Crank

by Ellen Hopkins

Book Overview

The #1 New York Times bestselling tale of addiction--the first in the Crank trilogy--from master poet Ellen Hopkins.

Life was good
before I
met
the monster.

After,
life
was great,
At
least

for a little while.

Kristina Snow is the perfect daughter: gifted high school junior, quiet, never any...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1442471816
• ISBN13: 9781442471818
• Release Date: August 2013
• Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
• Length: 576 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 5.5" x 8.2"
• Age Range: 14 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 9 to 12

Customer Reviews

Addicted to this series.

Ellen Hopkins poems are so incredible well written, I feel in love with this book series as soon as I read the first page. It’s so real, it’s raw, and it’s beautiful. As someone who has a similar childhood it really strikes close to home.

Love it and love that I can come here and find good books

N/A

Didn't get it.

I got a completely different book. And don’t know how or if I can even return.

A Classic in my eyes.

I feel Ellen Hopkins does an incredible job taking you inside the mind of an addict (s). This is a must read for everyone!

Good but harrowing

At times it was just soo raw and emotional that it physically hurt, which is great but I wasn't prepared for it. Took me about 6 hours to finish.

This Book Should Be On Everyone's Read List!

I Loved This Book! It was well written, every page of this book, was so true. It was a quick read book, once you started reading it, you did not want to put it down. I have also read "Glass", it is another GREAT book! It is the sequel to "Crank". I just finished reading "Identical", it has a different story, it still involves drugs and alcohol, the story is something that happens, that society tends to shut out at times. I recommend these books to everyone! All of these books open your eyes to a very different, but real world.

Read this in one sitting. Amazing book. I love Ellen Hopkins and all of her books.

Keeps you coming back for more. Just one of the amazing books out of 3 for this series.

Love her

Realistic, and on the edge of my seat Screaming at her no but knowing it’s a book like oh m g I started reading her book when I was a teen now I’m 26 and still read all of them

Didn’t put it down

I saw this book around for the past 10 years and judged it by its cover. Never interested then found it on here for a good price came like it was brand new! Shouldn’t have waited 10 years to read it. Currently in the middle of the 2nd book Glass now.

Gripping

This is one of those books you can’t put down. I finished it the first day I got it. I recommend it to everyone I meet. I can’t believe I didn’t read it sooner.

Decent for what it is

While the story was good, I must have missed the fact that it was written in verse. I think that, more than anything, was the most annoying part of the book. Otherwise it was a decent story.

i was hooked onto this book the minute i started to read it. i finished it in one day, and ever since then i have read this book more then 5 times. just love it.

Meeting the Monster

Gifted in school, never in trouble, always the loving daughter; Kristina Georgia Snow seems to be the model of perfection. Kristina is far from that, however, and the manifestation of the problems she exhibits forms under the name of "Bree." Bree is many of the things that Kristina wants to be, she's fearless and she's her own person, and a visit with her absentee father sends Kristina scrambling into the arms of Bree and into the arms of another monster - crank. And while life seems good for a time, Kristina finds herself slowly bleeding away and the other her, the consumed her, taking hold. Ellen Hopkins is an absolutely phenomenal writer, and even better than that is her ability to craft a tale using her own methods. It has to be mentioned that she also has a specific point-of-view about "the monster" in the book as well, recounting some of the struggles that she endured while her daughter fought with addiction and almost lost. Some of that is wrenching, too, but Hopkins uses that feeling and doesn't make you feel sorry for the person behind the pen. She instead uses that power to make you feel for the person behind the mask, hoping to find something better. When I first read the book, I was impressed by the things that Hopkins manages to work into the proverbial foundations of the very thing she delivers. She writes words within the wording, putting things in the columns and the rows that formulate a story all their own. Things like "treading the riptide, good girls drown" appear in the middle of an area that is part of a larger sum, and the way these things are utilized make you pay attention. It seems rare to have to do that anyone, too - paying attention, I mean. Too often an author placates an audience with a tale, and the somber tale is moving BUT it finds one thing missing. The thing I like about Hopkins and her book Crank is that it is fixes a lot of that; she does call Crack "the monster" and she does tell her how much the substance hurt them all but, in the story, she still paints the "good points," the reasons for use and habituation, that are often left out of tales. She also spells everything out in a way that doesn't allow for speed-reading if you want the whole effect. And, trust me, you want the whole effect. Basically, when you read this, you get a feeling for the child, for the surroundings, and for the turmoil that brews inside her life. That makes it understandable when it comes to her meeting with her "father" and why she needs her alter-ego, not to mention the drug itself. Combine that with the beautiful workmanship, the story within the story, and you have something really well worth mentioning.

A Must-Read for Parents

This is the scariest book I've read in a long time. Perhaps I need to qualify that by admitting I don't seek out thrillers or horrors, but I was (and am) terrified by how easily the protagonist fell into the arms of meth. That some readers are put off by the prose-in-verse format surprises me. The text is completely accessible and a plausible reflection on the intelligent narrator. Crank is a fact of life these days, and this book is a powerful lesson for those of us who think we and our children are somehow protected from its grasp. As Hopkins notes in her introduction, nothing in the story is impossible. That's what should be putting fear into all of us.

intense

This story of a teenager who becomes addicted to crank is a book that parents as well as teenagers should read. The sparse poetry conveys the power of the addiction so much more intensely than prose ever could. As a parent, it was especially scary to see how quickly "the monster" claimed this young girl. The message of this book is so strong because it is never preachy or overdramitized. It comes across very true and real. I read "Go Ask Alice" when I was a teenager and this book strikes the same emotions.

An Off-Hand Review

When I read the book 'Crank' by Ellen Hopkins about a month ago, I have to admit that it made me cry near the end. The book tells the story of a teenage girl with strong drug problems - problems that could happen to anyone. When she meets up with Adam near the beginning, you'd never even begin to predict what would happen throughout the entire book. What makes me sad though, is toward the end it seems like she can't find anyone to rely on because she's disconnected herself from her family and friends, and instead takes refuge beneath the wings of 'the monster', letting it guide her through, knowing she's strongly addicted. Ellen leaves you with the knowledge that she may never get off her addiction, and partially with the moral of the story: drugs are addictive and harmful. They can really screw you up. That's why I like this book so much... it actually makes you learn a lesson, without knowing anything at all.

Attention Parents!

Have your teen or preteen read this book. The size of the book makes it look challenging, but the first page reaches out and grabs you for a fast, powerfully frightening read. I had my girls read it and they were both deeply impressed with Kristina/Bree's downhill slide into drug abuse. It's hard edged and realistic, so it's scary. Ellen conveys the emotion of the roller-coaster ride called Crank with honesty, vivid imagery and a style that will keep you asking for more.