Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Crank by Ellen Hopkins

5 reviews

gondorgirl's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Rape, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Addiction, Alcohol, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Abortion, Child death, Blood, Cursing, and Vomit

rhiannon814r's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Drug use, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, and Addiction

Moderate: Alcohol, Lesbophobia, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Fatphobia, Confinement, Suicide attempt, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Dementia, and Blood

amandalorianxo's review

dark tense slow-paced

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

2.0

Middle / high school version of Amanda really liked this book. Re-reading this 10/ 15 ish years later and I don’t find this as engaging as I assumed I did when I was younger. The verse format felt unnecessary. There was no honest intention with this format, just grabbing at what was “popular” and or “different” for a 2010 book. In spite of the pitiful attempt at having a lesbian and gay character in this book, the quotes surrounding homosexuality were pitiful. I also found it impossible to believe that these parents of Kristina had NO IDEA their daughter was doing drugs. Shouldn’t the signs have all been there in her behavior? Also, I strongly did not like the ending. How ludicrous to think a baby would make someone’s life better - especially a 17 year old hard drug addict. Unfortunately we all know that baby is going to be addicted and someone should have sat her down and told her straight up the options / the real risks of taking care of a baby.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Toxic relationship, Rape, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Addiction

Minor: Vomit, Homophobia, Pregnancy, and Blood

half_bloodreader's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

Written in 1st person, both in present tense and past tense. 

Novel in verse 

The author plays with form so that some poems can be read with dual meaning.

Crank is another name for methamphetamine, and that is what this story is all about. There are also other addictions like tobacco & other drugs, there's underage drinking too, as well as other risky behaviours. 

So, it's a story about the downfalls of addiction from the pov of a girl who had everything to succeed in life, until she danced with the "monster". And oh did she fall easy into the drug's routine. 

Now, I believe this is what they call "scared straight". The purpose of this hard-hitting book is to keep other teens away from addiction, and if it accomplishes that, all the better. I believe this is an important story, especially since it's based on the author's life. 

And that is the reason why this book is hard to rate. The author has her experiences as the mother of an addict, and who am I to rate that? Then again, she didn't write from the mother's pov, but the daughter's, and how accurate is her pov on the one going through addiction? Regardless, I appreciate that she showed how the world pales from dug use, which is why it's so hard to quit. Studies show drugs work like this: stimulating the area for pleasure to a high level. Your brain gets used to a level that won't match normal life stimuli, so if you stop everything will feel boring, grey, unappetising, dejection. 

There's some things I found issue with, and this book is so early 2000s, it shows. The casual homophobia, the gendered colours, the lack of contraceptives, the edginess, food describing skin tone (did you know Mediterranean has a colour flavour? Here I thought Mediterraneans came in all shades, as a Western European). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse and Drug use

Moderate: Homophobia, Blood, Pregnancy, and Rape

Minor: Suicide attempt and Alcohol

kimmykelly's review

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Child death, Addiction, Blood, Drug use, Rape, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, and Pregnancy