Ellen Hopkin’s is known for her no-holds-barred approach to tackling tough issues facing today’s teens including drug addiction, depression, mental illness, prostitution, pregnancy, sexual abuse, PTSD/military life..and now guns/
People Kill People is one of the only books that addresses, head-on, gun proliferation and easy access to firearms in the United States, a topic kids see on the news and deal with on a daily basis. On Tuesday, the Journal of the American Medical Association released a study showing that the US comes in 2nd for gun-related deaths. Entertainment Weekly calls People Kill People “Fall’s most provocative YA read" —an important book for both teens and adults alike.
Ellen Hopkins' hugely bestselling books have won more awards that I can list (http://ellenhopkins.com/YoungAdult/vitale/), and her work has opened the door to poetry and prose to teenagers and adults alike. Ellen Hopkins has over four million books in print, many reaching #1 on the New York Times bestseller list
Just as Death narrates The Book Thief, Hopkin’s has Violence weave together six people and a gun. Hopkins also comments on race and privilege and the burgeoning white supremacist movement, topics that are central to today’s social and political discourse.
