I have been a fan of Ellen Hopkins since I was in high school. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting her at book signings twice. I’ve read all of her books multiple times. SYNC knocks my favorite ones out the park! For one, this story resonates close to home for me. I was in the foster care system up until I aged out at 18 years old. The trauma that the two main characters; Storm & Lake had to endure brought back memories from my own experiences. Ellen Hopkins has always been an ally and uses her craft of storytelling to shine light on important topics that often get overlooked OR silenced. The book is split up between the POV of Storm & Lake; twins who have always been in SYNC. That connection is put to the test as they become wards of the state and for most of the book are separated. Their struggles are weaved together as they race against time to try to find their way back to each other. All before temptation makes them make the wrong choices. Which some of the consequences may very well jeopardize their chances at a reunion. Throughout the book you will slowly start rooting for both of the twins as they start navigating through toxic caregivers hoping they will find their way to survival. The book ended in a weird place, without spoiling I’m not sure if it’s because it’s an advanced copy that there are a few pages to the story missing it seems to end abruptly. I so hope if that’s the case when i get my physical copy i can see how it turns out. There is potential for there to be a sequel. It could be a an adult novel told through the adults POV how she did in the past with Triangles & TILT.

First and foremost, I love Ellen Hopkins and her vivid story telling. There is no doubt that you can fully imagine the world she creates with her words.

Before reading, please check the trigger warnings.

This story is about twins Lake and Storm separated by the foster system. They live to separate lives but always connected by invisible string. They both have moments of spiraling due to their surroundings and influences.

Their story was amazingly told and I can’t tell you the last time a book gut punched me a few times making me cry. It’s difficult not to become angry with the main characters at times but you just continue to hope for the best and it does come along this way with their second chances.

The only reason I’m giving a four star review as the ending felt incomplete which left me frustrated, haha. I can’t wait for the hard copy to come out to add to my collection.

Reading an Ellen Hopkins book is like cozying up in my favorite blanket with my childhood stuffed animal. Nostalgic. My teenage heart is so full getting an ARC for an Ellen Hopkins book and this one did not disappoint. It was filled with all of the things I love about Hopkins. Hard hitting topics, verse style writing and dual POVs. I believe she is one of the only authors I enjoy reading in the writing style that she uses.

Her books always sit with me for a while after I finish them and this one will do exactly the same. The heavy topics are handled so raw and real so definitely pay attention to the trigger warnings but if you’re reading Hopkins you’re probably well prepared.

I’m so happy that she came out with a new book and her writing style is still as captivating as I remember it being. If you enjoyed Hopkins books when you were younger then you will enjoy this one as well! If you have never read one of her books before then I highly recommend trying any of her books out. :)

Quick Synopsis: This book discusses twins Storm & Lake who were separated after being placed in foster care. They both have odds stacked against them, but for different reasons. This is told in a dual POV so you get to experience both of their journeys.

I can’t explain how happy I was to see Ellen Hopkins back with a new novel in verse. She was the first author to introduce me to books of this style and no one has done it better. With sparse wording, she’s able to make you laugh, cry, feel fear and tension - - genius, in my opinion.

Her newest book tackles the foster care system, focusing on a pair of separated twins and the different paths their lives take. I read this in one sitting. It’s a heartbreaking, beautiful book.

Thank you for the opportunity to read in advance!

It's been a long time since I've read an Ellen Hopkins book. I can remember finding them edgy, gripping, and overall engaging 2 twins, make and female, struggle through the foster system where terrible things happened and each wave pulls these teens deep and deeper into tragic loss.

Fast read, I love all Ellen Hopkins. Super excited that she is still writing and it gives the same feelings as all her other books.

Two twins separated by the foster care system finding their way back to each other. Doesn't help that Storm keeps getting locked up for various (valid) reasons. Lake lives with another family after the twins are separated due to a misconception. This book definitely has the usual amount of pain and suffering that Ellen's books promise us. You don't read these for a good time. I always read them as cautionary tales when I was a teen growing up. This one shows how hard it is for some teens especially those in the foster system.

I didn't like how glossed over the SA in the beginning once but then we go into the after details of it later and like that's what should've happened the first time? The two sides are missing parts of them idk if it was on purpose but it annoyed me

Storms story was believable but Lakes was all just peer pressure from Parker. We don't focus enough on her for being the second POV. It's all about her relationships with other people and I felt we glossed over parts of her story like with kit. It would've made the little twist with him and storm mean something but instead it was lackluster.

I also wish the title of Sync and their little twin sync came more into play. We touched on it in the very beginning but never again. We just watched them grow separately in their own ways but not much parallel or was felt on either end to me.

Why do we have to randomly bring up Covid? Out of nowhere just randomly mention it like yeah I guess it was part of history but was it really necessary to a plot we have never heard the current present year of?

THATS WHERE IT ENDS?? WHERES THE REST OF IT?? Fine take these three stars Ellen BUT I WILL BE DEMANDING AN ENDING WHEN WE MEET ONE DAY.

Sync by Ellen Hopkins is a deep story told in evocative free verse poetry.

What I liked

-The Book much like the author's other works has a unique structure that lends itself to slow contemplative reading but also allows for a quicker more casual approach.

-The characters are experienced almost as an emotional sketch that fills itself in as the poems progress

what I would advise readers be aware of

-This story is full of heavy topics and emotionally intense sections which the author is excellent at depicting but may not be appropriate for all readers. While this is a YA title discretion is advised.

who I recommend this title for

Sync is an excellent entry point for any reader wanting to experience books written in verse but is especially good for teen readers of contemporary fiction.

This book was amazing! I was honestly still thinking about it a week after I finished it, it was that good!I loved the switching perspectives between the twins, and how their stories ended up connecting! I also really loved the connection between the twins, like they were the only things constant in each other's lives. This book was also a great look into the US foster care system, and I loved the chance to learn about it!

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley and though it was an unfinished copy the writing and story line were impeccable. Hopkins has always drawn me in with her writing style and characters and this was no exception. The only downside was the book kind of just ends. Maybe it won’t be like that in the final copy, but I still highly recommend.

I don't think I've read an Ellen Hopkins book since high school when Crank was released.
I'm glad to see Sync was just as well written as I remember Ellen's books being.
Ellen Hopkins is one of those authors who always does realistic fiction well.
With Sync, you felt for the main characters and the life struggles they were going through. Like most of Ellen's books I would recommend any reader take the trigger warnings seriously, she doesn't just put them there for fun - if they are they, you know the book is going to address the topic in a raw but beautiful way.

This is for sure a book I will recommend to my friends, and most likely re-read when I need to feel all of the emotions.

17 year old twins Storm and Lake are extremely close after going through hell together during their childhood. When they are separated after being placed in foster care, they try to keep in touch, but things become difficult.

I love Ellen Hopkins and her verse-writing style. I find it so compelling and easy to read. This book covers some very heavy topics such as sexual assault, homelessness, the juvenile system as well as homophobia in a very respectful way. I loved the dual POV of Lake and Storm, and was intrigued by both of their stories. Both of their stories are heartbreaking in different ways. You were rooting for them both so much, and every time they faced a new obstacle it made you root for them harder. The ending was very satisfying, and I really liked the hopeful note to it.

Ellen Hopkins will forever be one of my go to authors.

thank you netgalley and the publisher for giving me access to this arc for an honest review!

i personally have been a huge fan of ellen hopkins books since 2013, so maybe i already am partial to her writing style and the content in her books. she is the one and only author that i can ever read books that are written in verse. and i think it mainly has to do with the hard-hitting topics that she talks about in her books.

this book hit a little close to home as i am someone who did go through the foster care system when i was younger, and could relate somewhat to the feelings of the characters. i love the dual pov, i love how each sibling is going through their own things yet they still maintain that sync that they have with each other. i love how ellen is able to talk about the dark sides of things such as the foster care system in a way that other authors cant really seem to do.

overall, a great read. take the trigger warnings seriously as they are there for a reason. and if you enjoyed all of the other books that ellen hopkins has written, this will also be a book that you enjoy.

Days before I requested this eARC, I had just been talking with a coworker about my love for Ellen Hopkins, which led me to look up if she had anything new since People Kill People. Lo and behold, I saw Sync on her book list. I promptly forgot about it as work took precedence, but after a few days, it popped back into my stream of consciousness and I searched it up. Thank you so so so much to NetGalley and Penguin for the eARC for one of my favorite authors!

Twins Storm and Lake have been through hell together, until they didn’t. Separated from each other in the foster care system, unsure of where the other is, they wonder what the other is going through. Storm has a juvenile record, but his new foster father and his girlfriend are helping him through life post-juvie, until a new incident has him seeing red and sending him right back. Lake is queer, and her bible-thumping foster parents would immediately disown her and send her away if they found out, so she must keep her situation-ship with foster sibling, Parker, a secret. Both siblings must deal with their past and present in order to have a future, but without the other, they are unsure of how to continue.

I am a huge proponent of novels-in-verse, and Ellen Hopkins will always be my first recommendation. She handles difficult topics with grace and with heartbreaking poetry. Sync is no different. She takes a look at teen homelessness, homophobia, prison/juvie, rehabilitation, drugs, and many more topics. She does not hold back making the audience feel the same intense and true emotions that our main characters feel, which makes the novel even more immersive. I could feel a connection to both Storm and Lake in many different ways, and this book could relate to many people with how much is discussed. Very lyrical writing but also very relatable and colloquial, so it made it accessible to read. Kudos to Ellen once again!

I have always been obsessed with Ellen Hopkins books and reading another book by her had brought all the nostalgia from my high school years. This book is just as captivating as all of her others while shedding a light on another real world topic that plagues so many. The foster care and juvenile court systems that sometimes stream in to each other, along with the homeless population, is portrayed perfectly through a set of twins who was split up by the system and continuously kept apart. Add in the LGBTQ+ aspect of what Lake is experiencing and this book covers it all. I’m obsessed as always

I started reading Ellen Hopkins books when I was in middle school. I'm now in my 30s and get just excited for new books from her.
This story is about a set of twins and their struggles with life and love in the foster care system.
It pulls at your heart strings left and right and was wonderful, like all of her others.

Absolutely loved this book about twins Storm and Lake who haven’t seen each other for five years because they’ve been in foster care. Now 17 Storm has been locked up a few times and now lives with his current foster dad Jim. Lake lives with a racist Bible humper and is in a relationship with Parker. When something happens to Storm’s girlfriend, he winds up in the same lockup as before but is given a new chance to help out at a ranch with guard dogs. When Lake and Parker decide to run away from their foster home, they become separated and Lake is sexually assaulted. Lake is placed in a new foster home and is happy her foster mom stood up for her. Do Lake and Storm ever see each other again?

Ellen Hopkins is one of my all time favorite authors, I’ve yet to read any author that lives up to her talent with verse. I’ve read every one of her books, Impulse being my favorite, but this one comes a close second. Seeing another book in verse was coming out made my whole year!

I loved reading from Storm and Lake’s points of views (twins separated in foster care). Both of their stories are completely different in circumstance yet stem from the same thing.

Overall, if you are a fan of this author this is a must read. Please look up trigger warnings, as always there are many in this book. I have already pre-ordered a copy for my shelf to add to my Ellen Hopkins collection.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

It has been a really long time since I've read an Ellen Hopkins books. Glad to see the writing is still as beautiful and emotionally devastating as I remember it to be.