Book Review: Crank by Ellen Hopkins

 

Title: Crank

Author: Ellen Hopkins

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Publishing Date: October 1st, 2004

Read: January 2nd, 2023

Pages: 537

Audio Length: 4 Hours 31 Mins

Genre: YA contemporary verse

TW: Parental abandonment & neglect. Rape & rape by coercion. Self-harm. Substance addiction. Recreational drug abuse. Blood depiction & blood-drinking. Teen pregnancy.

Series: Book 1 of Crank

Source: Audio

What it's about:

In Crank, Ellen Hopkins 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.

What I thought:

I've read several Ellen Hopkins books and this one is probably my least favorite of all of them, I think this is one of her earliest books, or even one of her first books. So I can tell how her writing has gotten better. I just didn't connect with this one like I have her other books and I just felt myself getting annoyed by it instead of enjoying it.

Cover:

The only thing I really like about the cover is that the title looks like drugs. Other than that it's kind of boring to be honest. 

Story:

I would've rated the story higher, I think it's an important one, except it's a very... overused story. Girl has bad home life, girl finds drugs, blah blah blah. Now, if I had read this when it came out then I probably would've felt differently about it. But being an adult and reading stories like this over the years, it just feels really over done. 

Pace: 

I'd say the pace is pretty good, I didn't find myself bored in parts or think it was rushed, it was a good steady pace. 

Writing: 

So I'm not a huge fan of verse books. I find them kind of hard to read for some reason. Most of her books when listening you can't even tell they're written in verse. But this one even when listening it sounds like verse, so I wasn't a huge fan of it. Do I think Ellen did a good job in writing the story? Yes. Do I like the flow? Not so much. 

Characters: 

Not a fan of the characters, they all seemed so.. one dimensional. I know that with them being drug addicts and stuff that's probably why, but I just feel like the characters come and go so fast we don't get to know them. And the main character.. I wish I had seen some more growth in the book. 

World building: 

This kind of book doesn't really need world building. So I'll leave it at a one star, but it didn't effect my over all rating. 

Ending: 

It was okay, like I said I wish I had seen more growth, because I didn't I'll leave this at a three star. I kind of felt like Oh...it's over.. Okay then. 

Narrator:

I don't really know if it was the writing flow I didn't like or the narrator to be honest. I don't know if the flow wasn't good for me because of Ellen's writing or just how the narrator was reading it. 

Overall:

Not a huge fan of this one, definitely not my favorite of hers. I don't regret reading it, I didn't hate it. I just didn't love it. 

A little Snippet:

Life was good

before I

met

the monster.

After,

life

was great,

At

least

for a little while.

― Ellen Hopkins, Crank

Possible books of likeness:

Author's info:

Website

Ellen Hopkins is the New York Times bestselling author of Crank, Burned, Impulse, Glass, Identical, Tricks, Fallout, Perfect, Triangles, Tilt, and Collateral. She lives in Carson City, Nevada, with her husband and son. Hopkin's Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Pinterest pages get thousands of hits from teens who claim Hopkins is the "only one who understands me", and she can be visited at ellenhopkins.com.

Like most of you here, books are my life. Reading is a passion, but writing is the biggest part of me. Balance is my greatest challenge, as I love my family, friends, animals and home, but also love traveling to meet my readers. Hope I meet many of you soon!