Triangles by Ellen Hopkins

Three women struggle to keep their family and sanity together when all they want to do is fall apart. Holly joins a writing group as a way to escape her rebelling daughter and a husband who is no longer fulfilling her needs. Marissa is dealing with a gay son, a daughter requiring extreme special care, and a husband who distances himself more with each passing day. Andrea is a single mother with not much on her plate except loneliness and watching her daughter Harley grow up too fast, but when her best friend's husband presents an alluring opportunity, she takes it. Whether they are family or friends, these women experience their lives shatter in both similar and different ways, and pull from themselves and each other as life continues to move on.

Whoo boy. Be warned: emotions run high in this book! Though the constant onslaught on heavy emotions weren't always happy, they did an amazing job in building desires and actions for the characters. With unhappiness running so rampant, the women will have a wide appeal to readers. The misery and longing to escape will resonate with audiences from all backgrounds, even if the situations do not. I typically stay far away from novels written in verse, but was strangely drawn to this book. Perhaps because it is a well-known YA writer's first venture into adult fiction. Whatever it was that made me pick up this book, I am very glad I did. There was a staggering amount of stunning beauty in the simple poems at the end of the chapters. And the sheer emotion almost tipped me over the edge a few times. I barely paused to look up from this book while reading it, and will definitely be picking up more from Ellen Hopkins.

Overall Rating: 5 Stars