Tilt

Gr 9 Up–A companion to Triangles (Atria, 2012), Hopkins’s recent foray into adult publishing, Tilt fleshes out the stories of the children of Marissa, Andrea, and Holly. Mikayla cannot imagine loving anyone more than Dylan, yet when she becomes pregnant she begins to understand the limits of that love. Shane finally feels fully himself with Alex, but when mortality bears down on him in the form of Alex’s HIV and his own terminally ill sister, it all becomes overwhelming. Harley wants nothing more than to be noticed by guys, even if it turns her into someone even she can no longer recognize. In Hopkins’s usual style, the characters’ lives are described in graphic, bitingly honest, and voluminous verse, all attributes her fans have come to expect and love. In that regard, they won’t be disappointed. Yet this title might not work quite as seamlessly for those who chose not to follow her into the realm of midlife issues in Triangles. The mothers’ stories weave in and out frequently enough to impact the narrative, yet because they are not fully developed here, they lend a feeling of loose ends hanging in the background. Ultimately, though, readers will care most about the clear, anguished voices of the teens.–Jill Heritage Maza, Montclair Kimberley Academy, Montclair, NJ