#19 A book based on a true story: Crank, by Ellen Hopkins
I read this book back in high school and wow, how the memories have come rushing back. The first thing you notice right away when reading a book by Ellen Hopkins, is the page set up. The design of the words on the page mimic the appearance of poetry and art, though when you look closer, hidden messages in poem form can be read on every page. I haven’t come across another author like this yet. Her craft in the placement of every word is something that has lured me for years to read her books. Learning that this book was based upon Ellen’s daughter, and her battle against Crank, is mind-blowing. It makes the story so much more tragic.
Because the storyline is so intense from beginning to end, I will try to avoid giving away too many details, but please, make the effort to read this book and others that Hopkins has published. She has captured in her pages human struggles and topics that most people try to avoid, and the result is artistic and impactful.
Kristina’s tale begins when she is sent to Albuquerque for three weeks during the summer to spend it with her father. Kristina was a straight-A honor student. She had just survived her sophomore year in high school, and now she was about to face something she would have never dreamed of. With her father rarely home during her visit, she finds herself making friends with locals. A guy named Adam invites her to hang out one evening and she doesn’t see any harm in it.
Adam offers her some methamphetamine, aka Crank, and after trying it she is distressed and runs away from him. She runs into some men who try to harm her but before anything tragic occurs, Adam steps in and saves her from them. She finds comfort and shelter with him and eventually dates him.
After the three weeks are over, she returns to her mother in Nevada, but the “Monster” has already claimed another victim; she was addicted. Junior year in high school starts and she manages to find some guys that can supply her; the bad choice-making begins. She gets absorbed into the drug world, becoming dependent and its slave.
The story follows Kristina, now calling herself Bree, as she struggles with the need for more, the effects of her choices, and the desire to break free. Drugs cost money, and she’s only a teenager living off her mother’s generosity. Things turn ugly and Bree finds herself pregnant, addicted to drugs, and homeless… Read as she struggles and attempts to put her life together, and survive the wrath of the Monster. Ellen Hopkins is one of my favorite authors, and I hope you are as impacted by her storytelling as I have been. A must-read! 5 out of 5.
Komentar