Editorial Content for Traffick
Book
Reviewer (text)
When I first opened TRAFFICK by Ellen Hopkins, I wasn’t exactly sure that I knew what I was getting myself into. What I thought would be just another read turned into an extraordinary adventure that rendered me unable to put the book down.
TRAFFICK is the sequel to TRICKS, which, in short, is a young adult novel written in poems (much like TRAFFICK) that revolves around a group of five teenagers living gritty and reckless lives as they deal with drug use and sexual activity. Ellen Hopkins seems to be a master at painting a picture of recklessness, which was apparent throughout my time reading TRAFFICK.
TRAFFICK centers around the five characters introduced in TRICKS: Cody, who became a trick in order to pay off his gambling debts and is dealing with the aftermath of a broken family, on top of being shot; Ginger, who is arrested for soliciting a cop; Whitney, a heroin addict who gave up her privileged upbringing to become a trick; Seth, a gay farm boy who has no place to go after being kicked out by his father; and Eden, who grew up in a conservative Christian home and now turns tricks in Las Vegas.
"The book was a definite page-turner; I found myself connecting to all five of the main characters on an intensely human level, as I am sure you will, too."
Throughout the book, the five protagonists, who live all over the United States, are faced with tragedy, hardship and bitter reality that becomes characteristic of the tricking life. In addition to this, they face everyday problems such as acceptance, love, redemption, salvation and family ties. After drowning themselves far too deep in a seemingly inescapable world, they must now face the consequences and the reality of their situations. Not only does the novel serve as a commentary on the wickedness of child trafficking, it also teaches a valuable lesson of perspective. Throughout the book, I found myself rationalizing with the five protagonists as they made dangerous decisions in order to survive. The book was a definite page-turner; I found myself connecting to all five of the main characters on an intensely human level, as I am sure you will, too.
TRAFFICK is definitely not for the faint of heart and it is rife with reality. The book makes it a point to emphasize the struggles of the five characters and unabashedly paints the harsh conditions of the world they live in. While it may come off as obscene or explicit to some, it is effective in that it makes the characters’ struggles all the more real.
I would recommend this book to anyone wishing to reconstruct their entire perspective on others. TRAFFICK will definitely have you questioning the actions of the characters as if they were real people, and it will definitely deconstruct your entire system of ethics and judgment. It taught me to really consider what other people have been through before judging their actions.
Teaser
In TRICKS, Ellen Hopkins introduced us to five memorable characters tackling enormous questions: Eden, the preacher’s daughter who is helped into a child prostitution rescue; Seth, the gay farm boy who finds himself without money or resources other than his own body; Whitney, the privileged kid whose dreams are ruined in a heroin haze; Ginger, who is arrested for soliciting an undercover cop; and Cody, whose gambling habit forces him into the life, but who is shot and left for dead. And now, in TRAFFICK, these five are faced with the toughest question of all: Is there a way out?
Promo
In TRICKS, Ellen Hopkins introduced us to five memorable characters tackling enormous questions: Eden, the preacher’s daughter who is helped into a child prostitution rescue; Seth, the gay farm boy who finds himself without money or resources other than his own body; Whitney, the privileged kid whose dreams are ruined in a heroin haze; Ginger, who is arrested for soliciting an undercover cop; and Cody, whose gambling habit forces him into the life, but who is shot and left for dead. And now, in TRAFFICK, these five are faced with the toughest question of all: Is there a way out?
About the Book
Five teens victimized by sex trafficking try to find their way to a new life in this riveting companion to the New York Times bestselling TRICKS from Ellen Hopkins, author of CRANK.
In her bestselling novel, TRICKS, Ellen Hopkins introduced us to five memorable characters tackling these enormous questions: Eden, the preacher’s daughter who turns tricks in Vegas and is helped into a child prostitution rescue; Seth, the gay farm boy disowned by his father who finds himself without money or resources other than his own body; Whitney, the privileged kid coaxed into the life by a pimp and whose dreams are ruined in a heroin haze; Ginger, who runs away from home with her girlfriend and is arrested for soliciting an undercover cop; and Cody, whose gambling habit forces him into the life, but who is shot and left for dead.
And now, in TRAFFICK, these five are faced with the toughest question of all: Is there a way out? How these five teenagers face the aftermath of their decisions and experiences is the soul of this story that exposes the dark, ferocious underbelly of the child trafficking trade. Heartwrenching and hopeful, TRAFFICK takes us on five separate but intertwined journeys through the painful challenges of recovery, rehabilitation and renewal to forgiveness and love. All the way home.
