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A review by marvelouspyt
People Kill People by Ellen Hopkins
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.