Review: Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Jan 24, 2010 by shanyn

Title: Crank
Author: Ellen Hopkins
Publisher: McElderry
Publication Date: October 5, 2004
This book was purchased

From Goodreads.com:
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.

I picked up both Crank and Glass through B&N.com for $12 in a boxed set. I knew that I wanted to try one of Ellen Hopkins’ books, but wasn’t sure which to try or when would be a good time to read one (as you can tell by the summary, the topic is rather heavy).

The book only sat on my shelf for about 5 hours before I had to pick it up and read it. It is all poetry and verse, telling the story of Kristina/Bree from the beginning of her drug interaction through many other scenarios.

Don’t let the poetry/verse bit scare you off – it is beautifully written and really does follow a story. It’s not poetry that rhymes like you read in 4th grade – it’s more emotionally charged.

I do have Glass on my shelf, which is the sequel to Crank, but I think I am going to read a book in between so that the topic doesn’t get me down.

Book Cover: 5/5
Book Title: 5/5
Plot: 8/10
Characters: 9/10
Writing: 10/10
Ending: 9/10

Overall: 46/50