Ellen Hopkins
Crank (Hardcover)
USD$19.72
4 stars out of 9 reviews
9 reviews
USD$19.72
$19.72
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4 out of 5stars
(9 reviews)
Most helpful positive review
5.00 out of 5 stars review
Verified Purchaser
05/21/2021
Once I became accustomed to the…
Once I became accustomed to the writing style, I was quickly immersed in this incredible story. I wish this book would have been available when I was a teenager. It is reminiscent of Go Ask Alice with that same strong voice that doesn't shy away from the ugly, painful, and difficult truths. The writing was stunningly compelling with countless powerful quotes and a story both poignant and insightful. The contrast of the beautiful lyrical verse and the hard ugly truth of addiction was fascinating. I'm so glad I finally took the time to read this and thank everyone who recommended this to me. I, in turn, recommend this to any teenager and parent of a pre-teen or teenager as well as to anyone who appreciates stories with this kind of honest emotional depth and so-called controversial subject matter.
ahappybooker
Most helpful negative review
2.00 out of 5 stars review
Verified Purchaser
05/24/2021
Not my book. But then I knew that…
Not my book. But then I knew that going in. I don't have sympathy for drug addict characters. I don't like drug addict movies either. I don't find the reason and motivation for drug use compelling fiction. I understand that's me and that many others see it differently. I also am not the biggest fan of novels-in-verse. Sometimes it works but then other times, like here it has a distancing effect between the narrator and the action of the plot. Again another personal preference.
akmargie
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5.00 out of 5 stars reviewVerified Purchaser07/09/20215Q 5P Beautiful and painful, carrying…5Q 5P Beautiful and painful, carrying the reader through the ups and downs of addiction. Utilizing simple, straight-forward language, Hopkins brings the reader through every amazing high and every disastrous low. This book takes every possible destructive turn and highlights all of the cautionary tales about drugs. This story reads like a diary and is highly reminiscent of Go Ask Alice. As a whole this a uniquely powerful tale; wonderful and agonizing to read all at once. My only critique is that a few of the plot elements are not entirely plausible - for example why would a teen girl from a normal, well rounded family be sent to live with her drug addicted father for a summer? However, I know that these things do happen, so I can look past it. I remember talking to a young girl (probably about 14 years old) about this book last summer. She had just started to read it and was enthralled. Her older brother had been addicted to heroin and eventually died of an overdose when she was 6 and she told me that she never understood why he used drugs. She said that this book helped her to understand how someone as wonderful and loving as her brother could get caught in such a vicious world. Overall this is an excellent book, particularly for those who have deal with drug abuse personally or with friends and/or family. It is a very dark, disturbing tale, piercing and raw in its telling, so might only be appropriate for more mature readers.IvyMason
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4.00 out of 5 stars reviewVerified Purchaser07/09/20214Q4P. I loved Crank and I was…4Q4P. I loved Crank and I was devastated by it, in the way that some books worm your way in and rearrange your brain. I listened to it, which I think is probably a much different experience than reading it. But I loved hearing the verse spoken aloud. Crank is the story of Kristina, a 16 year old who's life changes drastically after going to visit her junkie father for 3 weeks one summer. She meets a boy, tries meth and falls in love. Both with the boy and "the monster." She discovers, or invents, a personality or persona that she never knew existed. Kristina takes a backseat to Bree, who doesn't make the best decisions. Bree loves to flirt wit boys and get down with the monster. When Kristina returns home, Bree doesn't won't be stifled and Kristina's life spirals quickly out of control. I would have given Crank a 5Q, but there were a few things I thought were off. I'm not sure any respectable teenager this side of 1985 would refer to a line as a toot. I could be wrong, but it seems kind of like a modern teen saying something is far-out (which actually, Kristina does at one point). I also thought that Kristina's family had way to many "annual events." After the first couple It started reading like a tired device meant contrast old Kristina with new Kristina/Bree. The book ended abruptly, and in my opinion, powerfully. The reader isn't sure if Kristina will ever break free from the monster, which I suppose is realistic. Meth is scary hard to quit. There are two follow up novels in the series, so I suppose we find out whether Kristina ever shakes the monster. After reading Crank, I found out that it was semi-autobiographical. Ellen Hopkins' daughter struggled with meth addiction. I think this makes the scenes with Kristina's mother especially touching. When Kristina wonders if everything would have been different if her mother had reached out to her, it's hard not to think that maybe Hopkins wonders the same thing.amy.rosenberg
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2.00 out of 5 stars reviewVerified Purchaser05/24/2021Not my book. But then I knew that…Not my book. But then I knew that going in. I don't have sympathy for drug addict characters. I don't like drug addict movies either. I don't find the reason and motivation for drug use compelling fiction. I understand that's me and that many others see it differently. I also am not the biggest fan of novels-in-verse. Sometimes it works but then other times, like here it has a distancing effect between the narrator and the action of the plot. Again another personal preference.akmargie
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5.00 out of 5 stars reviewVerified Purchaser05/21/2021Once I became accustomed to the…Once I became accustomed to the writing style, I was quickly immersed in this incredible story. I wish this book would have been available when I was a teenager. It is reminiscent of Go Ask Alice with that same strong voice that doesn't shy away from the ugly, painful, and difficult truths. The writing was stunningly compelling with countless powerful quotes and a story both poignant and insightful. The contrast of the beautiful lyrical verse and the hard ugly truth of addiction was fascinating. I'm so glad I finally took the time to read this and thank everyone who recommended this to me. I, in turn, recommend this to any teenager and parent of a pre-teen or teenager as well as to anyone who appreciates stories with this kind of honest emotional depth and so-called controversial subject matter.ahappybooker
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4.00 out of 5 stars reviewVerified Purchaser05/20/2021Book review by Erica, posted by CA…Book review by Erica, posted by CA Library: "Crank by Ellen Hopkins is a great book for a fast read. It is for more of an eighth grade to twelfth grade reading level. There are some very inappropriate parts in the book. Once you start you never want to put the book down. Crank gives details for the teenage life. There is a lot of peer pressure, drugs, and more. Ellen Hopkins writes most of her books in poetic form about teenage drama. At times the book can be confusing. For example, the main characters name is Kristina, but she is also known as Bree. After reading this book your life is changed for good. I loved the book because it is such a fast easy read and it explains what almost every teenager goes through. In this book, there are very many characters. I can't wait to read Ellen Hopkins' next book. Hopefully, you will love this book and not want to put it down, just like I did. Remember Crank by Ellen Hopkins. I give it 4 out of 5 stars."calibrary1
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4.00 out of 5 stars reviewVerified Purchaser01/28/2010Although I know how po...Although I know how popular this book has been at surrounding high schools and that it is the Abraham Lincoln 2009 winner, I was fairly ambivelent about reading it, even after having listened to the author speak at the ISLMA Conference. However, once started, I realized the book's compelling quality - the character's first person free verse pulls the reader in like the crank she's come to know. Could hardly put it down until I had finished it (fortunately, it reads quickly). My overall recommendation for the book is only somewhat tampered by the lack of closure at book's end. Realization of a sequel, however, chipped away at my intrigue for the book. Must every literary work own a sequel? Do authors no longer quest to write the "Great American Novel" just for the sake of writing "the Great American Novel" or, is everything about making a buck? And apparently, this one on the back of the author's daughter's own personal experiences. At any rate, I regard Crank as a title that should be recommended to parents as much as (or more than) students. Watching Kristina's spiral downward was heartbreaking. Crank's greatest redeeming quality could be the heartbreak it spares.storybook2
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4.00 out of 5 stars reviewVerified Purchaser01/03/2010... exackly that a boo...... exackly that a book about a young girl on drugs, sad and scary at times. The author wites in verse format. My first read of that type, she makes the words just of the page with emotion. Wonderful book for a first time writed. Definatly a page turner ... you need to know whats next.ronda73ca
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4.00 out of 5 stars reviewVerified Purchaser10/27/2009its amazing what peopl...its amazing what people put themselves through they think that they cant ever get addicted to one thing but they can. she out her self through alot of danger doing drugs and all that. then while on the drug she got raped. her and her bf chase are very helpful to each other and they really care for each other. chase tells bree that he is going to be going to usc. she doesnt like this to much but then she finds out that she is preganant. and the baby isnt chases its brendans the guy who raped her. chase doesnt care and wants to help her out but he still goes to usc.df1aemilyr
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4.00 out of 5 stars reviewVerified Purchaser10/25/2009This book was weird, b...This book was weird, but in an awesome sorta way! It wasn't the best book, in my opinion, that Ellen Hopkins has wrote, but it was still pretty awesome! I liked part of the ending, like the concept, but the way that Ellen Hopkins portrayed the idea was too......happy! Like all through the story Bree/Kristina's been struggling with Crank, and then the ending's all "happily ever after"! :P8F_SAM