Ellen Hopkins
Publisher: Atria Books
Publishing Date: November 6, 12
Book
Description
From the New York Times bestselling author of Triangles comes an exquisitely told
story about a young woman torn between passionate first love and the gripping
realities of war.
Meet
Ashley, a graduate student at San Diego State University. She was raised in
northern California reading poetry and singing backupin her best friend’s band.
The last thing she ever expected was to end up a military wife. But one night,
she meets a handsome Marine named Cole. He doesn’t match the stereotype of the
aggressive military man she’d always presumed to be true; he’s passionate and
romantic, and he even writes poetry. Their relationship evolves into a deeply
felt, sexually charged love affair that goes on for five years and survives
four deployments. Cole desperately wants Ashley to marry him, but when she
meets another man, a college professor, with similar professional pursuits and
values, she begins to see what life might be like outside the shadow of war.
Written
in Ellen Hopkins’s stunning poetic verse style, Collateral captures the hearts of the soldiers on the
battlefield and the minds of the friends, family, and lovers they leave behind.
While those at home may be far from the relentless, sand-choked skies of the
Middle East and the crosshairs of a sniper rifle, they, too, sacrifice their
lives and happiness for their country at war. And all must eventually ask
themselves if the collateral damage it causes is worth the fight.
My
Thoughts
‘Collateral’ was Ellen
Hopkins second book in her adult series and oh my goodness was it fantastic.
Cole is a marine and Ashley
is a college student who wants to be a social worker. They are in love but can
their love survive the war?
‘Collateral’ was a
bombshell of a novel. It was a hard hitting, dramatic, tear down your heart
strings, action packed, page turner.
I loved this book, I have
many members of my family who have served this country in the military so this
book really hit home for me.
This book discusses what
these soldiers really go through. Nightmares, post-traumatic stress disorder,
paranoia, substance abuse, you name it, soldiers suffer from it, they come back
and they have nothing. They don’t have the jobs they were promised or the homes
they had when they left.
Denial is a wide spread disease in this country, war
is real, everyone realizes this fact but not many people realize the fact of
what war really is and what it does to the soldiers.
Ironically the day after I finished ‘Collateral’ a
marine showed up on my doorstep. He was doing a program for wounded soldiers.
His story broke my heart, 23 years old, he was shot, lost his hearing in one
ear, and had lost all of his memories from his junior year in high school back
do to a blast that sent him flying, leaving a piece of remnant in his head. He
also suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. The horrible things he went
through to serve his country and now the government won’t even pay for their
tuition to go to school. It just breaks my heart.
Every time you see a soldier you should always give
him or her, your thanks. A simple ‘Thank you for your service,’ will not cost you anything but it may have
cost them more than you can ever understand so please just do this one simple
thing, it is your civilian duty as far as I am concerned.
Everyone should really read this book, it is a big
eye opener for many and it is beautifully written. I highly, highly recommend
it.
This book really captured it. It was a truly amazing
book, written brilliantly.
Ashley and Cole’s story was a really tragic one and
sadly it happens around the world every day. A soldier returns home broken
beyond repair.
A soldier sent back to his wife and children and a
coffin never getting to say goodbye,
A mother getting nothing but her daughter’s dog tags,
always wondering if there is a possibility that she somehow survived, when
there were no remains.
A soldier losing her limbs before she is even 25 and
can truly even begin her life.
That is war. War is ugly. War is real. War is and
always will be Satan’s favorite form of entertainment.
