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Buy Crank by Ellen Hopkins available and for sale on Brightsurf
| View Larger Image | Crank
by Ellen Hopkins
| | List Price: | $9.99 |  | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours | | | | | Sales Rank: | 2634 | | Studio: | Simon Pulse | | | Binding: | Paperback | | Reading Level: | Young Adult | | Number Of Pages: | 544 | | Publication Date: | October 05, 2004 | | Publisher: | Simon Pulse |
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
Kristina Georgia Snow is the perfect daughter: gifted high school junior, quiet, never any trouble. But on a trip to visit her absentee father, Kristina disappears and Bree takes her place. Bree is the exact opposite of Kristina -- she's fearless. Through a boy, Bree meets the monster: crank. And what begins as a wild, ecstatic ride turns into a struggle through hell for her mind, her soul -- her life. |
Amazon.com
Ellen Hopkins's semi-autobiographical verse novel, Crank, reads like a Go Ask Alice for the 21st century. In it, she chronicles the turbulent and often disturbing relationship between Kristina, a character based on her own daughter, and the "monster," the highly addictive drug crystal meth, or "crank." Kristina is introduced to the drug while visiting her largely absent and ne'er-do-well father. While under the influence of the monster, Kristina discovers her sexy alter-ego, Bree: "there is no perfect daughter, / no gifted high school junior, / no Kristina Georgia Snow. / There is only Bree." Bree will do all the things good girl Kristina won't, including attracting the attention of dangerous boys who can provide her with a steady flow of crank. Soon, her grades plummet, her relationships with family and friends deteriorate, and she needs more and more of the monster just to get through the day. Kristina hits her lowest point when she is raped by one of her drug dealers and becomes pregnant as a result. Her decision to keep the baby slows her drug use, but doesn't stop it, and the author leaves the reader with the distinct impression that Kristina/Bree may never be free from her addiction. In the author's note, Hopkins warns "nothing in this story is impossible," but when Kristina's controlled, high-powered mother allows her teenage daughter to visit her biological father (a nearly homeless known drug user), the story feels unbelievable. Still, the descriptions of crystal meth use and its consequences are powerful, and will horrify and transfix older teenage readers, just as Alice did over 20 years ago. --Jennifer Hubert |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 101 reviews)
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What a use of voice! 
As a high school teacher, I see students come through obviously strung out 90% of their lives. It is unfortunate, and as much as we try to help, we also feel powerless in the face of drug addiction. Just as I never wanted to listen to the advice from adults when I was a teen, it is so frustrating to be that voice to my students. I relate stories of friends, families, classmates... but nothing seems to work. I found a connection to the character in this book because of her almost pleading nature. Despite what other reviews said, I never once found this book to be preachy (even when looking back at all the things that happened to Bree/Kristina). As someone who reads teen writing for a living, I found this collection of poems as authentic as any adult could be. Not once did I question the age of the narrator, in fact, at points I could picture a couple of my students writing this piece. Hopefully this book will someday be a staple of all high school educations.
May 25, 2008 | |
CRANK IS AS ADDICTING AS THE DRUG ITS ABOUT! BEST BOOK EVER
Crank is loosely based off the life of ellen hopkin's (the author) daughter and her life ride with the monster. this monster is no giant green reature, no it is worst. this monster is crank this monster is crytal meth.
Kristina Snow is a mother's dream, a honor student and a role model. She never gets in trouble and is a very nice person. But soon that dream turn into a nightmare when Kristina meets the monster and turns into her extreme alter ego Bree. To her family she is a different kristina but to the monster she is Bree, the outgoing trouble maker that ill do anything to get closer to the monster. Through this book and its sequel Glass, you follow the excruciating journey of a girl greatly affected by crank and her desparete fight to get her life back again.
I personally love this book. crank is defiantly one of my favorite books and will alway be. I would recommend this book to anyone mature enought to handle its content. This book is for guys along with girls. Everyone can relate to this book in one way or another. the best thing about this book is that it hides nothing and it never tries to beauty anything up. it is the truth form start to finish no matter how gruesome that truth is. This book and its sequel are writin in verse. thought verse is just another way to write it really help you connect to the character so much moire the form and shapes the words from lets you know exactly how kristina is feeling without telling you. you can tell if shes angry, happy, high, or distraught. Crank doesnt necissarly have a happy ending but it leaves you with a feeling begging for more. crank is as addicing as the drug is based on. I never wanted to put this book down. i ill read it over and over again!
"Life was good before i met the monster after, life was great at least for a little while"
-F
May 21, 2008 | |
CRANK........
I think this book is really good. It pretty much tells you the truth about what happens when people get into to drugs. I think that this is a book that teens should read that way they have more facts about why they should NOT do drugs...ecspecially hardcore drugs like crank.....DON'T DO DRUGS!!!!
April 14, 2008 | |
Unless your kids are already knocked up and hooked on drugs, they probably shouldn't be reading this. 
Ellen Hopkins's Crank is a New York Times bestseller. It cautions on the back, "Ages 14 and up", and it is immediately obvious why. Hopkins began writing her series about hardcore drug use in teenagers after dealing firsthand with the addiction of her daughter. Crank is a book about a 16 year old girl, Kristina, who flies to visit her estranged, junkie father in Albuquerque, and quickly becomes addicted to crank, a form of methamphetamine. The book details her close escape from a gang rape while high, and her subsequent graphic rape while trying to buy drugs. It is written in free verse poetry, so even though it is 500+ pages, it is a relatively quick read. The themes in the book are of course, dealing with drug addiction, rape, and subsequent pregnancy. It also deals with divorce.
Kristina's first person voice is heard in the poems, but they are rather disjointed, and sometimes, the formatting makes them difficult to read. The narration reveals Kristina's actions, her thoughts, and the thoughts of her "alter-ego", Bree. Bree is the voice of the addict. Even though the poetry is first person, it does not seem to realistically reflect the thoughts of the character. It offers some insight to her thoughts, but is not entirely convincing.
I bought Crank because it is a best seller. It is easy to see why kids would find this book fascinating. It has all of the forbidden stuff in it, sex, drugs, stealing, sneaking out, alcohol, cigarettes, rape, teenage pregnancy, abortion, attempted suicide, and the list goes on. It is true that one of the best ways to connect with adolescent readers and encourage reading is through adolescent novels that gain their interest, and it is obvious that this book has. It could be argued that kids do indeed see these sorts of traumatic things in their lives, but for the most part, I'd have to say this book just goes too far. Most kids are not out on the street buying methamphetamines from a gang of Mexicans that have a house just for cooking it. Most kids haven't been date raped. Most kids haven't seen a person jump from a building in a suicide attempt. And, I'd argue, most kids shouldn't have to deal with reading about it. I was absolutely appalled during my reading of this book, I don't think I even know any adults I'd recommend it to. It could never be used in a classroom, the material is purposefully shocking.
The only good thing I have to say about the book is that it uses some higher level vocabulary words. Beyond that, the subject matter is purposefully crass, the characters are only interesting because of their addictions, the style is unnecessary (it seems like she just wrote some prose and then played with the indentions and the enter key), and the ending hardly ties up the loose ends. Thematically, it really only deals with the issues at hand, it is quite literal, and beyond the plot, not much can be read into it. I don't plan to recommend this book to my students at all. I don't think I'll be reading it again, and I can't see any reason to keep it. This book might just end up in my trash can.
And no, Ms. Hopkins, I do not prefer "Gossip Girls". As I've previously mentioned, trashy novels aren't my style.
You have to wonder about adults who'd write this kind of book for a young audience. Is she so desparate to be a writer that she'd sell drugs to children because her writing isn't good enough for the adult literary world?
March 31, 2008 | |
Heart-wrenching prose 
Crank is the first "novel" by Ellen Hopkins. She's an amazing author with a lot to say and a beautiful way of saying it. Let me explain. First of all, the word novel is in quotes because this book is made up entirely of poetry. The poems are beautiful to read AND look at. She has a stylized look to her work that isn't seen very often, and hasn't been done this well since EE Cummings. I actually sat down and finished the book in two sittings! Which is the tell tale sign of a good book, especially considering that it is 537 pages long! I guess that you could say... Ellen Hopkins got me hooked on Crank! You can tell she must be influenced by Cummings and the great Dylan Thomas as well. Within twenty pages she makes you forget (like Thomas) that you're even reading poetry and that this isn't just a standard novel. The book is a harrowing look at a young girl's descent into meth addiction, hence the title. In the forward, Hopkins says the story is roughly based on her own daughter's life. That fact makes this book hard to read at times. It's written so well, that you can feel her pain, love, agony, and failure. Although this book is found in the young adult section of the book store, anyone with an open mind and the ability to read should buy this book immediately!
March 27, 2008 | |
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