Crank---Wow

Poetry has always been my favorite "topic" in ELA if you will, and this verse novel is another one to add to my list of favorites.  I appreciate authors that can write in this style because you have such limited space to say what you want to say.  Ellen Hopkins did an amazing job.  She made so many intentional decisions that could be over-looked by a reader.  Sometimes I was so anxious to find out what was going to happen next that I didn't really take time to look at the page as a whole or to try reading each page in a different way.  I love how she incorporated shape poetry (using hearts when talking about her heart tattoo, and using the letter E when talking about ecstasy).  There were also times that if you read the poem in a different way (ex p 302/303) that the words on the right hand side made their own poem.  She also used this method to distinguish between dialogue! Who knew you could put so much into poetry?! I also LOVE books written this way because they appeal to reluctant readers.  A lot of white space on the pages, but a thick book to make you feel really accomplished as you go.  This book however covered some really "deep stuff," so it would have to be used with an older reluctant reader.  Sharon Creech, author of Love That Dog also writes in this style and would appeal to the younger reader.

Wow, I finished Crank in two sittings because I just could not put it down!  I absolutely loved this book.


Now, to the meat of the text.  I can't say I could really relate to the extremes that Kristina/Bree went to, but I think we all battle that good girl/bad girl thing at some point.  I have always been a Kristina and sometimes feel that I lived in my own little bubble and didn't know what REALLY went on in the world.  It's like the attitude that "this stuff doesn't go on in my home town with the people I know," but now that I am older, I know that is just not true.  Drugs are a nasty nasty addiction that can take over even the most confident, secure people.  I loved how you could feel the character struggle, and you went through her journey from the very beginning and how she even got started with crank and how it just spiraled until it was out of control.  I was a little surprised as to how quickly Kristina transformed into Bree.  It only took one boy to convince her to try crank, and next thing you know she is experimenting and even becoming a drug dealer herself.  At first I thought this was a little unrealistic, but as I thought more about it, it is absolutely true.  These things can happen so fast, especially to a young 16 year old who is trying to find their identity.  I like how raw the novel was and how the author explained how the drugs do make you feel good while you're on them.  I think often times kids learn about drugs from one perspective, like the DARE program where they don't really educate, just tell you to "say no." This book definitely does not promote drug use, but it does show both sides and how it just takes over.  I wonder what it would have been like if Kristina/Bree would have sought help when she knew she needed it and was going out of control?  I read the author's note in the beginning of the book, and she says that although this novel is fiction, it is based loosely on her daughter.  The baby in the end of the book is now adopted by her and her husband and is doing well.  I would love to find out more about the author and her daughter's experience.  Having never done these drugs, I don't really know how accurate the descriptions are, so I would be interested to see if her daughter helped her in writing this novel.  Ahh... I love a novel that makes you think.