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Type of bind: Paperback
EAN num: 9780689865190
ISBN number: 0689865198
Label: Simon Pulse
Manufacturer: Simon Pulse
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 544
Printing Date: October 05, 2004
Publishing house: Simon Pulse
Age index: Young Adult
Sale Popularity Level: 3973
Studio: Simon Pulse
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Product Description:
Kristina Georgia Snow is the perfect daughter: gifted high school junior, quiet, never any trouble. But on a trip to visit her absentee father, Kristina disappears and Bree takes her place. Bree is the exact opposite of Kristina -- she's fearless.
Through a boy, Bree meets the monster: crank. And what begins as a wild, ecstatic ride turns into a struggle through hell for her mind, her soul -- her life.
Amazon.com:
Ellen Hopkins's semi-autobiographical verse novel, Crank, reads like a Go Ask Alice for the 21st century. In it, she chronicles the turbulent and often disturbing relationship between Kristina, a character based on her own daughter, and the 'monster,' the highly addictive drug crystal meth, or 'crank.' Kristina is introduced to the drug while visiting her largely absent and ne'er-do-well father. While under the influence of the monster, Kristina discovers her sexy alter-ego, Bree: 'there is no perfect daughter, / no gifted high school junior, / no Kristina Georgia Snow. / There is only Bree.' Bree will do all the things good girl Kristina won't, including attracting the attention of dangerous boys who can provide her with a steady flow of crank. Soon, her grades plummet, her relationships with family and friends deteriorate, and she needs more and more of the monster just to get through the day. Kristina hits her lowest point when she is raped by one of her drug dealers and becomes pregnant as a result. Her decision to keep the baby slows her drug use, but doesn't stop it, and the author leaves the reader with the distinct impression that Kristina/Bree may never be free from her addiction. In the author's note, Hopkins warns 'nothing in this story is impossible,' but when Kristina's controlled, high-powered mother allows her teenage daughter to visit her biological father (a nearly homeless known drug user), the story feels unbelievable. Still, the descriptions of crystal meth use and its consequences are powerful, and will horrify and transfix older teenage readers, just as Alice did over 20 years ago. --Jennifer Hubert
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Rated by buyers 
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I picked this book up because of the interesting cover, and the weird style of writing I found inside when I flipped through it. I had absolutely no idea what crank was (I mean I had never heard it refered to as crank), and I dove in eagerly.
I must say I enjoyed the book. As I read the book I seriously started to feel sick. The addiction the girl has and the description of it literally made me feel sick. I had to put the book down and take a break a couple of times.
I wanted to point out H. Thompson's review. I HIGHLY disagree with it. I am seventeen. Ellen Hopkins did not "have fun" with the enter key. If you took the time to read it you would have noticed WHY she did that. Secondly, you say it has no plot. Seriously, does your life have a plot? I don't think so. Sure, Kristina in the book may only be interesting because of her addiction, but at least SHE'S interesting. Her story only made me think "What in the world do people see in this drug that's so good!?!?!?" I didn't read it because it had all the crap that it had in it, I read it because it's an honest story, based on a true story. The message is so clear it's not even funny, but apparently you were too interested in the rape scene to see it.
Next, you may THINK most teenagers aren't out there using drugs, getting raped, selling themselves, and commiting suicide, but you're wrong. Just the other day my family pulled up to a Hy-Vee, and my dad and brother went in to pick up milk. My mom, sister, and I were sitting in the car (this was later at night, we had just got done seeing a movie). Another car pulled up across from us. The music was blaring. There was a guy who looked somewhere between 17-20, and a girl who looked 14. He got out and went in. The girl immediately she turned the music off, which, in my opinion, is a sign she's just acting for him, for his attention. She's smoking, AND she's drinking. He comes back out, and she immediately turns the music back on. The guy's carying a small sack wadded up tightly, revealing the shape of a small box. Condoms. Don't tell me things like that don't happen every second of every day, because they do.
Ellen Hopkins gives us a glimpse of what addiction is like. And although it's no where near experiencing it, it doesn't leave you wanting to try it. So H. Thompson, shut up and throw the book away, but keep the talking to yourself.
Rated by buyers -
This book took a hard look at a girls fight with crank ! And all the struggles and toll on family life! Very very well written book!
Rated by buyers 
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Ellen Hopkins attempts to break new ground with her book about a daughter's descent into crytal meth addiction and, while I grieve for her struggle, comes off as an untalented peddler of poor writing.
While the story is compelling, a once perfect daughter falls off and begins to use drugs, and speaks to fears bread into us all concerning drug use and addiction; her utilization of free-verse "poetry" is a mockery to poetry itself. Hopkins is able to leave the reader with sparse details in some areas, and extreme details in others; thus allowing herself as author to escape from the duty of conveying the story with any real sense of literary authority or authenticity. While she is heralded as a "ground breaker" and "experimental genius" her work pails in comparison to other experimental fiction, and is a poor use of the poetic form.
In the end this is a book for a high schooler to read for fun, it is low in literary value and an easy read that goes by quick and painlessly with no real impact besides from what a reader might experience have they not been exposed to fiction that succeeds where Hopkins fails.
Rated by buyers -
This book, a sort of biographical account of a daughter's descent into crystal meth addiction -- written by her mother -- is a very powerful story written in free verse. The simplicity of the words belies the terrible story of the immediate and irresistable hold that crank takes on the unwary victim. The fact that the drug is introduced to an honor student by her father during a custody visit makes it all the more scary. Her quick decline into the life of a loser meth addict is riveting and makes a compelling read. Crank is so beloved at our school library that it doesn't stay on the shelf and is read again and again. Highly recommended. Be sure to get the sequel Glass as well. The story will stay with you long after you have turned the last beautifully written page.
Rated by buyers 
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I just finished "crank". The book belongs to my 14yr old daughter and as a parent it was a very hard read. I worry every day about drugs and my children.
I liked that the book was honest in the fact about how quickly this drug can hook you and about the terrible things an addict would go through to get their drug. I also like that it didn't gloss over the fact that date rape does happen and adding drugs to the mix just ups the chances. I do feel that it glamorizes drug use and goes even as far as explaining how to smoke crack using steel foil and a straw.
I want my daughter to be aware of the dangers but I don't want to raise her curiosity enough that she wants to try it.
The book was good. The poetry and the way it was written was very beautiful. The story hard to read because all I could think was that could be my daughter. I just want to recommend that parents should read the book before giving it to their teenager. Maybe even use the book to start a conversation about drugs.
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