Eden, Seth, Whitney, Ginger, and Cody are five teens, from all over the country. They may be as different as anyone could be, but they all have something in common: they want to be loved. But their pursuit of love and happiness isn't always smooth, and very quickly each teen finds themselves in a place they don't want to be, a place they never expected to be, each of them turning tricks. What starts out as five separate stories slowly intertwines to become one story about sticking to what you believe in, standing up for yourself, and ultimately growing up.

As always with Ellen Hopkins' books, Tricks is one that will make you cringe but at the same time have you so tightly under its spell that it is impossible to stop reading. Tricks is intriguing at first as Hopkins introduces readers to her five diverse, painfully honest, and flawed characters. You can't help but connect with at least one of them in one way, shape or form. You even have high hopes for them and their happy ending, even as you can see that something terrible and heartbreaking is in store for them, and see them stumble into it. Tricks is not for the faint of heart; Hopkins gives readers a realistic and hard look at each one's life, not leaving out a single thing. She demonstrates to readers that there aren't any happy, perfect endings, but there is a way out, and all you need to do is ask. Tricks is a powerful, chilling read with a cast of gripping characters that takes a look at how they deal when forced into unthinkable circumstances.

Cover Comments: This cover is actually pretty plain, but keeps in style with the covers of Ellen Hopkins' other books. So that in itself usually makes it distinguishable, but really I think it's pretty unremarkable. I'm trying to figure out what the cover is supposed to be...it looks like fire one minutes and then a red sheet the next. Oh well, it does it's job well! (Edited to add: I just saw a finished copy--very impressive! It looks much nicer than the picture!)