Crank, by Ellen Hopkins

Kristina is a model student and daughter.  The summer before her junior year,she goes to visit her father, and life as she knows it is forever changed.  She meets the monster, crank, crystal meth.  Suddenly her old friendships die, and new, dangerous relationships develop.   She becomes a new person, whom she names Bree, and Kristina as everyone knew her is forever gone.

This book had me mesmerized from page one.  I started this series from the last book, Fallout, and after having read it, I knew I needed to start from the beginning.  I am actually somewhat glad I read them in this order, because after hearing other people's view of Kristina, seeing things from her perspective seems so different.  I could not help but sympathize with her a little, all the while knowing what her choices would end up doing to people further on in her life.

Kristina's character is so intertwined with the persona of Bree, it is hard to fully grasp what Kristina was like before the drugs.  But her swift descent into addiction is really well documented.  The book is written as narrative poetry, with many poems being more than meets the eye.  I really love this style, and in this case it portrays a powerful story very quickly. I started the book last night at 10 pm and by midnight I was 350 pages.  Had it not been for the holiday related exhaustion, I would have finished it.

Addiction is a dark,scary place, even worse when inhabited by children.  I love that the book tackles this topic, particularly from Kristina's point of view.  I can not wait to read the next book in the series, and then re-read Fallout.


This book was one of my Christmas gifts from my fabulous Hubby.