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| purchase: $8.99 |
Crank:
Ellen Hopkins's semi-autobiographical verse novel, Crank, reads like a Go Ask Alice for the 21st century. In it, she chronicles the turbulent and often disturbing relationship between Kristina, a character based on her own daughter, and the "monster," the highly addictive drug crystal meth, or "crank." Kristina is introduced to the drug while visiting her largely absent and ne'er-do-well father. While under the influence of the monster, Kristina discovers her sexy alter-ego, Bree: "there is no perfect daughter, / no gifted high school junior, / no Kristina Georgia Snow. / There is only Bree." Bree will do all the things good girl Kristina won't, including attracting the attention of dangerous boys who can provide her with a steady flow of crank. Soon, her grades plummet, her relationships with family and friends deteriorate, and she needs more and more of the monster just to get through the day. Kristina hits her lowest point when she is raped by one of her drug dealers and becomes pregnant as a result. Her decision to keep the baby slows her drug use, but doesn't stop it, and the author leaves the reader with the distinct impression that Kristina/Bree may never be free from her addiction. In the author's note, Hopkins warns "nothing in this story is impossible," but when Kristina's controlled, high-powered mother allows her teenage daughter to visit her biological father (a nearly homeless known drug user), the story feels unbelievable. Still, the descriptions of crystal meth use and its consequences are powerful, and will horrify and transfix older teenage readers, just as Alice did over 20 years ago. --Jennifer HubertPrice: $8.99
Published by Simon Pulse on 2004-10-05.
Average rating (67 reviews):
|
 Rating: 9.0 |
Recent reviews:
Reviewed by Alexander P. from valencia high school on 2009-10-16: I thought this book was great! As a high school boy it is interesting to read a book about someone in high school that has to deal with the affects of drugs. i would say along with go ask Alice this (read more ...)
Rating: 10.0
Reviewed by anonymous on 2007-02-19: Since I've read Ellen Hopkins' other two books Impulse and Burned I knew reading this I would not be disappointed, and I was right. Hopkins' style of writing is so...good..it's heavy, it's intense, it's raw, It is Life at it's barest (read more ...)
Rating: 10.0
Reviewed by anonymous on 2007-02-13: This is the scariest book I've read in a long time.
Perhaps I need to qualify that by admitting I don't seek out thrillers or horrors, but I was (and am) terrified by how easily the protagonist fell into the arms (read more ...)
Rating: 10.0
Reviewed by anonymous on 2007-01-09: When I got Ellen Hopkins book, I realized it was written in the form of poetry and prose. I picked it up many times but would not read it because of its format. Poetry would not be my first choice in (read more ...)
Rating: 10.0
Reviewed by anonymous on 2006-12-28: When you pick up this book and realize that it is written in prose, DO NOT PUT IT BACK. This book is none other than addiction. The story is emotional and compelling. I was engaged from the begining. The book is (read more ...)
Rating: 10.0
Reviewed by anonymous on 2006-12-27: Who wants to read a book in verse? How annoying....too much work, very disappointed.
Rating: 4.0
