Whitney hooks up with a man named Lucas at one of her sister’s performances but fears commitment. Whitney Lang lives with her mother, while her father lives in a nearby city. Struggling once again, Seth goes online in search for a place to survive. Carl reveals he hired Jared to act as bait and kicks out Seth. This does not last long, when Seth becomes attracted to man named Jared and has sex with him. Seth then decides to live with an older man, Carl, in Las Vegas. Seth’s father discovers he is gay and kicks him out of the house. Loren eventually moves away and leaves Seth. Seth struggles with identifying his sexuality when he meets Loren and is catapulted into a relationship. Seth Parnell lives with his father after his mother dies of cancer. She does not realize it will take more than what she is giving. In doing this, she hopes he will help her escape. He sends her to Tears of Zion, where she is held captive and forced to conduct work that will “rid her of evil.” In desperation, she has sex with a worker named Jerome in exchange for food, shampoo, and other treats. Her father finds out about Andrew and assumes she is being controlled by the devil. This does not matter to Eden, who has a boyfriend named Andrew. Each character is uniquely defined by his or her different conflicts.Įden Streit lives with her Christian family and is expected not to date until marriage and marry a Christian man. The five characters include Eden, Seth, Whitney, Ginger, and Cody. Tricks converges narratives of five troubled teens who fall into prostitution for different reasons. Tricks was the first book I ever read by young adult fiction writer, Ellen Hopkins.

Tricks by Ellen Hopkins