Triangles

August 22, 2011
Teenage angst is all grown up—but no less fraught with sexual misadventure and gnawing insecurity—in Hopkins’s fearless first novel for adults written entirely in verse. For restless writer and mother-of-three Holly, her looming 40th birthday prompts increasingly risky sexual behavior (inspiration for her sizzling-hot erotica), even as her rebellious teenage daughter charges down her own dangerous sexual path. Meanwhile, Andrea, one divorce and one affair with a married man already under her belt, finds comfort with Holly’s husband after he discovers that Holly has been doing her erotica homework with another man. And while Andrea’s sister Marissa cares for her dying five-year-old daughter and her gay teenage son, her marriage crumbles under the weight of betrayal, anger, and guilt. Written in her signature poetic verse style, Hopkins (Crank) delivers a raw and riveting tale of love and forgiveness that will captivate readers.

November 15, 2011
Sex, motherhood and relationships bring three friends together and tear them apart in a melodrama told entirely in verse. Holly, Andrea and Marissa are all facing midlife crises. Holly deals by losing weight and starting a string of casual affairs, endangering the kind of stable family life that single mom Andrea has always coveted--and so after a string of disappointing dates Andrea starts up with Holly's lawyer husband Jace. Marissa, meanwhile, is dealing with the decline of her congenitally ill 4-year-old daughter and the attitude of her gay son. Along the way, Holly starts to write erotica, Andrea deals with her job at the DMV and Marissa watches her husband, worn out by their daughter's struggle, pull away. But if the copious sex is the lure in this first entirely adult-focused novel by bestselling YA author Hopkins (Perfect, 2011, etc.), it's the mother-daughter relationships that have the most weight. As Holly tries to help her teen Mikayla through her first sexual relationship, she misses the obvious connections to her own acting out; Andrea watches Harley grow into a stronger young woman than her mother ever was, and Marissa breaks her heart trying to make Shelby's short life meaningful. Adoption, abandonment and unwanted pregnancy all make appearances, as the three story lines intertwine. The narrative is easy to follow, and the alternating viewpoints--particularly Holly's and Andrea's--serve to underline each woman's self-delusions and denial. However, the consistently high emotional pitch, along with the constant crises, make this thick volume more soap opera than art, and the verse aspect comes to seem an affectation. The author's fans will undoubtedly love the drama, but newcomers will be dissuaded by the format, if not the page count. The sins of the mothers--and their friends--come to visit the daughters in this overblown weepy.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

September 1, 2011

Having already explored drug addiction, prostitution, sexual abuse, and homosexuality, Hopkins (Crank; Glass; Fallout) has legions of young adult fans who are getting older and may be ready for new themes. In her first novel aimed at adults, the author throws in extramarital affairs, swinging, erotica, searching for one's birth parents, and a Jodi Picoult-inspired side plot about caring for a terminally ill child, all told in her signature style: free verse. At 544 pages, it's indulgent, and some of the poems seem contrived and clunky. It can be difficult to differentiate between the three middle-aged friends who make up the titular triangle, even with their names as headings for each section. Their voices are not consistent, and it seems that their stories would be more compelling if told in a more conventional narrative. VERDICT While Hopkins's fans and newcomers may be drawn in by the titillating details, this does not hold up as adult literature. For popular collections, because there will be an audience. [See Prepub Alert, 4/25/11; Hopkins's next book, Tilt, focuses on the teen characters from Triangles.--Ed.]--Christine Perkins, Bellingham P.L., WA

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2011
Young-adult novelist Hopkins (Crank, 2004) graduates to the grown-up leagues with her latest effort. She turns her gaze on the interwoven stories of three women approaching middle age, and though the book is notable for Hopkins' verse style of writing, it's actually a conventional read. Hopkins seems most intrigued with her least sympathetic character, Holly, a stay-at-home mom who's recently dropped 60 pounds and become overly enamored of the attention her new figure receives. She takes up erotic writing and research that includes dubious extramarital sexual encounters (allowing Hopkins to stretch her R-rated powers). Rounding out the titular triangle: Andrea, Holly's best friend, and Marissa, a pair of sad-sack sisters. Andrea is a single mother navigating the dating waters with limited success. Marissa is dealing with a gay son, a young daughter dying of a rare disease, and an emotionally and physically distant husband. It's a lot of plot to juggle, and in choosing to go wide, Hopkins doesn't go as deep as she might have. Any of the womenMarissa, in particularcould have carried her own novel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)