Three teens - connected by family and fate - struggle through some of life’s most devastating hardships in bestselling author Ellen Hopkins’ latest novel Tilt.
Mikayla
High school senior Mikayla thinks she has it all - good looks, great friends, the perfect boyfriend - until one day her world is turned upside down. Her boyfriend Dylan thinks he knows all the tricks when it comes to sex. According to him, even without protection, Mikayla won’t get pregnant if they do it a certain way. Well, Dylan was wrong and now Mikayla is knocked up and determined to keep the baby. But where will Dylan stand with Mikayla’s decision?
Shane
Shane’s life is a constant struggle. He’s gay, and his father refuses to support him. Meanwhile, his 4-year-old sister Shelby has Type 1 SMA (spinal muscular atrophy), and quite frankly it’s a miracle that she’s still alive. While Shane’s mother spends all her time worrying and caring for Shelby, his dad becomes more and more absent from the family. Then Shane meets Alex, a guy who might actually bring some light to his dark life. There’s only one problem - Alex has HIV.
Harley
Harley wants to be adored. She wants to be looked at, gawked at, checked out the way guys do to her best friend Bri. Unfortunately, Harley is a little bit chubby. So she goes on a diet, loses weight and sudden attracts the attention she’s always wanted. But soon she begins to succumb to peer pressure from boys, doing things that she shouldn’t be doing at 14. And suddenly the attention she always thought she wanted isn’t so appealing after all.
The Bottom Line
Ellen Hopkins is a master storyteller. She captures teen problems as if she were still a teen herself. With each page written in poem format, the book is a rather quick read - much quicker than it looks from the outside given its 600+ page length. But with three different stories to follow, readers will undoubtedly find something to relate to.
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