Rumble by Ellen Hopkins releases today. She discusses why she wrote the novel and why she thinks she will take heat for what she considers her best novel.

Synopsis

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.

From Ellen Hopkins

The idea for Rumble began to germinate a couple of years ago. It was right after the second of two Mosque burnings here in the U.S. As a card-carrying liberal Lutheran, whose beliefs run more toward the spiritual than the biblical, I posted on Facebook: We all serve one Creator, meaning Christians, Jews, Muslims and, in fact, all human beings. I was prepared for a negative backlash, but not the comment that came from a sixteen-year-old girl: “It’s awfully arrogant of you to think we have to believe in anything, she said. I happen to be an atheist.”

In considering her comment, I kept coming back to the thought that being a teen should be about asking big questions, rather than cutting yourself off from them. Not, “there can’t possibly be,” but, rather, “What if there is?” Or even, “What if it’s completely different than anyone assumes it to be?”

My parents did raise me with faith, but weren’t overtly religious. We went to church on Sunday, but never more often. We didn’t do in-home Bible study or even say grace at every meal. Prayer was something I did on my own, sans accouterment or directions. It did bring me comfort, though it didn’t always achieve the desired results. As a younger teen, I was a member of a youth group and enjoyed the communion.

As I grew older, I deserted anything organized and went looking for alternative ideas that reconciled science and a creator; other belief systems with my own. The universe was a very big place, but nothing about it felt random. And, always, I asked myself big questions. They all began with “what if.”

Her response struck a chord and I wanted to explore the idea of a teen who assumed no belief in either a higher power or an existence beyond this one. Matt sprang to life. Of all the characters I’ve ever given birth to, his voice is by far the strongest and nothing like my own. The story was totally organic. Conflict: Matt is in love with an evangelical Christian girl. Driving conflict: some of her friends drove his little brother, who was gay, to suicide.

I expect to take some heat for Rumble, which I truly believe is my best novel yet. And while it’s bound to anger believers and non-believers alike, I hope it will invite interesting discussions and encourage both teens and adults to ask big questions.

About Ellen Hopkins

Ellen Hopkins is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Crank, Burned, Impulse, Glass, Identical, Tricks, Fallout, Perfect, Tilt, and Smoke, as well as the adult novels Triangles and Collateral. Rumble is her latest YA novel. Ellen lives with her family in Carson City, Nevada, where she founded Ventana Sierra, a nonprofit youth housing and resource initiative designed to help highly motivated young people build solid career paths toward a more positive future. Visit her at www.EllenHopkins.com or go to www.VentanaSierra.org.

Rumble is available today from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Indiebound.