Module 14: Poetry

Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Summary: Kristina is a good girl who feels a little lost.  The summer before her senior year in high school she goes to Albuquerque to visit her estranged father.  While there she meets a boy and tries crystal meth, which she very quickly becomes addicted to.  Back in Reno her world begins to revolve around staying high and allowing “Bree”, her new personality, to take over.  The story follows Kristina/Bree’s ups and downs including her rape, falling in love, and finding out that she’s pregnant.

My Impressions: I chose to read it because I’ve had so many students who would not put this series down, but honestly, I wasn’t a big fan of this book.  The fact that it was written as poetry was an interesting style choice, but I felt like it made it too easy to read this book quickly without absorbing the story.  I didn’t feel invested in any of the characters, and because of that I felt as though I had to push myself to read this book.  Unfortunately, I got the impression that this is the sort of story that is going to be a hit or miss with the reader if you don’t already have a frame of reference for it.

**Please note: This book has bad language and deals with several risqué topics and therefore should be reserved for more mature young adult readers.

Review: Gr 8 Up-- Seventeen-year-old Kristina Snow is introduced to crank on a trip to visit her wayward father. Caught up in a fast-paced, frightening, and unfamiliar world, she morphs into "Bree" after she "shakes hands with the monster." Her fearless, risk-taking alter ego grows stronger, "convincing me to be someone I never dreamed I'd want to be." When Kristina goes home, things don't return to normal. Although she tries to reconnect with her mother and her former life as a good student, her drug use soon takes over, leaving her "starving for speed" and for boys who will soon leave her scarred and pregnant. 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. This is a topical page-turner and a stunning portrayal of a teen's loss of direction and realistically uncertain future. -- Trevelyn Jones

Library Use: I think this book would work great during red ribbon week activities.  It could be put on a book display with other books that deal with drugs, or as it is popular at my school, I would ask students who have read it to do a book talk presentation/drug presentation to other students.

References:

Hopkins, E. (2004). Crank. New York, NY: Simon Pulse

Jones, T. (2004). [Book review of Crank by E. Hopkins] School Library Journal, 50(11),  p. 145