Chorley Chronicals: Tilt by Ellen Hopkins {Audio}

Monday, April 28, 2014

Tilt by Ellen Hopkins {Audio}

10:34 PM | Posted by Unknown

Tilt by Ellen Hopkins
My Rating: 4 of 5 Butterflies

Title: Tilt
Author:  Ellen Hopkins
Series: Stand Alone
Narrators:  Kirby Heyborne; Madeleine Maby; Rebekkah Ross; Jacques Roy; Candace Thaxton
Publisher:  Simon & Schuster Audio
Published: February 11, 2014
Source:  Publisher via Audiobook Jukebox
Format: Audiobook; CD
Genres: Fiction; Juvenile Fiction
Subjects: Dating; Love

Love - good and bad - forces three teens' worlds to tilt in a riveting standalone novel from #1 New York Times best-selling author Ellen Hopkins.

Three teens, three stories - all interconnected through their parents' family relationships. As the adults pull away, caught up in their own dilemmas, the worlds of the teens begin to tilt.

Mikayla, almost 18, is over-the-top in love with Dylan, who loves her back jealously. But what happens to that love when Mikayla gets pregnant the summer before their senior year and decides to keep the baby?

Shane turns 16 that same summer and falls hard in love with his first boyfriend, Alex, who happens to be HIV positive. Shane has lived for four years with his little sister's impending death. Can he accept Alex's love, knowing his life, too, will be shortened?

Harley is 14 - a good girl searching for new experiences, especially love from an older boy. She never expects to hurdle toward self-destructive extremes in order to define who she is and who she wants to be.

Love, in all its forms, has crucial consequences in this wrenching story from Ellen Hopkins.

©2013 Ellen Hopkins (P)2013 Simon & Schuster

My Review:

I must admit that I was totally surprised with this book! I don't know if I just hadn't really payed much attention when I originally read the Synopsis or what, but I was expecting this something sweet novel, and that is certainly not what I got! However, I was pleasantly surprised! The only thing that I am slightly disappointed in, is the Publisher's Synopsis gives a pretty vivid description of the book, so it doesn't leave too much to the imagination. So I guess that I am happy that I didn't pay much attention to it until after the fact.

There were a whole lot of characters throughout this book, which as an audiobook, made it quite difficult to keep up with, especially in the beginning, however, I was really quite appreciative of the many different narrators, which helped me define which character was which! The story was told through the point of view of all the different characters, and I enjoyed that! I liked going back and forth from what one to the other to the other thought about what was going on! It was very entertaining!

I felt a variety of emotions while listening to this book! It took me back to my younger days, remembering what it was like to be a teenager again, dealing with relationships of all sorts, from that with parents, to friends, to boyfriends/girlfriends. That's a tough time in one's life and I believe that Tilt is the perfect portrayal of that fact! I also think that the title fits the story perfectly! This is a story of life, and the choices one makes, and consequences that follow choices!

The narrators did a wonderful job of portraying the characters they were playing! I was especially impressed with Kirby Heyborne and his portrayal of Shane! He really captured Shane's emotions and delivered a stellar performance!! I also felt that the voice fit each character well! I could have pictured Harley as a ready to hit the world 14 year old, and Mikayla, an almost 18 year old that knows it all, and Shane, the misunderstood homesexual 16 year old! I believe they had perfect casting for the narrators!

The only qualm that I had with this book was the ending! I felt like she left the ending way too open, and left me thinking, seriously, it's over? I wish she wouldn't have left so much to the imagination and had given a concrete ending! I felt like there was no conclusion, especially for Mikayla and even Shane! I definitely would have preferred more for the conclusion!

This was my first book by Ellen Hopkins, but I must say that I was impressed! I didn't feel like I was reading a Juvenile Fiction book and actually thoroughly enjoyed listening to this title! It was an easy listen, that I managed to finish in one day's time! I was impressed with how much I liked this book, especially given that it is considered YA/Juvenile Fiction! I will pursue other titles from this author in the future!