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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
Loved this book. Ellen Hopkins doesn't sugar coat anything!
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Uncomfortable in a necessary way
A very descriptive story of a year of a teenagers life and their descent into drugs. A great audio book.
Two
days,
two
nights,
no
sleep,
no
food,
come
down
off
the
monster,
you
crash
real
hard.
[b:Crank|270730|Crank (Crank, #1)|Ellen Hopkins|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388192181s/270730.jpg|262457] was loosely based on Hopkins life and her daughters addiction. Experiences her daughter went through, as well as others.
There's good things and bad things about this book. The way it was written just annoyed me. I've read books in this style before, and this just felt like it was trying to be too hip and failed. I assume it was to show the decent of Kristina's addiction, but there were some points where it was just hard to follow. I did like how there were parts where if you read the side words it would give more base to the wording. but when the words were all over the place with no flow, it just got annoying.
Also, I really wanted to smack everyone. Kristina went to her Dad's trying to be a completely different person, to be Bree. She was depressed, she wanted to see her daddy, and she was already halfway there. Crank was just the final point of her decent. And she was smart, she knew better, but she just didn't care.
Her dad... well, he was an addict. There's no excuse for encouraging and getting high with your own daughter. But we are talking about an addict, so can anything else be expected? Which brings me to....
What the hell kind of mother sends her teenage daughter to a drug addict for weeks? Didn't sound like there was even a court order in place forcing her to let Kristina go. Kristina just asked and begged. You say no. You face your heartbroken pissed off daughter, you deal with her hating her, you deal with your deadbeat druggie ex over the phone. You tell him to eff off. You do not send her blindly into the belly of the beast.
Spoiler
And when your husband tells you point blank that she is on something, you don't ignore him and stay blind. You do anything, because obviously there is something up with her.The only thing that did save this book for me was the fact that I think this book can be a huge wake up call for kids. Is it graphic? Yes. Is it understandable why some people have banned this book? Yea, I can see that. Should every kid read this to show them how it is to be an addict? I think so, yes.
Honestly, I will probably be keeping this book in mind for when my children get older and are mature enough to read this book.
It gets three stars because, although I felt there were some real issues with it, telling teenagers about addiction only works so far. If they read this, and know it's based on a true story of the author's daughter, I think it would sink in and hit home more.
I had to google what "crank" is...because I had no idea. I've never known anyone with any kind of drug addiction, so this was sad and interesting, to say the least. I didn't really "enjoy" this book but I'm glad I read it.
this book really holds up to the test of time, having read it back in junior high (high school maybe?) it shocks me that i still felt so wrapped up in the story. as an adult it really does hit in a different way than it did when i was a teenager but still very intense and heartbreaking to read. i never read the authors note when i first got into the series but it holds a whole other feeling knowing the story is based on the true story of the authors daughter. that really created a whole new experience as a more ‘seasoned’ reader re experiencing the story
dark
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse
Moderate: Rape
This was the first Ellen Hopkins book I ever read. It's all about Kristina and her struggles with "the monster," crystal meth. I love the use of poetry to tell such a serious story, and how it goes by so quickly! Readers who aren't super in to reading will appreciate the small amount of words per pages, and the fact that it is based off of the authors real-life experiences makes it a very honest version of fiction.
RATING - 3.5 STARS
I think maybe listening to this on audio took away some of its punch. I think this is a really important story and I definitely think you should still read it - but I didn't find it as hard-hitting as [b:Identical|2241059|Identical|Ellen Hopkins|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388180728s/2241059.jpg|3032810]. This told a very real story - but I'm not sure it's going to stick with me.
I think maybe listening to this on audio took away some of its punch. I think this is a really important story and I definitely think you should still read it - but I didn't find it as hard-hitting as [b:Identical|2241059|Identical|Ellen Hopkins|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388180728s/2241059.jpg|3032810]. This told a very real story - but I'm not sure it's going to stick with me.
fast-paced