I read “Crank” by Ellen Hopkins a few weeks ago. I’ve been trying since then to figure out how to present it, and I feel the best way is to simply review the book. The book deals with crystal meth and the repercussions it has on a young girl’s life. I found plenty of information about meth statistics that I could add. I come from a rural area that is heavy with meth labs. But, for this book, I didn’t want to take away from the emotions of the book by adding cold statistics.
Ellen Hopkins’s semi-autobiographical verse novel, Crank, reads like a Go Ask Alice for the 21st century. In it, she chronicles the turbulent and often disturbing relationship between Kristina, a character based on her own daughter, and the “monster,” the highly addictive drug crystal meth, or “crank.” Kristina is introduced to the drug while visiting her largely absent and ne’er-do-well father. While under the influence of the monster, Kristina discovers her sexy alter-ego, Bree: “there is no perfect daughter, / no gifted high school junior, / no Kristina Georgia Snow. / There is only Bree.” Bree will do all the things good girl Kristina won’t, including attracting the attention of dangerous boys who can provide her with a steady flow of crank. Soon, her grades plummet, her relationships with family and friends deteriorate, and she needs more and more of the monster just to get through the day. Kristina hits her lowest point when she is raped by one of her drug dealers and becomes pregnant as a result. Her decision to keep the baby slows her drug use, but doesn’t stop it, and the author leaves the reader with the distinct impression that Kristina/Bree may never be free from her addiction. In the author’s note, Hopkins warns “nothing in this story is impossible,” but when Kristina’s controlled, high-powered mother allows her teenage daughter to visit her biological father (a nearly homeless known drug user), the story feels unbelievable. Still, the descriptions of crystal meth use and its consequences are powerful, and will horrify and transfix older teenage readers, just as Alice did over 20 years ago. –Jennifer Hubert www.amazon.com
At first glance, the book seems like a hefty tome, coming in at over 500 pages. But, the book is written in free verse poetry, creating a quick but emotionally driven read. As Sharon Korbeck of Waupaca Area Public Library, WI states,
Hopkins writes in free-verse poems that paint painfully sharp images of Kristina/Bree and those around her, detailing how powerful the “monster” can be. The poems are masterpieces of word, shape, and pacing, compelling readers on to the next chapter in Kristina’s spiraling world. -From School Library Journal at amazon.com
Here are a few reader reviews:
I really enjoyed this book, because it put a new perspective on my life. I am glad that I read this book, because I was so close to doing drugs. This book shows exactly what can happen to your life if you do drugs. What happened to Kristin was just so devastating. Getting raped, falling in love with two guys and then being dumped and not being able to get over her addictions. It ruined her life, and because of this book, it saved mine!!! I am glad that this book is available in almost every school, and I definitely think that if you do drugs or wanna do drugs you should definitely read this book.- Tiffani at www.buildingrainbows.com
www.amazon.com reviews:
A Must-Read for Parents, February 12, 2007
This is the scariest book I’ve read in a long time. Perhaps I need to qualify that by admitting I don’t seek out thrillers or horrors, but I was (and am) terrified by how easily the protagonist fell into the arms of meth. That some readers are put off by the prose-in-verse format surprises me. The text is completely accessible and a plausible reflection on the intelligent narrator. Crank is a fact of life these days, and this book is a powerful lesson for those of us who think we and our children are somehow protected from its grasp. As
Hopkins notes in her introduction, nothing in the story is impossible. That’s what should be putting fear into all of us.- LBR Lucas (San Diego, California USA)
From the Eyes of a Teacher, May 17, 2006
I am a high school English teacher dealing with 9th graders in particular. Students these days are encompassed by an unseen drug world, one that we do not necissarily know about. My students have been forced to read The Odyssey, Romeo and Juliet, and other classics that they are not interested in. They are not stories about kids facing the same issues and problems as them.
I got a class set of Crank and am currently teaching it with my average classes. While the subject matter can be raw and shocking, it is also something that I feel students should be introduced to. They do not seem to understand the dangers associated with drug use, and they see it as all fun and games. Kristina/Bree’s downward spiral into drug use is something that shocks my students systems. For once, they finally see the scary side of drug use, and how it affects someone in their own age group. What really gets my students is that it is based on the author’s own daughter’s experience. It’s not just some story that was written to scare them. It’s the truth, and it just happens to show them the scary, dark side of drug use. I think it is important for students and parents alike to read this book. It is a harrowing account of a young girl struggling to find her place in society…just in the wrong ways.- AlySedai “Target Rounder” (NN, VA)
been there, September 12, 2005
This book really hit home for me as I live in a community very close to Reno and am familiar with the places mentioned in the book. My son has battled meth addiction for the last 3 years and is clean at the moment but I never know how long that will last. Parents badly need to educate themselves and their children about this insidious drug. Crank does not discriminate and ravages the mind, body and soul of anyone who falls into its trap. This book is very real.- Life Writer (Fallon, Nevada USA)
couldn’t put it down, March 16, 2005
I recently had a good friend go through rehab for an addiction to Crank so I had to purchase this book. The way the author describes the affects of Crystal Meth on the personality of the main character are amazingly accurate. I recognized my friend in so much of the book.- K. Gillum (Topeka KS, United States)
Attention Parents!, November 4, 2004
Have your teen or preteen read this book. The size of the book makes it look challenging, but the first page reaches out and grabs you for a fast, powerfully frightening read. I had my girls read it and they were both deeply impressed with Kristina/Bree’s downhill slide into drug abuse. It’s hard edged and realistic, so it’s scary. Ellen conveys the emotion of the roller-coaster ride called Crank with honesty, vivid imagery and a style that will keep you asking for more.- Tagurit (Texas)
all Crank reviews at Amazonhere
My review:
When I began reading this book I first read the forward by the author. Ellen Hopkins stated that the book was based on a true story about her daughter. I think this gives the book some relevance and takes away the notion of the book being “preachy.” Of course, the book is a warning about drugs, but it is more an account of one girl’s journey. The images in the book were very accurate as Hopkins knows what crystal meth looks like first hand. She herself did not go through the experience, so she might not know the actual emotions that a user goes through. However, based on my own knowledge, I would say they are accurate. But, more importantly, the images of seeing a loved one spiral into the “monster” are chillingly true.
As I have stated before, the real reason I have an interest in problem novels is because of the idea that they can be used as a tool for help. I can’t help wondering, “What if?” What if this book can really change a life? This book really hit me hard. Someone very close to me is essentially a parallel to the character “Kristine/Bree” in this book. It was quiet eerie reading this story because of how chillingly similar it was to my experiences with a person that I love. She was a National Honor Society member, on the honor roll, in the choir and in the drama club. During high school she began smoking meth. She told me about how she and her friends would smoke it on their lunch break and go back to school high. I warned her and talked to her about this behavior, but I never told anyone. I didn’t want to betray her trust. I thought if I told her father she would never trust me again and would never come to me for help when she needed it. Perhaps this wasn’t the right decision, but I have known a lot of people with drug problems and sometimes it isn’t as cut and dry as “telling” on them. Sometimes, this makes the problem worse.
This girl, talented and smart, was eventually kicked out of school for having “drug paraphernalia.” I went to her school hearing with her, pleading with the school board to not expel her. She had a troubled childhood and was in desperate need of psychiatric help. But, they expelled her and she moved out of her father’s house in rural Michigan to Chicago, where her inept mother lived. The same mother that abandoned her when she was a child. She continued doing drugs. She got pregnant. After her baby was born, a few moths before she was to turn 19, I continued to support her. She told me she was doing well. She said she did some drugs on occasion, but overall, she was a mother now, she had a responsibility. I believed her. About a month ago I found out she was lying. She was being evicted from her apartment because she hadn’t paid the rent. She sold her car and her engagement ring for money because she owed a drug dealer over $2000. She had been lying to everyone and had been smoking meth. On her son’s first birthday, she left, abandoning him. The call of the monster was more powerful than the love of a child.
I’m a wreck. I’m worried, disgusted and betrayed. This book really showed me that this happens to “normal” people. Kids always think they are invincible. They never assume that these things can happen to them. This book and my own story are two examples of smart able kids whose lives fall apart because of a drug. After reading this book, I was a bit heartbroken knowing that this girl that I love so much is off somewhere courting the devil. But, I started to think, “What if she had read this book?” Maybe it would have made a difference. Maybe not. What if another student reads this book and it makes them aware enough to stay away from meth? What if a student experimenting with meth stops after reading this book? Even if it only helps one teen in a million it is worth it. I would give anything to go back and give it try. Maybe that one person could have been my niece.
YA! Cast
