crank

crank

Crank, as many already know, is meth. There are different kinds and qualities of the drug (catch the television show Breaking Bad- they make the purest form of meth call glass). Ellen Hopkins has been called “‘the most popular living poet alive.'” This story for Ms. Hopkins is semi-autobiographical, with her taking the place of the protagonists mother.


As before I mentioned, this novel is about street meth called Crank. In her prose through poetry, she gives us a different type of point of view from the different characters throughout the novel. The book starts as we hear from our protagonist, Kristina George Snow. I think this is the only novel she wrote giving one persons point of view. Kristina, at first, is like her name, as white as snow. Then the down-fall begins. She is spending time with her father when she is introduced to the drug by a “boyfriend” living in the same apartment complex as her father. The rest of the book, basically shows Kristina’s descent into the madness of meth.



The novel Ellen Hopkins writes claims that the story is “loosely” based on a true story. She portrays the descent into addiction of meth as both a short and a very long road. Ellen Hopkins gives such a spot on description of a teenager, who is all innocent, to the things that she learns while visiting her father. Hopkins gives an excellent portrayal of the different characters in the book who helped Kristina in a positive way (like her parents) and the characters who helped feed her addiction (like everyone else).



Hopkins has a very unique writing style in her novels. She is a poet who writes in what I term, “prose through poetry.” Every page, page and a half, is written as a poem (or Chapter). This is how, in the rest of her books, she gives several points of view without being long-winded.



I recommend this book with some reservations. I think by the age of sixteen+ the novel would be a definite good read and...

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