Crank By Ellen Hopkins

http://bit.ly/1bmLSoj

     This book is written in verse. The words are creatively placed; sometimes written in two columns that can be read together as well as separately. The following is an excerpt:

Life was good
before I
met
                                                the monster
After,
life
                                              was great,
At
least
                                                         for a little while.

 

     This book is loosely based off of Ellen Hopkins' daughter's addiction to crystal meth. This frightenly realistic book is written in the perspective of 16 year old Kristina Snow. She lives in a priviledged home with her caring mother and step-father.
     During the summer she gets a court order to visit her biological father who is addicted to alcohol, cigarettes, and crystal meth. Kristina arrives thinking the time she has to spend with her father will be boring and tedious. But she soon meets a guy named Adam that she is immediately attracted to.
     It is Adam who introduces her to "the monster". During her time visiting her dad, Adam also makes her feel the urge to be somebody other than the obedient, straight-a recieving Kristina. Which gives way to her new, "cooler", and more relaxed persona: Bree.
     As her addiction grows, so does Bree's control over how she behaves, and thinks. When she returns to her home in Reno she can only think of one thing: getting her fix of "the monster".
     She starts dating two guys that both do crank, and as this progresses so does her alienation from the friends she had before she left Reno.
     Her life starts to fall apart; her grades in school start dropping, she disrespects her mother and tells her "F*** you", and due to a horrible date rape ends up being a teen mother.
     This chilling depiction of of Kristina's descent into addiction will leave you wondering what else happens to Kristina. Ellen Hopkin's doesn't disappoint with her equally, if not more frightening sequel: Glass.