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kimmykelly's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content, Blood, Cancer, War, Addiction, Alcohol, Car accident, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Stalking
truemoon's review
3.0
I loved this while I was reading but about 3/4 of the way through I kept thinking that the author is taking too long to wrap up the story. I left this story feeling let down. After reading the last page I turned it to find a group discussion section. I had no clue the last page I read was the end if the book. This book gave no closure.
May contain spoilers
I felt this writing style lacked much needed details. I wanted to know more about her parents and their relationship. I wanted to know how her parent's responded to Cole at the end. What happened with Darian and Spencer? What happened at Cole's trial? How was he coping with what he did to Ashley and Jonah? I wanted more interaction between Jonah and Ashley.
I would recommend this book. I found it interesting to see how much circumstances can change someone.
May contain spoilers
I felt this writing style lacked much needed details. I wanted to know more about her parents and their relationship. I wanted to know how her parent's responded to Cole at the end. What happened with Darian and Spencer? What happened at Cole's trial? How was he coping with what he did to Ashley and Jonah? I wanted more interaction between Jonah and Ashley.
I would recommend this book. I found it interesting to see how much circumstances can change someone.
musicisme's review against another edition
3.0
My least favorite Ellen Hopkins book that I have read so far. My dad was in the military so I thought I would be able to relate very well to this novel, and I did in some cased but not as much as I was expecting. I didn't really like Cole and I guess were not supposed to like him the more the plot progresses. I don't know I didn't really click with any of the characters. I also expected more from the military aspect and it makes me a little mad about the portrayal of every military person and their family in this book. I also understand that there are these people in the military. I don't know the military aspect just kind of irritates me.
kyleg99's review against another edition
3.0
This and others reviews can also be found at Living Is Reading
Ellen Hopkins is one of my favorite writers . . . ever. I love her prose, characters, pacing, romance, and how she’s not afraid to write about taboo issues like prostitution, sexual abuse, etc. Ever since New Year’s Day of 2011, when I took a chance and downloaded Crank despite the fact that I was uncertain about the verse format, I fell in love and have since then read every book, YA or adult, that she’s published.
However, I have a sad confession to make: I feel, especially since the books published after Tricks, that she’s losing her edge. Basically:
Crank, Burned, Impulse, Glass, Identical, Tricks = Amazing
Perfect = Amazing, but not quite as amazing as her other works
Fallout, Triangles, Tilt, Collateral = Not as good by any means
Moving on, let’s talk about Collateral. I thought that this book would be really easy to connect to, since my grandfather served in the Navy during the Pacific theater of WWII, and my cousin fought in Iraq until he was killed on July 12th, 2006. I really wasn’t very close with my cousin, since I only met him once in before he died, but I figured that perhaps I could relate to the feelings that a lot of these characters have.
I encountered a lot of problems along the way, unfortunately.
First off, our main character, Ashley Patterson, is very drab and boring. She lacks a distinct personality and that charisma I need in characters so that I can become invested in them. Because I couldn’t become invested in her and her troubles, I didn’t really connect to her feelings of longing because her Marine boyfriend Cole wasn’t there.
Also, Cole himself is an asshole. Sure, he was pretty nice when he was first introduced, but if anybody believes that rape is okay in some cases, they can’t be all that nice. Thank God that Ashley told Cole off after he said that, otherwise I would’ve had to set this down.
The romance between them wasn’t any good either. Ashley rarely displayed a backbone in my opinion, and Cole was just such an asshole that I was waiting for them to have some kind of dramatic breakup, or for Ashley to just go find somebody else.
There wasn’t much of a plot, since it basically revolved around Ashley and Cole’s relationship, and the trials that it had gone through since they met and the trials that it was going through during the present time.
This isn’t to say that the book is all bad. I do still like Ellen’s prose, even if it does have the occasional slip-up into strange, and this was definitely impossible to put down. I read about 380 pages in the car-ride to and from Staten Island on Christmas Eve. For the most part I was also reasonably entertained and my interest was held.
Disappointed is the best word to use, I guess.
Ellen Hopkins is one of my favorite writers . . . ever. I love her prose, characters, pacing, romance, and how she’s not afraid to write about taboo issues like prostitution, sexual abuse, etc. Ever since New Year’s Day of 2011, when I took a chance and downloaded Crank despite the fact that I was uncertain about the verse format, I fell in love and have since then read every book, YA or adult, that she’s published.
However, I have a sad confession to make: I feel, especially since the books published after Tricks, that she’s losing her edge. Basically:
Crank, Burned, Impulse, Glass, Identical, Tricks = Amazing
Perfect = Amazing, but not quite as amazing as her other works
Fallout, Triangles, Tilt, Collateral = Not as good by any means
Moving on, let’s talk about Collateral. I thought that this book would be really easy to connect to, since my grandfather served in the Navy during the Pacific theater of WWII, and my cousin fought in Iraq until he was killed on July 12th, 2006. I really wasn’t very close with my cousin, since I only met him once in before he died, but I figured that perhaps I could relate to the feelings that a lot of these characters have.
I encountered a lot of problems along the way, unfortunately.
First off, our main character, Ashley Patterson, is very drab and boring. She lacks a distinct personality and that charisma I need in characters so that I can become invested in them. Because I couldn’t become invested in her and her troubles, I didn’t really connect to her feelings of longing because her Marine boyfriend Cole wasn’t there.
Also, Cole himself is an asshole. Sure, he was pretty nice when he was first introduced, but if anybody believes that rape is okay in some cases, they can’t be all that nice. Thank God that Ashley told Cole off after he said that, otherwise I would’ve had to set this down.
The romance between them wasn’t any good either. Ashley rarely displayed a backbone in my opinion, and Cole was just such an asshole that I was waiting for them to have some kind of dramatic breakup, or for Ashley to just go find somebody else.
There wasn’t much of a plot, since it basically revolved around Ashley and Cole’s relationship, and the trials that it had gone through since they met and the trials that it was going through during the present time.
This isn’t to say that the book is all bad. I do still like Ellen’s prose, even if it does have the occasional slip-up into strange, and this was definitely impossible to put down. I read about 380 pages in the car-ride to and from Staten Island on Christmas Eve. For the most part I was also reasonably entertained and my interest was held.
Disappointed is the best word to use, I guess.
pixey007's review
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
kassie_rankin's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
kits_little_library's review against another edition
1.0
I didn't even want to rate this book because I actually hated it. I never thought I would say that about an Ellen Hopkins book. I wasn't fond of "Triangles" but "Collateral" is a whole new world. maybe because I'm the wife of an active duty military member and I can SOMETIMES relate to Ashley and I couldn't in her other adult novel. I don't understand why all the cheating had to happen, all the hate from family towards the military, the abuse, how much every single military wife HATED the life they had because of the military, and I still hate that Ashley kept calling Cole, a MARINE, "soldier." I honestly didn't read a lick of truth about myself, my family, our life, what my wife does, or the military life I have experienced so far in this book. I'm glad other people liked it and I'm sure there are wives/girlfriends/significant others that completely relate and feel like their life is poured onto these pages. I, however, feel completely differently.
libtusks's review
2.0
This book would be best read by someone with no ties to the military, because those that do have ties will find that the story is incredibly inaccurate – even if it is fiction.
The story revolves around Ashley, a grad student, who falls in love with Cole, an active duty Marine. The book is written from both the viewpoint of Ashley and Cole but overall Cole’s voice is lacking. We mainly see Cole’s voice in his poetry and through the e-mail exchanges that he has with Ashley during deployments. However, Hopkins essentially paints him as an animal that cannot control his urges, rather than someone damaged by war. Violence is just one aspect of the collateral of war, the impact takes on a deeper psychological role that is missing from this book.
Hopkins also paints a picture of two women who cannot be faithful to the men they supposedly love who are serving in the military. Darian’s (Ashley’s best friend who is married to Spence, another marine) story seems more tangible than that of Ashley.
I would recommend that everyone read the book for themselves and create their own opinion.
The story revolves around Ashley, a grad student, who falls in love with Cole, an active duty Marine. The book is written from both the viewpoint of Ashley and Cole but overall Cole’s voice is lacking. We mainly see Cole’s voice in his poetry and through the e-mail exchanges that he has with Ashley during deployments. However, Hopkins essentially paints him as an animal that cannot control his urges, rather than someone damaged by war. Violence is just one aspect of the collateral of war, the impact takes on a deeper psychological role that is missing from this book.
Hopkins also paints a picture of two women who cannot be faithful to the men they supposedly love who are serving in the military. Darian’s (Ashley’s best friend who is married to Spence, another marine) story seems more tangible than that of Ashley.
I would recommend that everyone read the book for themselves and create their own opinion.
ida_ree's review
3.0
I like how this story is written in the form of poems. Most of the poems could stand on their own. Some of them are pretty good and some of them could use more polish.
The gist of the story: A woman falls for a Marine who turns out to suffer from PTSD. Some important topics are covered here, but I wish there was a little more depth.
The gist of the story: A woman falls for a Marine who turns out to suffer from PTSD. Some important topics are covered here, but I wish there was a little more depth.