Crank

Author: Ellen Hopkins

Crank explores the life of a crank addict, from start to not quite finished. Somewhat based on the story of her own daughter, Hopkins writes from the point of view of Kristina as she first discovers the world of drugs.

Hopkin's writing style is very unique and though Crank is not a hard read it's extremely intriguing. Some entries are concrete; the words form a picture associated with the topic of entry, others can be read both from left to right as well as top to bottom.

The invention of Bree is an excellent way of describing the split in Kristina's mind. Part of her (Bree) is desperate to party with the monster while the sensible Kristina knows she's losing friends and family and wishes to go back. However Bree's confidence is extremely appealing to Kristina and is constantly victorious. I don't have any personal experience on the subject, but through the use of the almost separate characters I better understand what Kristina is thinking and her reasons for drug use are much more tangible to me.

Of course the fact that Crank is written from Kristina's point of view goes a long way in helping the reader understand her motives. I honestly could not put this book down as I rooted for Kristina to break-up with the monster. If you are looking for a happy-ending Hollywood novel, this isn't the one for you, though you may just enjoy it anyway. Then again it doesn't truly end since Glass is the sequel and I can't wait to get my hands on it.