Triangles by Ellen Hopkins

I love a lot of books and there are hundreds more that I like. But there are few books that I consider unique or original. Every book written by Hopkins is unique. Not because of the plot, which is always tragic but there are the expected elements you find in young adult fiction. Drugs, sex, and other strong triggers such as rape and death are prevalent in these books and I think they speak well to the intended audience. What makes them stand out is the writing style. Poetry written in first person moves us through the story and I like how they capture the inner thoughts of each character. 

To me the title immediately put me in the mind of love triangles, which turned out to be very accurate.

This was her first adult novel and I have to say that it is very similar to her young adult novels. A notable difference is the sex scenes, in this book they were much more detailed than in Tricks. Just like all her other books, Triangles hit every hard topic, death, rape, sex, and drugs all make an appearance. 

 It was entertaining to read about the lives of three mothers and like all her other books this one brought me to tears. My heart broke for Marissa and I want to scream at Holly as I sympathized with Andrea. Slowly I came to like each woman and yet still recognize her faults. 

Andrea is living a tough life as a single parent and on top of everything having to deal with her ex’s new woman. As I said before it was easy to sympathize with her because every woman has felt as though she has been single forever. Besides the jealousy that popped up everywhere, Andrea proved that she too is capable of deceit.

 Marissa looks after her sick daughter and at first, she does nothing I could hold against her, but as we explore her familial relations and discover that her son is gay we uncover that she is not comfortable with his sexuality. More so than her husband Christian is to be sure, but it takes her time to accept her son. In the end I felt like she was almost completely innocent, coming in second only to her daughter, Shelby. Her story is one of forgiveness, faith, and second chances.

Holly was my least favorite character and the one I felt grew the least throughout the story. She explores her sexuality and commits adultery numerous times, keeping a log of all the illicit activities in a notebook. Big mistake from the get go. Personally, I think karma has bitten her in the ass a few times near the end of the book but it could have gone farther. Still it was nice to see her connect with her birth mother, even if that relationship could have been developed more.

Overall, I love and hate this book in equal parts. It forces a hard reality check for every reader including myself but it does leave me with a sense of hope for the women in it as well as the world we live in. After reading it, I learned that there is a companion book titled Tilt with is in fact categorized as young adult and is told from the viewpoint of the teenagers in Triangles. I know I’m going to read it at some point, but for the moment, I can’t stomach anymore of this story. 

Question: How do you feel about authors who switch from young adult to adult genres?