Ellen Hopkins is a New York Times Bestselling author born in 1955. The author lived quite the dramatic life before finally embarking on her writing journey. This includes being adopted by a 72-year-old and a 42-year-old, dropping out of college to start a family, losing her first marriage and having her daughter from a rebound relationship get kidnapped by her father to mention but a few.
Order of Crank Series
Order of Tricks Series
Order of Love Lies Beneath Series
| # | Read | Title | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Love Lies Beneath | 2015 | |
| 2 | Untitled | 2018 |
Order of Impulse Series
Order of Burned Series
Order of Ellen Hopkins Standalone Novels
| # | Read | Title | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A New Dawn | 2008 | |
| 2 | Identical | 2008 | |
| 3 | Flirtin' With the Monster | 2009 | |
| 4 | Triangles | 2011 | |
| 5 | Tilt | 2012 | |
| 6 | Collateral | 2012 | |
| 7 | Rumble | 2014 | |
| 8 | The You I've Never Known | 2017 |
Order of Ellen Hopkins Non-Fiction Books
| # | Read | Title | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tarnished Legacy | 2000 | |
| 2 | Air Devils | 2000 | |
| 3 | Orcas | 2000 | |
| 4 | Canopies in the Clouds | 2001 | |
| 5 | The Thunderbirds | 2001 | |
| 6 | The Golden Knights | 2001 | |
| 7 | Countdown to Yesterday | 2001 | |
| 8 | Fly Fishing | 2001 | |
| 9 | Freshwater Fishing | 2001 | |
| 10 | United States Special Forces | 2002 | |
| 11 | Storming the Skies | 2003 | |
| 12 | U.S. Armed Forces | 2003 | |
| 13 | Mysteries in Space | 2004 | |
| 14 | Inside a Star | 2004 | |
| 15 | Lights in the Sky | 2004 | |
| 16 | 2004 Children's Book Market | 2004 | |
| 17 | Telescopes | 2004 | |
| 18 | Are We Alone? | 2004 | |
| 19 | United States Air Force | 2008 | |
| 20 | United States Special Forces | 2008 | |
| 21 | U. S. Air Force Fighting Vehicles | 2008 |
Anthologies/Collaborations
| # | Read | Title | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grim | 2014 |
When Ellen finally got around to writing in 1990, she had more than enough material to fill quite a few books. The author’s initial focus was nonfiction books targeted towards children. She went on to write books like Air Devils which didn’t exactly strike a chord amongst readers.
She eventually leaped into fiction, focusing her attention on the issues and struggles teenagers typically face and how they normally overcome them. Elements like drug addiction and mental illness tend to liter Ellen Hopkins’ books.
While her young adult books have a dedicated fanbase, she has also made a few waves with adult novels like Collateral that take an even darker tone because they explore uniquely disturbing aspects of the human psyche.
Whenever she is asked about her literary inspirations, Hopkins is quick to mention her daughter Cristal. The author has never fought against suggestions that her books might actually be about Cristal’s escapades (Cristal is Hopkins’ daughter from her first marriage).
Hopkins has also suggested that there is more of her life in her books than most people realize, though she has admitted to mining interesting tidbits from the lives of some of her family members. Hopkins believes that her work exposes the universal truths of life.
Things like addiction and position are nothing new, and they tend to touch and affect everyone in one way or another. Hopkins believes that in those moments when her daughter is clean, Cristal understands and appreciates her mother’s stories and the purpose they may yet achieve.
Ellen Hopkins and her husband John Hopkins adopted Cristal’s son at some point.
Ellen Hopkins Awards
For all her efforts writing fiction, Ellen Hopkins has been awarded generously over the years, receiving accolades like the Charlotte award, the SSLI Honor Book Award, and the Soaring Eagle award, not to mention the Green Mountain Book Award.
The author has also been nominated for a Quill award and a National Book Award.
Best Ellen Hopkins Books
If you are new to Hopkins’ work and you would like to better understand her approach to storytelling, consider reading these, some of the best books the author has produced:
Identical: Everyone thinks that Kaeleigh and Raeanne have the perfect family. The twins, who are perfectly identical, are the daughters of a district court judge and a politician. And if things appear too perfect to be real, it’s because they are not.
Behind the façade lies a dark secret. Kaeleigh doesn’t know what to do with the intense love and adoration she receives from her father, feelings that are clearly misplaced and intended for a mother whose campaign has kept her away from home for far too long.
Raeanne hates the fact that she has lost her Dad’s affection. So she looks to drugs, sex, and alcohol as a way of fighting back. Both sisters are drowning and everything will soon be lost unless one of them steps up and saves the other.
This book is disturbing in more ways than one. And to an extent, it could be argued that Ellen Hopkins goes a little too far. It is easy to see how some people might be turned off by the way things play out in this book.
No one can accuse Hopkins of being clichéd, though.
Perfect: Four High school seniors are looking for perfection. Cara wants to taste a new kind of love. Kendra desires the perfect physical form and she doesn’t care what she has to do to get it.
Sean will stop at nothing to get his perfect home run, and not just on the field. For Andre, it is all about delivering that perfect performance.
Everyone seeks perfection, and there is no telling what they will eventually give up to get it.
This is a story about four teens who are determined to overcome their flaws. However, they quickly find that life isn’t nearly as generous as they might have assumed. Hopkins is effective in her efforts to represent the beautiful yet broken lives of young people as they struggle to determine their identities.