Reviews with content warning for Rape - Crank

This is a book I would have loved when I was 13. It has all the lurid charm of a teenage girl flirting with handsome guys she thought would be out of her league, and suddenly becoming one of the cool kids. However, I wouldn’t call this book a poetry book. The poems are very superficial and don’t leave room for nuance or haunting imagery, surprising structure. I did enjoy the use of the two voices as a tool, but thought that the shape poems were somewhat abused. But I guess that is a key theme here anyway. The main character goes from being an innocent straight A student to

getting high on MDMA and coke and drinking her boyfriend’s blood.

Maybe the point is that this gets out of hand quickly but it felt a little too easy? Maybe rushed even. Or maybe I just didn’t believe it. Either way, I did essentially read this book in one day, so it clearly does something right.

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gondorgirl's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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izanueljfoster's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was such an interesting book. From the way it was written to the story itself. Kristina felt like a real character in this book,

and I was really cheering for her to get better throughout the entire book. I’m glad she was able to keep the a baby, but it seems like her road to recovery is going to be put to a large halt with knowing how this book ends.

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oddrots's review against another edition

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dark sad medium-paced

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

2.0

I am no longer a member of this book's target demographic. I used to love the lyricism of the prose, but this time 'round I found it a little annoying.

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rhiannon814r's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

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sandysmith's review against another edition

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emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

A powerful, well written, empactful read about teenagers falling into taking crystal meth/crank so hence the books title. However, I've never really been a fan of poetry, and the book unfortunately didn't change my mind. I can see that it's cleverly written. How it is printed is interesting, but on a few pages, it was difficult to know how to read or follow the text. I read the book as part of a book club that reads banned books several times a year. The book does show a person and their downward spiral. I'm not a fan or agree that banning books is a good thing as I think it has the opposite effect as the lure of wanting something you cant have makes me want to read it more than if it hadn't been banned. I think that for young people, it gives them an understanding of how debilitating drug taking can be, and it certainly doesn't glorify it. So important content, but poetry is still not for me.

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