On the Radar: Identical by Ellen Hopkins

By John A. Sellers, Children's Bookshelf -- Publishers Weekly, 8/7/2008

With previous novels-in-verse that plunge into such hard-hitting, issue-driven territory as addiction to crystal meth (Crank and Glass), physical abuse (Burned) and attempted suicide (Impulse), it should come as no surprise that Ellen Hopkins’s latest book, Identical (S&S/McElderry), centers on dark secrets harbored by two identical twins, where sexual abuse, drug and alcohol use and eating disorders exist under the surface of their seemingly perfect lives. (Read PW’s Q&A with Hopkins last year here.)

“We always carry her books—they sell really well and she has a really big following,” says Shannon Grant, children’s books buyer and events coordinator at Books Inc., the California regional chain. Grant attributes Hopkins’s popularity in part to her gritty subject matter. “I think [the books] strike a chord with teenagers,” she says. “When someone writes something honest and real they can usually relate to that.” 

In November, the indie’s Palo Alto location will host Hopkins as well as authors Melissa de la Cruz (the Ashleys series), Christina Meldrum (Madapple) and Elizabeth Scott (Living Dead Girl) as part of a Not Your Mother’s Book Club panel event for teens in November. Based on previous panels, Grant expects between 80 and 100 attendees. “All the authors have their own specific followings. The hope is that each one will bring their fans and they’ll find each other’s fans and cross-pollinate,” she says.

Identical arrives next month with a 150,000-copy first printing. More than a million copies of Hopkins’s books are in print, in combined hardcover and paperback editions.Earlier this year, Hopkins promoted the novel at both BEA and ALA; she will attend NCTE in November, and S&S is looking into other regional events for the fall.

Identical by Ellen Hopkins. S&S/McElderry, $17.99 ages 14-up ISBN 978-1-4169-5005-9