Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Crank by Ellen Hopkins

8 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

romance_broken_lost's review

This book was long and I had borrowed it from the library. I don't read very quick 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Alcohol, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Drug abuse, and Sexual content

There are a lot of trigger warnings in this book. It is a good and very eye opening book. Please take care of yourself if planning to read this book.

suse_'s review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I binged this book in only a few days mainly because it’s written in free verse and not at all like your “average“ novel. However, I think this form of writing fits the story way better because it highlights the ragged, cut off, not always coherent way of thinking of the people using. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Addiction, Drug use, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Alcohol, Emotional abuse, and Rape

Minor: Abortion

inp9extra's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I’m not usually a fan of dark realistic fiction, but Crank is a beautifully written must-read for teens and parents alike. Written my a mother whose daughter was a meth addict the plot is gripping, chilling, and dangerous. The book is hard to put down as we observe a far too common and relatable collision course. 

The biggest complaint I’ve seen about this book is that the characters are unlikable, but that serves to drive the point home. The characters themselves start out normal but due to their circumstances it is easy to see why they make the decisions they make even as they lead themselves down a dark and twisted path. The fact that they come to be unlikable people reinforces a perspective of  watching someone you love destroy their life, which is the perspective the author writes from.  However, if you’re not a fan of unlikable characters, this book may not be for you. 

Please give this book a try especially if you’re in your teens and being faced with real and difficult choices. Even if you don’t like it, the uncomfortable lessons it imparts are invaluable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Addiction, Drug abuse, and Rape

Moderate: Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Homophobia, Alcohol, and Sexual content

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, Abortion, and Eating disorder

natsthecats's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Vomit, Sexual assault, Rape, Addiction, Cursing, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Abortion

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

karbour99's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense fast-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship