Customer Reviews
Courtesy of Teens Read Too - By: TeensReadToo.com, 14 Jan 2007 
Three troubled teens cross paths at Aspen Springs, a psychiatric hospital, after attempting suicide. Connor, Tony, & Vanessa alll have demons that try to pull them under & get them to succumb to the temptation to try it again; this time making sure they succeed.
Connor's overbearing family, only concerned about his GPA, or his making the varsity footballl team, or getting into an Ivy League college, offer no solace during his time of need. Feeling suicide is the only answer after a deeply emotional love affair ends, he takes a gun & points it to his chest before pulling the trigger.
Tony, after many years in a juvenile home for a crime that still haunts him, decides to ease his feelings of despair & loneliness by swalllowing a handful of pills, only to vomit them up & be found by the police lying on the sidewalk unconscious.
Vanessa is a cutter. In order to ease her mind in any time of stress she slices her skin with anything sharp enough to do the job. One day, when she was drowning in her blue ocean of sadness, she cuts too deep. She feels herself slipping into the abyss until her younger brother, Bryan, walks in & finds her. When he callls for their ex-nurse Grandma, she is able to hold off death.
After arriving at Aspen Springs, Connor, Tony, & Vanessa are introduced to a life under constant surveillance, strict routines, & hours & hours or counseling. Immediately the three form a bond, feeling drawn to one another as if they might be able to save each other from death. Together they navigate the regulations of the hospital & make progress toward healing as they tell each other their deepest, darkest secrets; things they won't even tell their counselors.
Ellen Hopkins uses her wonderful free verse style to weave together the story of three troubled teens as they attempt to heal the terrible scars left by their lives. The consistency the author uses when alternating the points of view makes the story easy to follow. Hopkins gives away just enough information that the reader feels a part of the story while still saving a big bang for the end. IMPULSE is a great story that reveals the importance of family during the healing process & is a must read for anyone who knows a teen.
Reviewed by: Karin Perry
