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  • Writer's pictureJade Melody

People Kill People ~ Ellen Hopkins


Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


I saw this on a new releases shelve a few months ago and knew that this would be an important read. Plus, it's by one of my favorite authors, which gave me even more reason to pick it up.


People Kill People. Guns just make it easier.


A gun is sold in the classifieds after a man accidentally killed his wife. It was bought by a teenager who needs protection. But which teenager was it? Each has the incentive to pick up a gun, to fire it. It could be Rand or Cami, married teenagers with a young son. Or Silas or Ashlyn, members of a white supremacist youth organization. Or maybe it was Daniel, who fears retaliation because of his race, and possessively cling to Grace, the love of his life. Or finally it could be Noelle, who lost everything after a devastating accident, and has sunk quietly into depression.


One tense week brings all six people into close contact in a town wrought with political and personal tensions. Someone will fire and someone will die. But who?


Ellen Hopkins knew exactly how to write this story. She knew that writing a one sided perspective on gun violence wouldn't get the attention it deserves, so she opted to write multiple perspectives conveying different opinions. I respect this choice because it's what made the story suspenseful and real. This was a difficult read because the topic is so controversial and sensitive due to the events that have happened within the past few years. However, I'm glad that I read this because the subject deserves attention, from everyone.


The plot twist at the end truly did surprise me because I was making predictions for the entire book and it wasn't who I thought and it didn't happen when I thought it would. The middle part of the story did kind of drag on, but once I got through that it definitely picked up and the suspense started to build. I also think some of the relationships could've been written better, especially Rand and Cami because I felt like I had very little background on them to work with. I understand the main point of this book was to convey the important topic of gun violence, but I still think that it would've been more impactful if the readers were more attached to the characters stories.

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