mikayladowns's review
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
I LOVED hearing from the real people in Ellen Hopkins family that inspired the Crank trilogy. It is worth the read strictly for that aspect, but the added essays that look into the nature of addiction, story telling, and family bonds are interesting bits of information too.
pagesfullofstars's review
3.0
"So you want to know all about me. Who I am.
What chance meeting of brush and canvas painted the face you see?."
Earlier this year I read another book by Ellen Hopkins, Burned, and I have to say that I enjoyed Crank less. Once again, I loved the writing style and it's truly admirable that the author not only touched upon such serious subject but also was inspired by her real life experiences. But on the other hand, I didn't really connect with the characters and I thought that the ending was quite abrupt. Everything was wrapped up too quickly, while I felt like some matters should have been given more attention.
What chance meeting of brush and canvas painted the face you see?."
Earlier this year I read another book by Ellen Hopkins, Burned, and I have to say that I enjoyed Crank less. Once again, I loved the writing style and it's truly admirable that the author not only touched upon such serious subject but also was inspired by her real life experiences. But on the other hand, I didn't really connect with the characters and I thought that the ending was quite abrupt. Everything was wrapped up too quickly, while I felt like some matters should have been given more attention.
caidyn's review
3.0
What I looked forward to reading most in this book was the parts given by the family, the people who truly went through this event. Hearing from the actual person and not the character made me like the insight much more and I'm sure when I reread the Crank series I'll enjoy it so much more because of it. The bits that felt unneeded were the parts where it was discussed on how literary sound the series is. If I wanted to hear that I could have picked up a review written by a professional. I did enjoy part one in some of fiction vs. memoir, all of how crystal meth works, the topic of Bree/Kristina, and the judge talking about how it helped him in his job. The other stories about love being a drug. All the other portions felt unneeded and just a filler towards me. I will admit I skimmed through those essays because they didn't capture or hold my interest.
pinkadot89's review
3.0
After falling madly in love with Identical, I knew I had to go back read the author’s more popular novel, Crank. I wouldn’t say that I liked Crank, because it’s just a dark, rough book, but it is a pretty good one. It just didn’t affect me as much as I was expecting. I was a little put off from the very beginning, since there was no build up to Kristina becoming a meth addict. She goes to visit her father for a few weeks during the Summer, meets a hot guy, and all of a sudden all that she wants is “the monster.”
I felt like pushing off trying drugs to Kristina’s alternate personality, Bree, was interesting, but not a good enough explanation. It just seemed unbelievable that Kristina would just become a new person over night and decide that accepting crank from a boy she just met was a good idea. There was nothing particularly bad about her life, where I could reason that throwing herself into drugs might help. Sure her father is a dead beat and likes to party, but that was about it. A hot guy’s influence? Maybe. But Kristina was a straight A student, had never even kissed a boy, or done anything bad, so I had trouble understanding her decision.
However, Crank is fascinating. I may not have cared for Kristina/Bree’s story, but as a story about meth, I couldn’t flip through the pages fast enough. It’s like the drug became its own character and overshadowed Kristina. Everything she does is because of –or to get a hold of– the monster. It invades every aspect of her life and sets her on a path of destruction. She goes through some awful stuff as her addiction takes hold, and it seems impossible that she’ll get out of it.
Drugs are scary, and I think crank is the scariest of them all (especially after watching a documentary of it in High School Psychology!). While I couldn’t sympathize with Kristina, I was invested in her story, but only because there’s something magnetic about others’ experiences with drug use. I do think that the free verse format works especially well for this story. Bree doesn’t think in full sentences while she’s high, and she probably can’t form coherent thoughts either, so the disjointed poems certainly mimic that. The ending was bittersweet. It’s clear that Kristina is trying to push Bree out of her –and the monster along with– but it’s not just about her any more, and that left me feeling nervous. I’m glad that I have the next books already.
Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.
I felt like pushing off trying drugs to Kristina’s alternate personality, Bree, was interesting, but not a good enough explanation. It just seemed unbelievable that Kristina would just become a new person over night and decide that accepting crank from a boy she just met was a good idea. There was nothing particularly bad about her life, where I could reason that throwing herself into drugs might help. Sure her father is a dead beat and likes to party, but that was about it. A hot guy’s influence? Maybe. But Kristina was a straight A student, had never even kissed a boy, or done anything bad, so I had trouble understanding her decision.
However, Crank is fascinating. I may not have cared for Kristina/Bree’s story, but as a story about meth, I couldn’t flip through the pages fast enough. It’s like the drug became its own character and overshadowed Kristina. Everything she does is because of –or to get a hold of– the monster. It invades every aspect of her life and sets her on a path of destruction. She goes through some awful stuff as her addiction takes hold, and it seems impossible that she’ll get out of it.
Drugs are scary, and I think crank is the scariest of them all (especially after watching a documentary of it in High School Psychology!). While I couldn’t sympathize with Kristina, I was invested in her story, but only because there’s something magnetic about others’ experiences with drug use. I do think that the free verse format works especially well for this story. Bree doesn’t think in full sentences while she’s high, and she probably can’t form coherent thoughts either, so the disjointed poems certainly mimic that. The ending was bittersweet. It’s clear that Kristina is trying to push Bree out of her –and the monster along with– but it’s not just about her any more, and that left me feeling nervous. I’m glad that I have the next books already.
Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.
kellyhager's review
5.0
This is my first foray into the world of Ellen Hopkins but it won't be my last. I'm pretty sure all of her novels are written in verse, but I know Crank and the other two books in the trilogy are. I'm always hesitant to read series-of-poems-as-novels, although this book makes me question why that is.
Anyway. Kristina is 17 and by all accounts a really good girl. She's the one who has a small group of really good friends, always does her homework, gets along with parents and siblings. You know the type. And then she goes to visit her dad for a few weeks over the summer. She meets a boy and starts down the recreational drug use path. And then her life, as she knew it, was over. She starts going by Bree and her life goes from saving money to get a car to spending money to get cocaine.
I know this book pretty much lives on the banned book list but as a parent, I'd pretty much make my hypothetical kids read it once they became teenagers. It's sad and scary and drives home the fact that it's not just "those types of kids" that end up using drugs. It's smart kids, kids from good families with parents who care about them and are actively involved in their lives. And it shows them that most of the time, you may not realize you have a problem until it's too late to do something about it easily.
Amazing, heartbreaking book. I'm about to start the sequel.
Anyway. Kristina is 17 and by all accounts a really good girl. She's the one who has a small group of really good friends, always does her homework, gets along with parents and siblings. You know the type. And then she goes to visit her dad for a few weeks over the summer. She meets a boy and starts down the recreational drug use path. And then her life, as she knew it, was over. She starts going by Bree and her life goes from saving money to get a car to spending money to get cocaine.
I know this book pretty much lives on the banned book list but as a parent, I'd pretty much make my hypothetical kids read it once they became teenagers. It's sad and scary and drives home the fact that it's not just "those types of kids" that end up using drugs. It's smart kids, kids from good families with parents who care about them and are actively involved in their lives. And it shows them that most of the time, you may not realize you have a problem until it's too late to do something about it easily.
Amazing, heartbreaking book. I'm about to start the sequel.
bookgoonie's review
4.0
I had a student that kept requesting Ellen Hopkins. I knew that drugs were the topic of one of her most famous works. I questioned what this boy wanted with reading it and I didn’t really want to read it. Drugs. Urgh! After hearing an awesome interview of Ellen Hopkins on her reasons for writing Crank during Banned Books Week, I decided to get some Hopkins for our school library. Since the books were coming, I thought I better get acquainted with them in case the sh*t hit the fan. Audiobook to my rescue. An awesome audiobook it is.
Laura Flanagan narrated the two Hopkins books I’ve tackled so far. She captures a naive and vulnerable Kristina on her journey of destruction and out the other side. Her voice conveys her uncertainty and her certainty that she NEEDs the MONSTER. I needed this book. This is a world that I know nothing about. I even had a student last year that was paranoid FREAKING out from whatever she had been taking. I just couldn’t wrap my brain around HER, except to feel sad for her. Hopkins helped me see how an average girl could be seduced into the need and addiction to drugs. I needed this narrator, because she made me root for her progress and fear for her backslides. I left the book with a heaviness for how hard Kristina’s road will be, but I have HOPE too. HOPE that there is a way out. It isn’t as easy as the road in, but you CAN come out the other side. I hate that I waited so long to add Hopkins’ powerful words and message to our library.
Crank is a MUST READ. Parent and Teenager. Educator and Student. If it can save one person from the reaches of the MONSTER, it is worth it.
Laura Flanagan narrated the two Hopkins books I’ve tackled so far. She captures a naive and vulnerable Kristina on her journey of destruction and out the other side. Her voice conveys her uncertainty and her certainty that she NEEDs the MONSTER. I needed this book. This is a world that I know nothing about. I even had a student last year that was paranoid FREAKING out from whatever she had been taking. I just couldn’t wrap my brain around HER, except to feel sad for her. Hopkins helped me see how an average girl could be seduced into the need and addiction to drugs. I needed this narrator, because she made me root for her progress and fear for her backslides. I left the book with a heaviness for how hard Kristina’s road will be, but I have HOPE too. HOPE that there is a way out. It isn’t as easy as the road in, but you CAN come out the other side. I hate that I waited so long to add Hopkins’ powerful words and message to our library.
Crank is a MUST READ. Parent and Teenager. Educator and Student. If it can save one person from the reaches of the MONSTER, it is worth it.
arachnistar's review
5.0
It was an amazing book. The book kept a fast enough pace that I wasn't left bored, yet it was also very easy to understand. It offered an insight into reality, one that most people know about, but tend to not think about too much unless they land into that type of trouble. I am definitely going to pick up the sequel.