What is the author's style in the novel, The You I’ve Never Known?

Ellen Hopkins divides her novel The You I’ve Never Known into unnumbered, alternating chapters told either by Ariel or Maya, respectively. Chapters of the novel told by Ariel are very long, often dozens of pages in length at a time. They are told in free-verse poetry. This helps distinguish her sections from chapters told by Maya, which appear in standard prose.

To distinguish between the two narrations, different fonts are used for Ariel and Maya, respectively. Both the stories of Ariel and Maya are told concurrently, as if they are occurring at the same time. Eventually, the author makes clear that both stories, though very similar, occurred about eighteen or nineteen years apart. The two distinct stories form the same overall story of two abused women struggling against an abuser. They are struggling to find themselves as well. The person never known by Ariel is herself. Ariel (Casey) is the person never known by her mother. The title of the novel refers to these unknown identities.