Reviews

Fallout by Ellen Hopkins

bellementality's review against another edition

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5.0

I have never encountered a series that hit so close to home before in my entire life. I couldn’t put this down because everything Hunter, Autumn and Summer had to say is everything I’ve ever felt about having parents that struggle with addiction. Every single thought that crossed their minds, every hardship they deal with… I felt it in my soul.

simplywesner's review against another edition

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5.0

Conclusion to the Crank series. In this one, Kristina's oldest children are growing up, separated from their mother. It gives you so much insight into how kids feel when they have an addict for a parent. It's heartbreaking to read, but it's beautifully written in her poetic verse.

niceisneat's review against another edition

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4.0

There are a few loose ends I kind of wish were tightened a bit more and a few times I had to take a minute to remember what was happening in Autumn and Summer's storylines (I mixed them up a couple of times and I kept forgetting which one was Trey's daughter and which was the other guy's daughter).
SpoilerBut I have to say I don't like that Autumn lives with Marie and the rest at the end?? (The news article says that all 5 of Kristina's children now live with Marie.) She and her grandfather don't have the world's warmest relationship, but they DO love each other and she effectively abandons him alone in Texas?? On Christmas?? After she explicitly tells him that she'll come back to him?? Wth Autumn?? And what was with that rape apologist bull at the end with Hunter?????????

echoes_and_glitter's review against another edition

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5.0

I really enjoy all the works of Ellen Hopkins because she has this flair of making her teenage characters very real. I loved this conclusion to the Crank series and it shows how drug abuse has serious consequences and can affect family members as well. I could tell that this book took a lot of Mrs. Hopkins time because it wasn't just a thrown together final novel. I have no complaints and I highly recommend it to Hopkins fans and to those that have not discovered her works yet.

lisaesmee's review against another edition

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3.0

I wasn't the biggest fan of this book.. I enjoyed the books from Kristina's perspective way more. At least I could connect to her. This book lacked in story and in emotions, something that its predecessors did have. Somewhat disappointing ending to this trilogy which I will just remember as an awesome duology.

bermudaonion's review against another edition

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5.0

Kristina’s addiction to meth affects her and everyone who loves her. FALLOUT is the final book in the Crank trilogy and it’s told from the points of view of three of Kristina’s children. One is being raised by their father, one is being raised by Kristina’s mother, and one is in foster care. Both powerful and heartbreaking, this book is able to deliver a glimmer of hope in the end. Written completely in verse, this emotional series is a must read for anyone dealing with addiction.

melliesimps's review against another edition

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4.0

The third and final book in the Crank trilogy, this is a long overdue read from me. And I'm so glad that I finally read it. What I especially loved about this installment is that it's told through the POV of Kristina's oldest three children, all whom have lived such similar yet vastly different lives as part of the never ending aftermath of their mother's bad choices. Whether growing up with family, distant family, or in various foster homes, knowing they had at least one sibling or not knowing they had any at all, and knowing how fragile all of the relationships dynamics were as a result of being hurt so many times...each of their paths were so eye opening and fascinating and heart breaking as they struggled to live in a world where their mother was addicted to methamphetamine and their lives were turned upside down because of it.

I absolutely loved getting the perspectives of Kristina's children and seeing how devastatingly deep consequences of one person run in a family in a way I had never read in fiction before. I've seen some things in real life and my family has been touched by addiction of different kinds but knowing that this here is based on the author's experience with her own daughter and seeing it so fearlessly written on the page in this story, it has truly blown me away. The pain and heartache and so many rocky emotions that were portrayed here... there were so many and it was so raw and it's not easy to consume but this is the reality and someone shedding a light on just how destructive and damaging this addiction can be and is was so very much appreciated.

I hope this book gets into all of the right hands because this book, this series can affect lives in a number of ways I can't even begin to articulate. If you're dealing with addiction and are easily triggered, I wouldn't recommend this book to you at this time but keep it on your list of books to read and share this title with your loved ones and others you care about because this book is such an authentic and powerful representation of this experience and so essential in showing families in similar positions that they are not alone. We all need to know that we are not alone, young people especially. This series could be someone's lifeline.

Please, share this book and know that if you happen to come across it but don't have a clue when you ever will again, it's okay to read this before the first two books in the series. You'll miss Kristina's POV and backstory but it's still just as notable on its own. I could have done without the news article clippings throughout the novel but really, that's the only element that I didn't click with. Every time I read an Ellen Hopkins novel, I fall in love with her writing style in verse all over again so that was so special to read once more. So if you are touched in any way by what you've read here, pick up this book and let Hopkins's words leave their mark on you.

hiddenvallie's review against another edition

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emotional sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

bethanyangharads's review against another edition

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2.0

2.5 stars

This book is seen in my video: Reading Like Euphoria Star Sydney Sweeney⎬Reading Like... Pilot
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Before I even get into the review for this, heads up, this book has triggers galore! On Goodreads it seems to be marketed as YA, but I disagree. Although this has teenage main characters, there are some extremely heavy things talked about which are not suitable for younger audiences - new adult and up, at least! The triggers include, sexual assault, drug addiction, alcoholism, adoption, suicide… anything you can think of and I can almost guarantee it will be in here.

Okay, the story itself is quite important. I like how Hopkins brings these discussions out and make you think about things e.g. how disruptive the foster system can be, how drug addiction effects families etc. But I didn’t like the layout. This book is written in versed poems, sometime couplets, sometimes ‘instagram style’ poems. Whilst there is nothing wrong with poems, in this novel format, it resulted in me having little to no immersion. Every time there was a random spaced lined I would lose the flow of the story. This happened to the point where the last 200 pages were a real force for me to push through.

I don’t think the message in the story is bad, but the layout of it was so hard for me to personally get in to, I couldn’t give it more than 2.5 stars.

Triggers: everything. Like literally, you think it, it is probably in here. 80% sure of that.

andaleeiswriting's review against another edition

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5.0

Great ending to a great trilogy.