Ellen Hopkins the queen of poetry brought another book, but mixed with prose for one of the character's points of view which gave it a unique twist from her other books.

Ariel's story is told in poem form and as I have said when I have Ellen's previous books, I am amazed at how much can be shared of a story in so few words! Ariel and her father have been moving from place to place all her life and he has told her about her mother's abandonment and their need to move. In the storyline told through prose is a young woman who falls in love and quickly has a baby.

While the connection between the story isn't told, I caught on pretty quickly and knew why they were each included in this one book. I felt for Ariel early on as the reader knows that her dad isn't telling the truth, maybe the reader doesn't know the truth either, but just knowing that her one parent figure has lied her entire life, is sad to know. I felt for her throughout the book, hoping that she would find the truth, but knowing that it would turn her world upside down.

This one wasn't my favorite of Ellen Hopkins' books, but I still appreciate how she puts these stories together with such skill. I still have a few of her backlist that I need to complete and I hope to sprinkle them into my reading life in the near future.

I hate that Ellen Hopkins broke from her one word titles.
The You I've Never Know does not fit this novel as much as the original title: Chameleon.
I hate that she broke from writing strictly in verse to instead include both verse and prose.
I also hate that Maya's Journal at the end. I found it completely pointless.
BUT FORGET THAT NEGATIVITY!
As you all know, anything Ellen Hopkins is my favorite.
This book was not near as dark as some of her others but still had a dangerous twist.
We read from the POV of Ariel and Maya.
Ariel is struggling to understand who she is. Her entire life consisted running from town to town with her father. She never got to make friends, a social life, or indulge in regular teenage activities. But for some reason, her dad actually begins settling down, which allows Ariel a chance to satisfy her curiosity.
Maya loves her best friend Tati, loves her so much that she was willing to hustle some alcohol from a couple of Fort Hood soldiers. But when she becomes pregnant at 16, she has a few decisions to make. Keep or kill? Move with mom or marry Jason? Keeping her baby was the best decision she had ever made, but marrying Jason was one of the worst. He took her baby. He took her whole world. He went AWOL just to get away and was willing to hurt those he "loved".

But knowing Ellen Hopkins, what could be the twist?
How do Ariel and Maya cross paths?
I can't ruin it for you guys, just pick up the book.

When Hopkins first got published, her books were revolutionary. She wrote frankly about topics teen writers seldom addressed. She wrote in verse, using innovative formats. I was blown away and read every book I could get my hands on, as did many teen readers. She's written enough, now, that her format is no longer revolutionary. Still impressive, I suppose, but format is not enough on its own. I feel like the story in this one is a little lacking. The dad is a little too simply "bad" . While Ariel is loyal to him initially, their relationship is over-simplified, his motivations unclear.

‘The You I’ve Never Known’ follows two girls Ariel and Maya. Both begin the story struggling to deal with dysfunctional living situations. Ariel’s father moves them from place to place never staying in one spot long. He tells Ariel that her mother left the family and that she doesn’t want anything to do with her. Maya has an abusive mother who keeps strict tabs on her. She later flees from her mother into anther bad situation.

I was super excited when I found out that I would be part of the ‘The You I’ve Never Known’ blog tour. I have heard so many wonderful things about Ellen Hopkins books. Even though I have several of her books on my TBR shelf, I had yet to read one before now. I was in for an amazing surprise. This book is beautifully written. Since part of this novel is written in verse form (as are all of Ellen Hopkins books),at first I wasn’t sure if the story would come together for me. Wow, did come together beautifully. This book was so engrossing, I literally could not put it down.

I loved both the characters of Ariel and Maya. Both characters were amazing written. They were both vulnerable and interesting but true to life. The storyline was fresh and raw while still being moving.Ariel and Maya’s stories came together beautifully almost like a puzzle snapping together. I was a little disappointed in the ending but not enough to really affect how I felt about the book.
This book demonstrates how a slice of life book can be just as enthralling as any thriller or mystery. A definitely must read for those that love a good down on their luck story. However, I think everyone should give this one a try. I have already ordered several more of Ellen Hopkins’ books and can not wait to dig into the next one.

Enjoyed it very much. Easy read. Great flow. Well written. Reviewed on Goodreads.

What if the details of your past have been told to you versus based on your own memory? For as long as she can remember, it has always been just Ariel and her dad. Her mom disappeared when she was a couple years old. Ariel and her dad moved around a lot, making home wherever the two of them were. Now Ariel is seventeen years old in a town ready to put down roots and build romantic relationships. But every day she fears her dad will leave like her mom did.

Maya is a teenager with an abusive mother. Escaping is her number one priority; she runs right into the arms of an older man. With a baby on the way, life gets more complicated than she imagined it ever would.

When their worlds cross, Ariel and Maya try to make sense of their lives, balance love and untangle lies. The You I've Never Known is an emotional journey to find out the truth in history and how to move forward in life.

There is no better author to write in this verse/prose format than Ellen Hopkins. Every chapter is a poem. Perfect example of less is more! With less words on each page, the reader is drawn to flipping the pages and constructing the story that the author intends. There were no unnecessary passages. Every sentence mattered in this 500+ page novel. I learned more about the main character, Ariel, through this writing style than I would have with traditional paragraphs. And what an unforgettable plot!

Bookhearts, do not let the page count deter you. The You I've Never Known is indeed a quick read. I took my time and still finished it within a few days. It will be great for those with new year resolutions of reading more and stepping outside of your normal genre. Booklist says, "Hopkins has created another winner." I totally agree!

LiteraryMarie

The You I've Never Known is probably my favorite Ellen Hopkins book that I have read so far. I really think that she knocked this one out of the park.

The You I've Never Known is mostly told from Ariel's perspective. She is a 17 year old girl who has lived pretty much her entire life moving from one place to another with her dad. At times he would find a lady friend to live with for a short amount of time and other times they would just live out of the car. Ariel's mother abandoned her and her father to be with her girl friend and gave up on them, so she has been out of Ariel's life for a very very long time.

At the point in her life that this story occurs though, Ariel and her father have finally put down some temporary roots in California. Ariel is finally at a place in her life where she can let herself start to have friends and to find who she really is.

And that brings us to one of the big questions that Ariel looks to solve during the course of this story. Who she is, especially when it comes to her sexual identity. Is she into men? Is she into women? Is she into both? Can she be bisexual? Is that even a possibility?

And The You I've Never Known follows along with Ariel while she ponders these questions and works to discover herself and the answers to these questions....and more. So much more.

Along with having Ariel's story, we also get a few "journal entries" from a girl named Maya. Maya is trying to navigate life and get away from her abusive mother.

Oh my goodness guys. My mind is still reeling from reading this. I cannot stop thinking about it. There is just so much in this book! Discovering oneself, sexual identity, abuse, and more. It is a really hard hitting read. I had to put the book down on more than one occasion because there were points that were tough for me to get through and I had to take the extra time to digest what I had just read. However, I could never put it down for very long because I just had to know what was going to happen next!

I will say that while I felt very invested in Ariel, that I didn't find myself drawn too much to the other characters. The only exception of this was Maya. It is probably because most of this story is about Ariel and told by Ariel. So it is like you are in her mind. It doesn't allow us to really get to know other characters all that deeply, but it does really let us get to know Ariel. And I really liked getting to know Ariel.

I guess it doesn't really need to be said since this is an Ellen Hopkins book, but just in case you are new to her books... like the rest of her books there are some definite trigger warnings. Domestic abuse and child abuse are two very strong topics for this book...and alcohol consumption. Also, Ariel's father is very anti LGBTQIA and feel that should be noted. It is part of Ariel's story though, but I just wanted readers to be aware of it.

Like I said in the beginning of my review, I really enjoyed The You I've Never Known. It found myself very pulled in and rooting for Ariel to find her true self. I am glad I read it and didn't put it off!

This review is based on an ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are mine and mine alone.

Find more of my reviews here:
http://readingwithcupcakes.blogspot.com/

Don’t read the synopsis on Goodreads!

I’ve only put in about half of the synopsis, because the rest is a big spoiler… Well, depending on how you look at it. I read the book knowing the synopsis (quite well) and I still enjoyed it quite a bit, but I was looking for a specific event to happen, which didn’t come into play until the end of the book.

I read Identical a while ago, and for the most part, I didn’t really like it.

I was drawn to it and I couldn’t stop reading it…. But the story was too dark and graphic and just horrible (not the story itself, just the events) for me to really enjoy it. Until the end, because THAT was INCREDIBLE. And it worked so perfectly. Anyhoo, I still only rated it 3 stars. But I knew, even though that book wasn’t my favorite ever, that I would be coming back to Ellen Hopkins. Because her writing. Is just. AGH. I CAN’T.

Image result for there are no words for my love gif

So yes, the writing is perfect and gorgeous and yup.

No more to be said on that.

And the lesbian romances were perfect and LAFKDSJLADBVK.

See GIF above! No, but really. A lesbian romance is rare in books. Quite rare. And with the protagonist… Even more so. THIS BOOK. HAD NOT ONE. BUT TWO. With both of the main characters. ❤ ❤ ❤ They were so cute.

Ariel’s father has been horrible to her in every way possible.

Yet, she still loves him unconditionally, and thinks he’s just doing what’s best for her. She doesn’t realize that it’s not okay for him to treat her that way. I always have a tough time reading about this kind of relationship between a parent and their child because it’s just so heartbreaking, and I can’t possibly understand the feeling.

The plot is genius and how Ellen how.

I have no idea how she comes up with these amazing plot ideas because WHAT WHERE DID THAT COME FROM. ACK.

I’m sure you’ve all figured out by now that I have NO IDEA WHAT TO EVEN SAY.

My general feelings towards this book are just JESRAIOOEIO and YOU SHOULD READ IT and THE WRITING IS GORGEOUS AND THE WHOLE THING IS JUST GENIUS AND PERFECT.