From Goodreads,"The #1 New York Times bestselling tale of addiction—the first in the Crank trilogy—from master poet Ellen Hopkins.
Life was good
before I
met
the monster.
After,
life
was great,
At
least
for a little while.
Kristina Snow is the perfect daughter: gifted high school junior, quiet, never any trouble.
Then, Kristina meets the monster: crank. And what begins as a wild, ecstatic ride turns into a struggle through hell for her mind, her soul—her life."
Goodreads - Crank
Awards and Nominations:
- Missouri Gateway Readers Award (2007)
- Soaring Eagle Book Award (2008)
- Green Mountain Book Award (2009)
- Lincoln Award (2009)
- Jugendliteraturpreis Nominee for Jugendbuch (2011)
- Goldener Lufti (2012)
I remember being in junior high when this book really took off. I recall everyone trying to get their hands on this book to read it. I went once or twice to try to get it, but it was always checked out. It seemed like such a big thing for our small town because meth or crank was so prominent in the community. Even now years later it is still there and more prominent than ever.
This book is written in prose and is told by Kristina. She goes to visit her dad in New Mexico and in turn gets hooked on crank otherwise known as meth. This book chronicles her tries to stop using, but wanting to constantly reach that high. The book spirals to a climactic end which leaves the reader wanting more.
This book is a very complex book. This book is a work of fiction, but Hopkins states that it is based on true experiences and events that happened with her daughter. I feel like this book really characterizes what it is like to be addicted. I love that Hopkins took her personal story to build and create this book. This book did not sugar coat things like some drug themed books. I have read a couple of the anonymous books and I feel like they over dramatized things. However, this book was just perfect. It was raw, but it also had the highs that made drugs seem so fantastic. I think that Hopkins did an excellent job tackling such a sensitive topic that is a real problem in America.
One thing I found difficult was the varying ways this book was written. This book is written in entirely prose and poetry format. However the structure changed constantly throughout the book. There were multiple "poems" that were staggered so that it was really two poems in one. When the staggered poem was all read at once it had one meaning, but when you read just the staggered words it was a different message altogether. There were hidden messages in a lot of the poems, but you had to realize what was happening to catch them. I didn't like the inconsistency in the book, but it really helped the reader get into the mind of Kristina and her drug addiction.
Overall I can absolutely see why this book won the awards it did. It was a very interesting book that really told a story about drugs and what it does. The structure was irritating, but manageable. I would definitely like to read the other books that follow Crank. I give this 3.5 stars out of 5. I think this is a good read for older students and adults.
This book is written in prose and is told by Kristina. She goes to visit her dad in New Mexico and in turn gets hooked on crank otherwise known as meth. This book chronicles her tries to stop using, but wanting to constantly reach that high. The book spirals to a climactic end which leaves the reader wanting more.
This book is a very complex book. This book is a work of fiction, but Hopkins states that it is based on true experiences and events that happened with her daughter. I feel like this book really characterizes what it is like to be addicted. I love that Hopkins took her personal story to build and create this book. This book did not sugar coat things like some drug themed books. I have read a couple of the anonymous books and I feel like they over dramatized things. However, this book was just perfect. It was raw, but it also had the highs that made drugs seem so fantastic. I think that Hopkins did an excellent job tackling such a sensitive topic that is a real problem in America.
One thing I found difficult was the varying ways this book was written. This book is written in entirely prose and poetry format. However the structure changed constantly throughout the book. There were multiple "poems" that were staggered so that it was really two poems in one. When the staggered poem was all read at once it had one meaning, but when you read just the staggered words it was a different message altogether. There were hidden messages in a lot of the poems, but you had to realize what was happening to catch them. I didn't like the inconsistency in the book, but it really helped the reader get into the mind of Kristina and her drug addiction.
Overall I can absolutely see why this book won the awards it did. It was a very interesting book that really told a story about drugs and what it does. The structure was irritating, but manageable. I would definitely like to read the other books that follow Crank. I give this 3.5 stars out of 5. I think this is a good read for older students and adults.
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