is requiring them to attend the treatment center. There is a character with bipolar and family history of bipolar, the history does go in depth and how it effected them growing up. There is a character who has an abortion and the guilt from it. There are absent parents, both military and simply leaving for a better life. There are parents who expect perfection and the pressure that comes with that. There is a successful suicide. Please do not read this if you are not in a good head space.

urmom456's review

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

The characters in this book are the products of their mental illnesses and trauma. They have no personalities, their personalities are their disorder/truama.

The one gay character is “fixed” by “turning straight” which I find disgusting. And as my review on Goodreads says, this is basically ‘If You Give a Mouse a Cookie’ but instead it’s ‘If You Put a Suicidal Teenager on Top of a Cliff’.

Absolutely hated it, there was hardly any actual plot. No wonder it took me 4 years to even finish it.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Sexual violence, Self harm, Mental illness, Drug use, and Drug abuse

Minor: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Incest, Death of parent, Blood, Death, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Homophobia, and Toxic relationship

wama's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Abandonment, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Homophobia

Minor: Abortion, Alcohol, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

The romance subplot felt forced and unnecessary to me but other than that it was a good book. The ending left me shattered

zarazarazara's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Thais book is quite confronting book written in verse. It tells a story of love and healing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Suicide, Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Drug use

em_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Vomit