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allieskat17's review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This is great upward read for those who have read Hopkins YA novels. Take Ellen’s writing, make it about romance and spicy and you get this book. This story watches the fallout of three middle aged woman as they deal with different situations. Holly a mom of three has been in a relationship since she was a teen and this story follows her foray into extramarital sex. Her friend Andrea is a single mom of one girl. And Andrea’s sister is the mom of a chronically ill little girl and a gay teenage son. Not to mention her husbands cheating on her
*tilt follows the children*
*tilt follows the children*
vegprincess's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. I've read a lot of the YA books Ellen Hopkins has written and loved all of them. She's not afraid to tackle controversial, gritty topics, such as drug addiction. Triangles is an adult book dealing mostly with sexual relationships. This is another book that I suppose can be labeled "controversial " since there are some characters in here who commit adultery. I enjoyed this book but not as much as I enjoyed her YA books. I think it was more my frame of mind or mood that made it difficult for me to fully enjoy this book. For some reason, I didn't really connect with, or feel much for, any of the characters. I felt a little empathy for one of the characters and her young daughter and it's because of their story that I added an extra half star. I would have liked to heard more about them than Holly, who kind of disgusted me because she did some things that were so "out there." I'm no prude but one of the things she did was seriously abhorrent, and knowing that there are probably people who do such things is frightening!
akrys40's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The author has a way of making me sympathetic to the characters and also keeps me wanting to know what happens next
stephxsu's review against another edition
Probably shouldn't have tried to read this as my first Ellen Hopkins book. I wasn't impressed by the novel-in-verse format, as I didn't think it added anything to the story, and the writing could have been in prose format instead of verse without it affecting the story at all.
anxiouslyreading33's review against another edition
5.0
The first time I read this book I was 24, just got in my first relationship, first kiss, first everything. So reading a book about women cheating, men cheating made no sense to me why hurt the one who loves you? Why do any of the things these women have done to those they love. Its seven years later have been married 5 years have a 6 year old and have live a bit. I dont agree with the cheating or hurting the one you love, but I understand now how it can happen. I and my husband are faithful to each other (I assume he is) but this book showed me how hard it is to keep a marriage together in the face of so many hardships. I have a new appreciation for this book
dimples0508's review against another edition
1.0
Told in beautiful blank verse?
exactly, blank verse. nothing substantial to hold the story up. ellen needs to find a new direction.
exactly, blank verse. nothing substantial to hold the story up. ellen needs to find a new direction.
gwen_pageturner's review against another edition
3.0
⭐️⭐️⭐️ .5
Not a bad story, but it was difficult to keep the main characters straight. I literally just realized that their kids are the main characters in Tilt (which I vaguely remember)
Not a bad story, but it was difficult to keep the main characters straight. I literally just realized that their kids are the main characters in Tilt (which I vaguely remember)
missbookiverse's review
4.0
I don’t read a lot of adult novels but I love Ellen Hopkins’ writing (which is usually for Young Adults), so I gave her first adult book a go.
Like Ellen’s other books this story was written in verse. As usual this worked well for me, I felt like reading a story, not poetry. The story is told from three different perspectives, Holly’s, Marissa’s and Andrea’s. Andrea and Marissa are sisters and Holly and Andrea are friends but there is no connection between Marissa and Holly which I found a bit sad, considering the book’s title and how all the other paths keep crossing.
In between every narrator switch the author included a poem which I started skipping quickly. The poems just felt too abstract between the storylines and couldn’t hold my interest.
I found it refreshing to not read from the perspective of a teenager. These women are all in their late 30s, an age group I can’t really identify with yet but I enjoyed reading about their thoughts and problems. What it is like to have been married for 15 years? What it is like to have a teenage daughter who develops her first interest in boys? Or what it is like trying to please both your husband and your children without “betraying” one of them?
Next to age and topics the biggest difference between Ellen Hopkins’ YA and adult novels is the take on sex. Don’t get me wrong, Ellen Hopkins has never been an author shy of words and descriptions but sex does not mean the same to a grown-up as it means to a teen. The author deals with it more openly in Triangles, adding very descriptive (tasteful) scenes and fantasies.
Infidelity is a big subject in the book and while I found it interesting to read about it, it also seemed a bit over the top. It’s like everybody is doing it with everybody. Guilt is mentioned from time to time but not addressed strongly enough, in my opinion. Cheating on your spouse or best friend is a serious issue and I doubt that a lot of people would take it so lightly. Maybe that’s just my young romantic self talking but I really hope not.
All in all I’m glad I finally found an adult book I actually enjoyed. Maybe I should check out some other books by authors who usually write YA fiction.
Like Ellen’s other books this story was written in verse. As usual this worked well for me, I felt like reading a story, not poetry. The story is told from three different perspectives, Holly’s, Marissa’s and Andrea’s. Andrea and Marissa are sisters and Holly and Andrea are friends but there is no connection between Marissa and Holly which I found a bit sad, considering the book’s title and how all the other paths keep crossing.
In between every narrator switch the author included a poem which I started skipping quickly. The poems just felt too abstract between the storylines and couldn’t hold my interest.
I found it refreshing to not read from the perspective of a teenager. These women are all in their late 30s, an age group I can’t really identify with yet but I enjoyed reading about their thoughts and problems. What it is like to have been married for 15 years? What it is like to have a teenage daughter who develops her first interest in boys? Or what it is like trying to please both your husband and your children without “betraying” one of them?
Next to age and topics the biggest difference between Ellen Hopkins’ YA and adult novels is the take on sex. Don’t get me wrong, Ellen Hopkins has never been an author shy of words and descriptions but sex does not mean the same to a grown-up as it means to a teen. The author deals with it more openly in Triangles, adding very descriptive (tasteful) scenes and fantasies.
Infidelity is a big subject in the book and while I found it interesting to read about it, it also seemed a bit over the top. It’s like everybody is doing it with everybody. Guilt is mentioned from time to time but not addressed strongly enough, in my opinion. Cheating on your spouse or best friend is a serious issue and I doubt that a lot of people would take it so lightly. Maybe that’s just my young romantic self talking but I really hope not.
All in all I’m glad I finally found an adult book I actually enjoyed. Maybe I should check out some other books by authors who usually write YA fiction.
kris10muldoon's review
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content