Brave new author tackles gun violence

By Alexandra Berrocal

Ellen Hopkins wrote her take on gun violence, People Kill People, in 2018. I have personally met Ellen Hopkins. I was also her Facebook friend, during the time that I had a Facebook account. During that time, she was a good friend and a good role model.  She was also a conscious researcher. 

Now, I don’t normally care to read fiction. However, this book was a real page-turner. It was about the lives of six teenagers —who act more like adults than teenagers— who all have a reason to buy a gun, pull the trigger, and shoot someone. Rand and Cami are two married teenagers with a young son. Silas and Ashlyn are members of a white supremacist youth organization. Daniel is an immigrant. Grace is the person that Daniel loves. Noelle was disabled after an accident and has become depressed. 

I am not certain that this story is meant to be an allegory. That is, I don’t think that the characters symbolize anything in particular. I think they are just people. Married teenagers with children are common enough that I bet a lot of people know one or two. The far right is now prevalent enough in our country that some people may be in close proximity to a white supremacist, or a former white supremacist for that matter. If you are from Southern California like me, you have likely met immigrants. Disabled people can seem invisible in society, but anyone can become disabled at any time, as Noelle’s story reminds us. The question is, which one will shoot the gun? I won’t spoil the end, but I will tell you that it is extremely unexpected and very sad. The plot twist at the end also makes the point at the end of the book that much more salient.  

Hopkins has always been more of a poet, and she doesn’t disappoint in this book. However, good chunks of this story are in prose as well. Hopkins is just as good at prose as she is at poetry, so fans of good writing won’t be disappointed. However, it is a bit of a departure from her earlier work, especially if you read Crank and liked that. 

This book is worth reading, but it is also very dark. Read this book, but maybe go easy on yourself for one or two days afterwards. You may need some time to recuperate.  However thick this book may be, it is a relatively quick read. You should be able to get through it in two days.

If you want a better understanding of what people are capable of — or what life is capable of — read this book. If you want to know what people who are radically different from you are like, read this book. If you want to see how people can be connected, even though they don’t seem to be connected, read this book. If you want an important story, read this book.