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A review by cgreaderbee
Crank by Ellen Hopkins
2.0
1-2 out of 5 stars.
I just was not a fan of this book.
In this story, we find Kristina, a nice girl with a nice family and nice friends who does well in school, and who apparently does not like herself very much. When she is shipped away to spend a few weeks with her absent, troubled Father, Bree is unveiled - Kristina’s “alter-ego” of sorts, who is reckless, confident, and who we find is going to make some extremely bad decisions. She gets caught up with the bad boy next door, and while “falling in love” gets introduced to The Monster - Crank aka drugs aka meth (I believe). Kristina/Bree’s existence just spirals from this point, extending into her life when she does return home. She has now fallen victim to the monster’s hold.
I found the beginning of this book to be a negative factor. We are not given any time in which to know Kristina, to see her downfall and angst pre-Bree formation. I found that made it really hard for me to care at all about Kristina, and gave me no insight as to why Kristina made the choices she did, and therefore I really had no compassion for her as a character. It is also not clear as to why she has to go to visit her Father in the beginning of the book; some sort of “court order” is mentioned. It is explained some in the after note from the author. Ultimately, I wish we were able to get to know Kristina a little more, to establish more of a foundation with her before she immediately just starts making all these bad choices.
Also, while I do enjoy the lyrical/verse writing style of the author, it further distances the reader from the character, another factor that makes it hard for me to care about her and the things she’s going through.
The rest of the story goes through Kristina’s downfall and the thriving/struggling formation of Bree. It was interesting to be exposed to this unfortunate but all too realistic world of addiction. I appreciated that the author was open and gave her personal take on the novel at the end, explaining that this book was written after she went through a similar type experience with her own daughter. This gave it the meaning to me that the book itself overall lacked.
I just was not a fan of this book.
In this story, we find Kristina, a nice girl with a nice family and nice friends who does well in school, and who apparently does not like herself very much. When she is shipped away to spend a few weeks with her absent, troubled Father, Bree is unveiled - Kristina’s “alter-ego” of sorts, who is reckless, confident, and who we find is going to make some extremely bad decisions. She gets caught up with the bad boy next door, and while “falling in love” gets introduced to The Monster - Crank aka drugs aka meth (I believe). Kristina/Bree’s existence just spirals from this point, extending into her life when she does return home. She has now fallen victim to the monster’s hold.
I found the beginning of this book to be a negative factor. We are not given any time in which to know Kristina, to see her downfall and angst pre-Bree formation. I found that made it really hard for me to care at all about Kristina, and gave me no insight as to why Kristina made the choices she did, and therefore I really had no compassion for her as a character. It is also not clear as to why she has to go to visit her Father in the beginning of the book; some sort of “court order” is mentioned. It is explained some in the after note from the author. Ultimately, I wish we were able to get to know Kristina a little more, to establish more of a foundation with her before she immediately just starts making all these bad choices.
Also, while I do enjoy the lyrical/verse writing style of the author, it further distances the reader from the character, another factor that makes it hard for me to care about her and the things she’s going through.
The rest of the story goes through Kristina’s downfall and the thriving/struggling formation of Bree. It was interesting to be exposed to this unfortunate but all too realistic world of addiction. I appreciated that the author was open and gave her personal take on the novel at the end, explaining that this book was written after she went through a similar type experience with her own daughter. This gave it the meaning to me that the book itself overall lacked.