Every time I read another Ellen Hopkins, I think to myself “There’s no way she can make me cry more than she did in the last one!” And yet, here I am, sobbing once again. Storm and Lake were both so incredibly written. I felt so connected to them and their emotions just leapt off the page. If you’ve read one of Hopkins’ books before, then you know you’re in for some dark and traumatic events, but also some really beautiful and heartfelt moments too. This book is absolutely no exception. Theo way she writes is simple and yet so lyrical and you can’t help but get swept up in her stories. I highly recommend this one, BUT it is a lot. Definitely check the trigger warnings and make sure you’re in the right headspace for it. It is a story of family, belonging and believing in yourself, no matter your circumstances.
Mini spoiler: one of the dogs gets injured (by another animal), but doesn’t die!

CW: rape, drug use, violence, animal injury, sex trafficking, suicide, abuse, child neglect, mentions of pedophilia, religious bigotry

Thank you to NetGalley and Nancy Paulsen Books for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

TW: rape (on-page and off-page), child abuse, alcoholism, drug use, homophobia, suicidal ideation, suicide (off-page), etc (there might be more but basically, there’s a lot of sensitive content in this book)

In many ways, this is the quintessential Ellen Hopkins book. It’s been years since reading them as a younger teenager after she came to my local library to do a book event, and in some ways it feels like I’ve gone right back. I also say that because it feels like nearly every bad thing I remember happening to previous characters in her books happens to the characters of this book, and I have somewhat mixed feelings. Storm and Lake, the main characters, basically spend 400 pages of the book going through various trauma. Admittedly, they do experience some bright moments, and there’s a hopeful note to the ending, but it’s not a light book. I also don’t have the experience to really speak about the accuracy or necessity of the character’s experiences, but I will say Hopkins’ characters provide a perspective you don’t often see in YA. And while the issues faced by the characters are awful and not fun to read about, the in-verse writing style that’s characteristic of Hopkins’ books made this a technically easy read for me. In some ways I still question the purpose of how much the female characters of this book went through, and the ways in which rape is used as a character/plot device in this book, but I don’t want to make a definitive judgement because I don’t really think that this book is for me, personally. I’m still curious about Hopkins’ backlist, but this might be the extent of my revisiting her work.

-- 5/5 Stars -- ★★★★★

Trigger Warnings for ​Sync: Abuse (Sexual, Emotional, Physical), Sexual Assault, Rape, Separation of siblings, foster care, blood homelessness, homophobia, prison

Sync is a young-adult novel by #1 New York Times Bestselling author Ellen Hopkins. As with many of Hopkins novels, we follow the story of young adults through prose. In Sync, we watch Lake and Storm discover what the world has to offer - or take away. Twins Lake and Storm are separated from each other when they are accused of being too close by a foster parent. What happens when the only person you've ever truly loved is ripped away?

This is the first Ellen Hopkins book that I have picked up since high school. I truly thought I would read this book and wonder how I ever loved these books as a young adult... WRONG. Sync literally had me in tears by the end. I was sitting at 99% completion on my kindle wondering how Hopkins could wrap this up. Let me just say: she does and it's the best way possible. Lake and Storm go through so incredibly much. Listening to their stories through alternating lenses really helps to pack a full punch.

All in all, read this book. If you liked Ellen Hopkins books at any point, or you're just interested in her writing, pick it up now. Thank you to Ellen Hopkins, Penguin Group, Nancy Paulsen Books, and Netgalley for an e-copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Penguin Teen for the eARC of this book.

Themes: Foster Care, Sexual Assault, Physical Assault, Separated Siblings, Drug Abuse, Suicide, Homelessness, Religion, Child Abuse- This book was very heavy as you can tell by the themes- so please check the warnings.

I read my first Ellen Hopkins books when I was in middle school, 17-18 years ago, once I read Crank I read like 8 more books.. I went down a rabbit hole. It has been a while since I read one of Ellen Hopkins books because I knew that it would wreck me emotionally, and honestly, it did. I cried multiple times- not all of them were sad, but most of them were.

Storm and Lake are twins. They have been taken into custody by the state of California because their mother is not fit to parent them. This story follows the siblings as they travel through getting separated and everything that happens. The ending does give me hope though.

Honestly, I am not sure how to put what I feel into words. I enjoyed this book-it emotionally destroyed me, but I kind of knew that this would occur. I always enjoy reading a book in verse, it is so interesting to read and it is a creative way to tell a story.

This novel gripped me from the start and never let go. In fact, I'm still thinking about the powerful writing and the characters.

The writing brought out all the emotions--I felt fear as both Lake and Storm were removed from their home and placed into foster care and fear every time they were forced into another home. I felt happiness when each found love and a family that truly cared for them. Anger reared up when adults and peers bullied them or committed acts no one deserves to experience.

This novel takes on difficult subjects and does not shy away from the gritty and painful details; violence is an almost daily part of Storm and Lake's life at times and this book is not lighthearted. But even though it was a difficult book to read at times, it also brought hope that there are good people in the world that care about others.

The ending was amazing and perfect for a young adult novel. I can't wait to read more of this author's work.

what an emotional rollercoaster, it was exactly what I expected and needed from an Ellen Hopkins book.


Lake and Storm are twins that have gone through such terrible trials and hardship that eventually ended them split up in the foster care system. Ellen always writes characters that can overcome their challenges and hardships with such grace and brings attention to such difficult and tough topics.



The teenager deep inside of me cannot thank penguin teen enough for this NetGalley arc!!

Another beautifully delivered, heart wrenching novel by Ellen Hopkins paralleling the stories of two siblings in foster care. It is a story of heartbreak and cruelty and of prevailing love sometimes in unexpected places

A story told in two points of view, twins Storm and Lake. They are abused and neglected, so wind up in the foster care system. And we all know how thst goes.

Another great book from Ellen Hopkins. This one drew me in and I gave up the rest of my afternoon and evening to finish it.

Trigger warning for abuse, rape, suicide.

My coworker introduced me to Ellen Hopkins with the Crank series and I was so excited to see a new book coming out soon after I finished that. I definitely need to read her backlog because this was just as good as that series! Her books are formatted to be extremely fast reads and I love how deep they get but also how bingeable they are. She writes entirely in verse-poetry and it works so well along with her storytelling. The content is 100% heavy but it's so addicting, you just can't put it down. It was extremely heartbreaking at times, but the story is so well told and I honestly think this is a great book for teens to read, but also so good for adults to read as well. I really enjoyed the dual POV between the twins and I thought the foster storyline was written so well. There are some major trigger warnings so check those out before diving in. I look forward to finding out if there are plans for a sequel, I could just feel so much more story to be told.

Thank you to NetGalley and Nancy Paulsen Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

5 Star: This book is not for the weak of heart. The author depicts a very realistic roller coaster of events for two twin siblings in the California foster care system. As a parent of kids who spent their youth in foster care & friends of many other similar adoptive families, I can attest that the events in this book are heartbreakingly common. I loved the format of the story; it is told in verse and alternating between the POV of the twins as they share unsent letters to one another detailing what is happening while they are a part. While the book is extremely heavy, there is hope at the end of the tunnel. One of my critiques for the ending is that one of the twin’s experiences turns a little unrealistic for me and could be a false hope for other teens reading this book in similar situations. That said, I think it was written very well and I’m so happy there are books like this available for teens, because unfortunately, MANY teens in the US foster care system will relate. The triggers are very intense which I’ll list in that section of this review.

LGBTQ+ rep: F/F relationship with MC
triggers: homophobia, rape, suicide, violence, death

Storm and Lake could only count on themselves since everyone had always let them down. After being taken away from their abusive mother at a young age, they were placed into foster homes. Despite constant upheaval, they depended on each other until they were separated. Though they were apart for four years, they never stopped thinking of each other.

By the age of seventeen Storm had been in and out of juvenile detention centers for violent behavior. He felt like his life didn’t amount to anything, and the system he was forced into was hardening him. Now, after years of feeling unloved, he had a foster father who cared for him, a dog he loved, and a beautiful girlfriend. He was happier than he’d ever been, yet he always wondered if Lake was safe, and if they’d ever see each other again. Like everything in Storm’s life, happiness was short lived when his girlfriend was raped, and the anger that always lived in him erupted.

Lake felt as if the connection she had with Storm would never be repaired, so focused on doing well in school, keeping to herself, and hoping he was well. Despite everything she made a connection with Parker and fell hard. Though Parker had her own issues from years in foster homes, together they could forget their past. It was impossible to deny their connection, and sharing a foster home brought them closer than ever. After their overly religious foster mother found them in bed together, she insisted they be removed from her home, so they ran away. Life on the streets was hard, leaving her and Parker dirty, hungry, and scared. Over weeks of trying to survive they had each other, until street life took that away too.

This powerful story of a brother and sister’s bond as they try to survive foster care is told from alternating points of view. Through Ellen Hopkins’ descriptive prose, readers feel the pain of foster kids who find themselves on seemingly dead-end paths due to no fault of their own. The role juvenile prisons play in creating more criminality is also heavily explored.

Highly recommended for ages 16 and older.

I have loved Ellen Hopkins books for the last 15 years and this one reminded me so much of a lot of her others. If you’re a fan of Ellen Hopkins and her writing style you will definitely like this! I really enjoyed it, even though it was quite heartbreaking at times. Beautiful writing as always.

I've been in a reading slump and this book was the one to pull me out of it. I read this book in less than a day! I grew up reading her books and was not disappointed even at age 38 now. I have always loved how real, raw and relatable her books are.
Basically it's about twin brother and sister, storm and lake who end up in the foster system due to horrible and drug addicted mother. They get separated in the system and without revealing the book, they both go through some crazy hard times yet end up where they need to be and find strength to survive. I absolutely loved how it ended as well!

Definitely recommend and I've been on the hunt to buy the whole set of her books for my library

I always love Ellen Hopkins books and Sync isn't any different. The way she words books is amazing and it keeps me hooked until the end.

It's about two twins separated by the foster care system finding their way back to each other. It doesn't help that Storm keeps getting locked up for various reasons and Lake lives with another family after the twins are separated due to a misconception. And their journey back to each other is everything.

This book is told from dual POVs and it's deep and heartwrenching, covering challenging topics. The emotional rollercoaster never let me go! The ending gave me goosebumps.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Group for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

"Sync" by Ellen Hopkins is an emotionally charged novel-in-verse that focuses on the harrowing experiences of teenage twins Storm and Lake. True to Hopkins' style, the book tackles heavy and real issues with raw honesty, making it both a heart-wrenching and captivating read. I highly recommend looking at content warnings for this book, especially with SA. There are a few scenes in this book that are described and can be quite triggering; I definitely recommend taking this book slow when reading due to these themes.

The story follows Storm and Lake, twins who have endured an abusive childhood and subsequent separation within the foster care system. Storm, after a stint in juvenile detention, finds some stability with a supportive foster father and his girlfriend. However, his journey is filled with challenges, and a single incident threatens to undo his progress. Lake, on the other hand, grapples with her sexuality in a conservative foster home, where being discovered could mean losing everything. Both twins must navigate their tumultuous lives while yearning for the connection they've lost.

Hopkins' writing style is as compelling as ever, with each page offering a new entry in alternating perspectives between Storm and Lake. This poetic format not only makes the book a quick read but also intensifies the emotional impact of the story. The simplicity and accessibility of the verses allow readers to deeply connect with the characters' pain and struggles without needing elaborate descriptions. I really liked the alternating perspectives because when I would find the emotions to be almost too much in one of the twin’s perspective, the POV would switch and would act as a bit of a breather. The prose in this book is a bit standard as there isn’t really a lot of creativity in the poetry format. The prose is just blocks of text, but the words and the story they told still flowed very well throughout.

One of the standout aspects of "Sync" is its unflinching portrayal of difficult topics such as child abuse, sexual assault, homelessness, and substance abuse. Hopkins handles these issues with grace and authenticity, making the story both relatable and poignant. The characters' experiences are depicted with such intensity that readers can feel their despair, resilience, and moments of hope. While there are times when the book's relentless focus on suffering might be overwhelming for some, it also highlights the harsh realities many teenagers face. The few glimmers of hope and kindness, though rare, shine brightly against the suffering both twins experience. The ending was definitely my favorite part of the book because of the hope both twins were experiencing. I especially liked the change with Storm and his environment; his moments toward the end of the book definitely made me tear up. The ending is a bit open-ended, though it does leave you with a sense of lingering hope.

Overall, "Sync" is a powerful and thought-provoking read that will stay with you long after you've turned the last page. Ellen Hopkins once again proves her mastery in crafting stories that are both heartbreaking and uplifting, making "Sync" a must-read for fans of her work and anyone interested in a deeply emotional and realistic portrayal of teenage life.

This story that's written entirely in poems is so heartbreaking and beautiful. Brother and sister twins Storm and Lake haven't had it easy. They end up in the system as foster kids after being removed from their mother's and grandmother's care. Eventually the two are separated and go thru their own heartbreaks and struggles. Even though it was a sad story I really liked reading it via poems it made it different

Another hit from Ellen Hopkins. I love all of her books as they are super thought provoking and beautifully written. I read her book Identical when I was 16 and still think about it to this day. Read this, you won’t regret it.

This book made me feel like I was reading a little life again. Thankfully a much more hopeful ending than that. This book packs a realistically sad punch about our foster system and the juvenile justice system

I was really nervous about this one because I had a tough time getting into it at first. I actually got about 20% through and then put it down for about 2 months. When I picked it back up again, I started from the beginning and devoured it over the course of 2 days. I've been a big fan of Ellen Hopkins since high school, and I'm so glad to see that I still enjoy her books. If you've read any of her previous books, you know that she doesn't shy away from tough topics, and this book is no different, so I HIGHLY recommend checking the trigger warnings. One thing I appreciate is that these traumatic things happen throughout the book, but most of them are off-page, and the writing is either the lead-up or the aftermath. Sometimes, authors can be extremely graphic for shock value, and I like that Hopkins can make you feel horrified, enraged, and heartbroken without those details. Overall, I'm glad I went back and finished it and think fans of Ellen Hopkins will enjoy this book as much as others she's written.

Thanks to Ellen Hopkins, NetGalley, and PenguinTeen for allowing me the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review (my teenage self thinks I'm like really cool for being approved for an ADVANCED COPY of and Ellen Hopkins book).

This book was written in 2 POV.
They are twins, one is Storm and the other is Lake.
They are put into foster care, then separated, little to no contact while they grow up.

One goes to jail. Trouble seems to find him.
There’s rape, suicide and drug use

One is on the streets after being found with her room mate who’s a girl. They get into dealing meth, using it and the roommate has disappeared.

It’s heartbreaking and a page Turner.