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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
As a mom of teens, I appreciate what Hopkins is trying to do here-tell her daughter’s addiction story through an affecting book in verse. I imagine it has reached a lot of people (and hopefully shown teens the perils of drugs and addiction). As a 40 something woman, I just didn’t like the writing. It felt really disingenuous told by the mom AS the daughter (especially as her real daughter gave no input). I would have much preferred she tell the story as herself-the mom-looking in from the outside.
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A great YA piece that gives a harrowing and graphic depiction of one teen's decent into drug addiction. Hopkins tells the "semi-autobiographical" story of Kristina Snow (aka "Bree") and her addiction to crystal meth, or the "monster" as Bree calls it.
While I don't normally gravitate to books like this, it was assigned for a YA Lit. class that I took - and I'm very glad I read it. The book is quite an easy read in terms of it being written in verse; however, it is a hard read in terms of its subject matter. The gut-wrenching descriptions of the "monster" and its effects upon Kristina/Bree will not only keep you turning the pages, but they are just powerful enough to scare the living daylights out of readers. I strongly encourage anyone who has a teenager, or who teaches teens, to read this book and suggest that their teens do as well.
Hopkins has a sequel to this book, Glass, that I have not read yet, but if it is anything like this one, it will be very powerful.
While I don't normally gravitate to books like this, it was assigned for a YA Lit. class that I took - and I'm very glad I read it. The book is quite an easy read in terms of it being written in verse; however, it is a hard read in terms of its subject matter. The gut-wrenching descriptions of the "monster" and its effects upon Kristina/Bree will not only keep you turning the pages, but they are just powerful enough to scare the living daylights out of readers. I strongly encourage anyone who has a teenager, or who teaches teens, to read this book and suggest that their teens do as well.
Hopkins has a sequel to this book, Glass, that I have not read yet, but if it is anything like this one, it will be very powerful.
I work in substance abuse, and this book is written in a poetic prose which is really fascinating.
I love the way Ellen Hopkins uses poetry to tell stories. This book still feels like a novel, but the poems allow for more emotion to come through, and the spacing of them can allow for some poems to have multiple ways to be read (ex: reading the poem straight through, reading only the words that are spaced differently, etc.). The narrator also actually felt like a real high schooler but was likable and mature. The story itself was sad but realistic, and you can clearly tell that Hopkins put her own experience with her family into this book.
This is also one of the only Ellen Hopkins books with this poetry-as-novel style where there's only one narrator, so if you disliked having multiple narrators to keep track of in some of her other books, you may like this one more.
This is also one of the only Ellen Hopkins books with this poetry-as-novel style where there's only one narrator, so if you disliked having multiple narrators to keep track of in some of her other books, you may like this one more.
I don't normally write out reviews but for this book I thought it was a must..... It almost makes me mad at myself for enjoying this book.... it really pissed me off a bunch of times but there's something about it that makes you keep reading.... when I first started reading it I almost stopped and started a new one because I didn't think I'd be able to relate and understand the character in the book because I have no idea what it's like to be hooked on drugs... but that's also part of the reason I enjoyed reading it so much.... reading about what it might be like and only confirming my choices to never do drugs.... everything that happens to Kristina/Bree really plays with about every emotion you can possibly feel. VERY GOOD BOOK. VERY UPSETTING.....
Yikes. Do not read this right before going to bed or you will have crazy dreams. This book is disturbing on multiple levels, but most disturbing is that it is based on the author's real life experience with her own daughter. I read it to prepare for a book club with adult friends, but I also wanted to know what my student's were reading these days.
This would go on the 8th grade only shelf and I would be very aware of who chose to read it in my class. Kristina aka Bree makes decisions that change the course of the rest of her life. Her downward spiral into drug addiction is difficult to process and understand. It is written in verse, which adds to the reader's thoughts becoming closer to Bree's manic thoughts while hooked to "the monster." My only concern is the part when Bree takes E at a party. There seems to be no negative outcome for this choice and I would hope that young readers would walk away understanding that taking E is not a smart idea.
I'm not sure if I want to read the other books Hopkins has written. This one was a quick, but disturbing read.
This would go on the 8th grade only shelf and I would be very aware of who chose to read it in my class. Kristina aka Bree makes decisions that change the course of the rest of her life. Her downward spiral into drug addiction is difficult to process and understand. It is written in verse, which adds to the reader's thoughts becoming closer to Bree's manic thoughts while hooked to "the monster." My only concern is the part when Bree takes E at a party. There seems to be no negative outcome for this choice and I would hope that young readers would walk away understanding that taking E is not a smart idea.
I'm not sure if I want to read the other books Hopkins has written. This one was a quick, but disturbing read.
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I liked the story but couldn’t get past the format. Just not my preference.