Summary Of Ellen Hopkins Impulse

The readership that Ellen Hopkins targets in her novel Impulse would be teenagers and up, since the story follows three teens (who are nearly eighteen years old). I think within that, she targets readers who maybe can relate. Impulse deals with a lot of heavy topics, most notably suicide, and I think Hopkins targets a readership that can relate to what these teens are going through. The readership could even be those who have similar issues in their lives. Her target readership could also be people who are avoiding their own issues by delving into stories like this. The story revolves around Vanessa, Conner, and Tony as they heal at Aspen Springs after each of them attempted to commit suicide. They all come from different backgrounds and are dealing with heavy topics that no one should have to.
Conner comes from a wealthy family where he sees basically no affection or love, instead focusing it on women, specifically his English teacher whom he was having an affair with. And then there’s Tony, whose mother didn’t care about him, let her boyfriend sexually abuse him. He’s lived a life where he’s had to sell his body and live on the streets; that is until his estranged father comes back into the picture. I think by demonstrating all these different characters and what they’re going through, Hopkins sets it up where a reader can relate to them in even the smallest ways. She also presents their healing in a realistic way: you can see Vanessa, Tony, and Conner starting to get better until Conner starts spiraling, which leads to his sad and subsequent suicide at the end of the