Rumble By Ellen Hopkins

Rumble

Ellen Hopkins

560 Pages

Published on August 26, 2014
Published by McElderry Books
4 Stars

Can an atheist be saved? The New York Times bestselling author of Crank and Tricks explores the highly charged landscapes of faith and forgiveness with brilliant sensitivity and emotional resonance.

“There is no God, no benevolent ruler of the earth, no omnipotent grand poobah of countless universes. Because if there was...my little brother would still be fishing or playing basketball instead of fertilizing cemetery vegetation.”

Matthew Turner doesn’t have faith in anything.

Not in family—his is a shambles after his younger brother was bullied into suicide. Not in so-called friends who turn their backs when things get tough. Not in some all-powerful creator who lets too much bad stuff happen. And certainly not in some “It Gets Better” psychobabble.

No matter what his girlfriend Hayden says about faith and forgiveness, there’s no way Matt’s letting go of blame. He’s decided to “live large and go out with a huge bang,” and whatever happens happens. But when a horrific event plunges Matt into a dark, silent place, he hears a rumble…a rumble that wakes him up, calling everything he’s ever disbelieved into question.

Opening thoughts

I have read only read Ellen Hopkin’s Burned series, so when I saw that Rumble had come out I was wondering whether I should read it. I have looked at her other books and most didn’t seem that appealing to me. Though Rumble did have something special about it that made me pick it up. One thing I really like about her books is how forthright they come off as. She digs straight down to the deepest part of the life and gives the facts straight to us. I really found that in both Burned and Smoke, and I was looking forwards to it in this one. Now that I have finished the book I am looking forward to reconsidering others that she has written.

Characters

Matt's character was really deep, moving, and fit well in the story. He came off to me as fiery, sarcastic, and negative in the beginning of the book and most of those traits did stay throughout it. I liked how strongly he felt about his opinions and how far he would go to try to persuade other to see his point of view. His sarcasm made it really interesting with all the one liners. Now, Matt was a really angry character. My mom always tells me how I'm angry, so when I was reading one of his scenes where he was mad and asked myself, "Is that what I'm like?" I wondered if all of Hopkin's characters shoot because Pattyn shot as well to relive stress. Matt was a really strong character throughout the book.

There was something about Hayden that made me hate her from the beginning. The way he described her as perfect and cavity sweet isn't seem like the kind of girl who Matt would be into. She came off as too much of a goody two shoes for him. Not to mention how religious she was. I would have never guessed an atheist would date a full on christian like her. At first I thought since she was dating an atheist that she would be laid back about it, but no she was full on religious. It got kind of irritated when region would come up, they would fight, and then get back together and repeat. I could tell the fought a lot from the start. Other than her realign I really didn't pick up on any character. She was my least favorite character in the book. 

Alexa was my favorite character in the book. I really liked her somewhat snaky attitude as well as her philosophy. She could see right through Matt and knew him better than he did himself. She thought outside of the box and always wanted to help him with his feelings and problems. At first I thought that she wouldn't that big of a character, but she ended up being one of the biggest characters in the book. I was really surprise with some of her plot twist. Though I always saw how her story would end, yet it still hit me when I came. Alexa was a really deep character that aways surprised me.

Plot

The book's plot showed a lot on how religion, politics, and people were together. It had lots of argument on how some people think religion and government should separate and how religious people are going to far in debates about modern society. Hayden's dad could not accept Matt because of his religion or, more likely, his lack of it. It came more it to terms with religion and schools when he complained and fought against books because of their so-called "inappropriate" content. The argument for gay rights was also really big. She did a really good job of showing how bullying can effect person and the lengths those bullies will go to humiliate them. There were some pretty terrible things that they did to his brother and not to mention that his dad had part in excluding him. These are the kind of themes that we need more of in books because this is what society is like today. That is one of the reasons I like Hopkin's books. She does such a good job and putting those into a story. It makes the book feel real, and it makes you want to go out fight for what you think is the right thing. 

I really did like this book. I was very real and modern. I was glad I chose to pick it up. I discovered that the book is always better than it sounds to first. I am going to try to pick up more of her writing. I highly recommend this book for people who like her writing, people who want to stand up, and people who are willing to fight for that they think is right. I do not recommend this book for people who are really religious, homophobic, or do not like sexual contact. 

Hope you keep reading!

Grace