The sequel to “Tricks,” Hopkins’ latest book follows five teenage victims of sex trafficking — from all walks of life and gender orientations — as they try to extricate themselves from their current situations and find a new way of life.
About The Book:
TRAFFICK (Tricks, #2) By: Ellen Hopkins Release Date: November 3, 2015 Pages: 528 Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
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. Heart wrenching 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.
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Pimps - The Trailer:
Traffick Teasers:
Ellen’s
story:
Born: March
26, 1955 in Long Beach, CA. I was adopted at birth by an older couple. Albert
C. Wagner was 72 at the time; Valeria was 42. To put that into perspective, he
was born in 1883 and she was born in 1912.
Grew
up: in
Palm Springs, CA, in a neighborhood with movie stars and entertainment icons,
including Elvis Presley, Bob Hope, Kirk Douglas and Arnold Palmer. We were,
however, the “poor rich.” My father made his money in the steel industry in
WWII. I remember the day he had actually earned his million. As a poor
immigrant child who was most definitely a self-made man with a 6th grade
education, he couldn’t have been prouder.
Learned: from
my father the value of hard work and honesty. From my mother, I learned a love
of language and reading. She inhaled literature and read to me every day from
the time I was a baby until I finally told her to quit already. She also had me
reading chapter books before kindergarten.
Found: my
birth mother, Toni Chandler, in the year 2000. One interesting side note is
that she has written poetry her entire life. I have a half-sister, Fran, who I
have yet to meet. I did try to contact my birth father when my son, Jason, was
born. He refused to acknowledge me or even that he’d had a relationship with
Toni. However, they were roller skating pairs champs in high school together.
(If you’re wondering, I’m a klutz on skates.)
Moved: to
the Santa Ynez Valley, near Santa Barbara, my 8th grade summer. The high
school is relatively small and my parents thought it would be a more wholesome
atmosphere. The valley is a “horsey” place and I did, in fact, own horses until
I moved to the Tahoe area in 1985. I showed, jumped, rode gymkhana and barrel
raced.
In
school: I was a straight A student almost all the
way through school. With an excellent private school background through 8th
grade, it was fairly easy to maintain those grades all the way through high
school, despite a certain renegade attitude (70s rebel and all that!). I was
the type who could read a chapter in a book and pass a test, even without the
classroom discussion necessary for some.
Started
writing: From the time I knew how to put words on
paper. I’ve always been writing something (especially poetry) ever since,
although I didn’t start writing for money until around 1992.
Published: my
first poem, a brilliant haiku (I’m pretty sure there were trees and springtime
in it), when I was nine. I was always encouraged by my English teachers to
write, and won pretty much every creative writing contest I ever entered all
the way through high school.
Graduated: Santa
Ynez Valley Union High School in 1973. Went on to study journalism in college
(Crafton Hills College and UCSB), but dropped out to get married and start a
family.
Children: Had
my first child, Jason, when I was just 21. He was born in 1976. Cristal
followed two years later.
Divorced: When
Cristal was still a baby in diapers. My ex moved to Albuquerque. I’m not going
to disclose names. He should be allowed a sense of privacy.
Rebound
relationship: Met my daughter, Kelly’s,
father on the rebound. He was very much a not-nice man. The relationship was
physically abusive and lasted far longer than it should have.
When I finally found the courage to make a break, he kidnapped Kelly against court orders and hid her for almost three years. Finally, his own grandmother helped us get her back. That’s a long story, too long to tell here. Maybe I’ll blog it one day.
When I finally found the courage to make a break, he kidnapped Kelly against court orders and hid her for almost three years. Finally, his own grandmother helped us get her back. That’s a long story, too long to tell here. Maybe I’ll blog it one day.
Owned
my own business: During this time, I was the
owner of Valley Video, a video store before video got big. Sold out in 1984.
“Forever
love”: found me during this time. I met John
Hopkins, and we moved to the Tahoe area in 1985. Wanting to be sure it would
all work out, I insisted we wait to get married until October 19, 1991. We’ve
survived good, bad, amazing, and horrible and come out stronger. He is still,
and always, my best friend.
For
the last time: We moved to northern Nevada,
in a rural valley between Reno and Carson City, in 1990. We thought the move
might be temporary, but we simply love it here. If you look in my photo albums
online, you’ll find examples of why. It’s a different kind of beauty than the
green of Washington, but the palette here—gold and auburn and sage and the deep
blue of the Sierra–is unmatched.
During
this time: I decided to try and write for a living.
I started freelancing newspaper and magazine articles. Moved from there into
children’s nonfiction, publishing twenty titles before I sold my first novel. I
was always trying different things—picture books, early chapter books, etc., and
I wrote an entire adult novel which didn’t sell then. [I’ve resurrected it;
we’ll see what happens with it in the future.] I also taught creative part time
as an artist-in-residence; owned my own little publishing company, which did a
newspaper for children; and was an instructor for the Institute of Children’s
Literature. And I did all those things simultaneously, searching for where I
belonged as a writer.
The
real story: behind Crank took
place between the years 1995 and 1971. “Hunter,” aka Orion, was born in 1996.
We took guardianship of him when he was just a baby and adopted him when he was
not quite four years old. He is the light of our lives (as well as the biggest
pain!) and a true gift. He knows the whole story, of course, but considers us
his parents, and we consider him our son.
We
lived: in the same modest home until last year.
Rather than move (we love our 1.25 acres on a hill overlooking Washoe Lake to
the Sierra), we added on, and remodeled the old part of the house. Everything
they say about remodeling/additions is true. The process had dust and some
small delays. But it was sooooooooo worth it.
MY REVIEW:
5 STARS
When I read the first book, Tricks, I was so appalled at the things happening to these children. Ginger, Cody, Seth, Eden and Whitney. All of these kids had different things going on, one had gambling issues that led to drugs and eventually being shot. One had a mother that pimped her out to her boyfriends so she runs away with her girlfriend and they have to get pimped out to survive. Another, trusted her boyfriend since she was ignored by her family and ends up pimped out by him and addicted to drugs. Then one more outs himself as being gay and kicked out by his father. And the last who is mistreated by family and ends up pimped out when she runs away.
This book is about how they all come home or near enough and what they have to go through to get back to a somewhat normal life.
One of the kids I really loved just moved from one rich person to another looking for love and praying they could exist. They ended up with one of the best ending I think.
Just because these kids were pushed into these lives because they didn't know anything else, or were too old to work a real job, etc.. doesn't mean they wanted to do these things. They all just wanted LOVE! Is that so wrong!!!!
I always say I love Ellen's books, but I keep reading more that I love.. they are hard to handle, they are crude, they are about REAL LIFE and it's sad.. sad for the ones that have to go through this... sad for the ones that went through this.. I really wish life didn't have to be this way for so many.
If you liked any of Ellen's other books and if you loved the first book..Tricks.. you will love this one too. It was good to see them moving on or trying their best to...
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About The Author:
Ellen Hopkins is a poet, freelance writer, and the award-winning author of twenty nonfiction titles and five NY Times Bestselling novels-in-verse. She has published hundreds of articles on subjects ranging from aviation to child abuse to winegrowing. Ellen mentors other writers through her position as a regional adviser for the Nevada chapter of the Society of ChildrenÕs Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). She is a regular speaker at schools; book festivals and writers conferences across the US, and now throughout the world.
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I actually have a copy of this book but I simply haven't read it yet, so that is something I need to do pronto because you really did enjoy reading this one. Love the cover as well -- just look at it!
ReplyDeleteYes, you need to read it, especially if you read the first one first. Well that made sense :)
DeleteThis is AMAZING! Thank you so much for participating and posting! xx
ReplyDeleteAmy