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A review by kaylakaotik
Collateral by Ellen Hopkins
2.0
Rating 2.5 stars
Ellen Hopkins is one of my favorite authors. To date, this has been the only novel of hers that disappointed me.
One of the things I’ve enjoyed most about Ellen Hopkins’s books has always been her ability to pull off stories done in verse. It didn’t happen here. While I want the story to be a complete story (and it was), it didn’t read like poetry to me. It read like a story that was cut up and formatted to look like poetry instead of being actual poetry. This was probably the biggest disappointment for me.
The story was frustrating. There were so many times when I wish Ashley would just get fed up with Cole’s BS and leave him. Ashley is supposed to be smart, but her actions prove otherwise. As someone that’s been in a relationship and refused to leave (even when I knew I should) because of love, I could understand to a certain extent. By the end of the book, though, I was irritated and fed up with Ashley. Instead of seeing a smart woman, I saw a weak, selfish, and naive girl. After everything she had been through with Cole, it was disappointing to see that she had grown little as a character. Cole’s character is hard to flesh out in the story as we don’t see very much from his point-of-view. We’re presented with certain facts about him and left to fill in the rest of it ourselves. Unfortunately, I feel like this paints Cole into a negative light that doesn’t necessarily do justice to who he really is. [Note, I'm not defending him or his actions.]
Overall, I didn’t care for Collateral very much. I was really looking forward to this book and I’m saddened that it didn’t live up to my expectations. That being said, I’m sure many people will love Collateral.
Ellen Hopkins is one of my favorite authors. To date, this has been the only novel of hers that disappointed me.
One of the things I’ve enjoyed most about Ellen Hopkins’s books has always been her ability to pull off stories done in verse. It didn’t happen here. While I want the story to be a complete story (and it was), it didn’t read like poetry to me. It read like a story that was cut up and formatted to look like poetry instead of being actual poetry. This was probably the biggest disappointment for me.
The story was frustrating. There were so many times when I wish Ashley would just get fed up with Cole’s BS and leave him. Ashley is supposed to be smart, but her actions prove otherwise. As someone that’s been in a relationship and refused to leave (even when I knew I should) because of love, I could understand to a certain extent. By the end of the book, though, I was irritated and fed up with Ashley. Instead of seeing a smart woman, I saw a weak, selfish, and naive girl. After everything she had been through with Cole, it was disappointing to see that she had grown little as a character. Cole’s character is hard to flesh out in the story as we don’t see very much from his point-of-view. We’re presented with certain facts about him and left to fill in the rest of it ourselves. Unfortunately, I feel like this paints Cole into a negative light that doesn’t necessarily do justice to who he really is. [Note, I'm not defending him or his actions.]
Overall, I didn’t care for Collateral very much. I was really looking forward to this book and I’m saddened that it didn’t live up to my expectations. That being said, I’m sure many people will love Collateral.