The readergirlz divas were so pleased Ellen Hopkins could join us in honor of Operation Teen Book Drop 2009, and in the month of April, National Poetry Month! The verse novel Impulse is a weighty, heart-wrenching read. Join us as we chat about this raw work and our take-aways.
Lorie Ann Grover: What were your take-away impressions of Impulse?
Little Willow: Immediately after finishing it: Oh, Conner. Oh.
Dia Calhoun: My immediate impression was that I had found an immensely truthful story.
Shelf Elf: It made me think about how sheltered I was as a teen. Sure there were kids in my high school who had issues and struggled, but nothing like the characters in this book, to my knowledge. I also wondered what it might have been like for Ellen to take herself inside the heads of 3 such troubled people. That had to have been an intense writing experience.
Lorie Ann: I was exhausted basically. I encountered so many images, subjects, and ideas I've never been fully exposed to before. An entirely new world opened before me, and my sympathies were raised.
Melissa Walker: My mom worked in a state school for troubled kids while I was in high school. She was their biology teacher, and they lived there, healed there. I thought about her a lot while I was reading, and wondered how she kept her heart safe from the heartbreaking stories of her students.
Read the entire discussion at Bildungsroman.
12 comments:
Wow. Definitely a book to look into from what I'm hearing from you guys.
Iris
http://irisblack-author.blogspot.com
I read this book and It was amazing!! I was emotionally exhausted when I finished and it took me about a week to get back to reading because I kept thinking about Connor!
I read Impulse a while ago but I am going to check it out again for RGZ discussions. It was one of those books that "floors" you at the end...
I read 'issue' books regularly. I work with teens labeled at-risk and I've known enough teens who have been traumatized, struggle with mental and psychological issues or they know someone who has been troubled.
I wonder at times if I'm jaded or if I live in a very dark world. I am more surprised at how insultated so many readers' say their lives have been.
We have Crank in our library and I'll add this one when I can.
i am going to read the book
I haven't read this book yet but I have to admit that I love the premise!
Lesley
Thanks to all who participated in the roundtable, and now to all who have read it! :)
The roundtable rocks. Thanks for maintaining it each month, LW!
I enjoyed discussing with all of you and look forward to the discussions this month--there is much to think about in Impulse.
This sounds like a good book, I just requested it from the library so hopefully I will get to read it soon!
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