Tricks

Tricks is a 2009 young adult novel by Ellen Hopkins. Hopkins is the best-selling author of novels such as Crank, Impulse, and Traffick, the sequel to Tricks. Like many of Hopkins’s novels, the novel is written in free verse and has been banned in several states because of its graphic content and subject matter. The novel follows the lives of five different teenage narrators—Eden, Seth, Whitney, Ginger, and Cody—as they experience the traumas of the past and present and each find themselves coerced into the commercial sexual exploitation of children in Las Vegas. Tricks explores themes of The Struggle With Identity and Self-Worth, The Impact of Family and Societal Pressures on Youth, and The Possibility of Healing in the Face of Adversity.

This guide refers to the 2009 Margaret K. McElderry Books print edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of child sexual abuse, child abuse, antigay bias, substance use, addiction, graphic violence, illness, death, mental illness, suicidal ideation, self-harm, and sexual content.

Plot Summary

The narration changes between five different teenagers. Eden Streit, a pastor’s daughter, lives in a strict Pentecostal home. Eden meets Andrew, who is not Pentecostal. Andrew and Eden start dating and fall in love, even though Eden keeps their relationship a secret from her parents.

Seth Parnell lives in Indiana with his father after his mother died from cancer. Seth is gay, but he keeps this a secret from everyone around him because of the antigay bias in his hometown. Seth meets Loren online, who lives in another town, and they start a relationship. Seth drives to see Loren every weekend, and he feels like himself for the first time in his life.

Whitney Lang lives with her mother while her father works in San Francisco, California, and her sister, Kyra, is at college. Whitney starts dating Lucas, with whom she feels that she is falling in love. She also meets a man named Bryn at the mall who tells her that she is special. Ginger Cordell lives with her mother, Iris; her grandmother, Gram; and her six siblings. Ginger becomes friends with a girl named Alex. Cody Bennett lives with his mother; his stepfather, Jack; and his brother, Cory. Jack starts to feel sick, and Cody’s mother is worried about him. Cody dates Ronnie, who introduces him to alcohol, drugs, and gambling.

Eden has sex with Andrew. A few weeks later, her parents discover their relationship and decide that she must be possessed by a demon. Eden’s mother drugs her and sends her to Tears of Zion, where a pastor is supposed to cast the demon out of her. Eden is starved and kept in a room until she repents. She notices that Jerome, the man who brings her food, seems attracted to her. Eden offers Jerome sex in exchange for more food and shampoo, hoping that she will be able to manipulate him into helping her escape.

Loren moves away, and Seth is devasted. Seth’s father learns that Seth is gay because Loren sends Seth a letter. Seth’s father disowns him and makes him leave the house. Seth moves in with Carl, a man he met after Loren broke up with him. Carl moves to Las Vegas, taking Seth with him. He offers to give Seth a place to stay in exchange for regular sex. Lucas and Whitney have sex, but he breaks up with her afterward. Whitney turns to Bryn for support, and he convinces her to run away from home with him. Whitney and Bryn move to Las Vegas.

A man rapes Ginger, who she finds out paid Iris to have sex with her. Ginger runs away with Alex to Las Vegas. Jack dies from cancer, and Cody tries to help his mother financially by gambling. Whitney becomes addicted to heroin, and Bryn sells her to different men for sex. Whitney meets Ginger, who has begun stripping with Alex. Alex engages in commercial sexual exploitation of children to make more money, which Ginger does not like. Eden escapes from Tears of Zion with Jerome’s help and then hides in another truck when they stop at a gas station. A man offers to drive her to Vegas in exchange for oral sex, and she agrees.

Seth meets Jared, a man at the gym, to whom he becomes attracted. Carl forces Seth to have a threesome with him and another man. Seth has sex with Jared, and Carl finds out, telling him that he must leave. A man attacks Whitney and almost kills her. Ginger saves her and tells her that she needs to get away from Bryn. Whitney overdoses on drugs, and the paramedics take her to the hospital. Cody engages in the commercial sexual exploitation of children to help pay for his mother’s bills. His brother, Cory, gets arrested for robbing a house.

Eden goes into a church after living on the streets of Las Vegas. The priest connects her with a shelter that specializes in helping teenagers who are forced into the commercial sexual exploitation of children. She gets in contact with Andrew, who wants her to come home. Seth moves in with another man who offers him the same situation that Carl did. Seth joins an escort service to earn money so that he can live on his own.

Whitney wakes up to her mother sitting with her in the hospital. Her mother apologizes to her for the way she treated her and says that they will help her get sober. Ginger and Alex are arrested for solicitation. The judge allows Ginger to go home to Gram, while Alex, who finds out that she is pregnant, goes into a home for teenage mothers. Gram tells Ginger that Iris is dying of HIV. Cody is attacked while he is with a client and goes into a coma. He hears his mother crying in the hospital, and he knows that he needs to wake up to help her.