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Crank (Crank #1)

by Ellen Hopkins (Goodreads Author)

4.13 of 5 stars 4.13 · rating details · 48,293 ratings · 4,315 reviews

Kristina Georgia Snow is the perfect daughter: gifted high school junior, quiet, never any trouble. But on a trip to visit her absentee father, she meets a boy who introduces her to crank. At first she finds it freeing, but soon Kristina's personality disappears inside the drug. What began as a wild, ecstatic ride turns into a struggle through hell for her mind, her soul,...more

Audio CD, 4 pages

Published August 1st 2008 by Highbridge Company (first published October 5th 2004)

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Jan 30, 2013 booklady added it · review of another edition Recommends it for: all parents of teens

Recommended to booklady by: my daughter

Shelves: 2008, autobiography, crime, youth

This is one of those books I can't give a star rating to--at least not by the definitions goodreads assigns. I did not like this book at all and yet I am forced to admit it is powerful, important, scary-as-you-know-where and should be read by every parent of teenagers today.

My daughter brought Crank home from the school library and also read it in a day; it's positively riveting. Ellen Hopkins first novel is based on her own tragic experience as a mother of a crank (meth) addict. So although Cr...more

50 likes · like · see review

Nov 21, 2011 Bonnie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: banned-books, ya, contemporary, poetry-verse, tough-subjects

Interested in more of my reviews? Visit my blog!

Crank, you see
isn’t any ordinary
monster. It’s like a
giant octopus,
weaving
its tentacles not
just around you,
but through you,
squeezing
not hard enough to
kill you, but enough
to keep you from
reeling
until you try to get
away.

The Storyline

Kristina is a high school junior who’s your typical normal kid who brings home good grades and has never done anything to disappoint her mom. Kristina though, isn’t always Kristina. Sometimes she becomes Bree, the gi...more

9 likes · like · see review

May 22, 2012 Janine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, poetry, need-to-teach, guilty-pleasure, contemporary-fiction

I'm not sure that I can adequately put my feelings about this poignantly written epic poem/novel into words. Part of my fears that I cannot do it justice. Simply put, this book embodies the type of literature that I live and breathe for. It's one of those books that vindicates my decision to become an educator and teach this type of literature. It also proves that not all "great" literature looks like a modern novel nor is it written by "dead white guys".

Written as a series of concrete poems, C...more

9 likes · like · see review

Dec 24, 2010 Ashleigh Paige rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: the-great-shelf-of-awesome, all-time-favorites

See more of my reviews on The YA Kitten!

Kristina Snow has only ever been a good girl. Good grades, good behavior, never associated with the wrong crowd--she doesn't take after her drug addict father at all. Or does she? When she goes to visit him due to a court order, her alter ego Bree, a girl who is fearless and her own person, comes out to play and together, they take on the monster: crank, or meth, or any of the million names you can call it. When she returns home to Reno, the addiction she...more See more of my reviews on The YA Kitten!

Kristina Snow has only ever been a good girl. Good grades, good behavior, never associated with the wrong crowd--she doesn't take after her drug addict father at all. Or does she? When she goes to visit him due to a court order, her alter ego Bree, a girl who is fearless and her own person, comes out to play and together, they take on the monster: crank, or meth, or any of the million names you can call it. When she returns home to Reno, the addiction she picked up in Albuquerque comes back with her. School, her old friends, and her family suddenly become unimportant to her--all that matters is crank: the connections she must make to get it, the rush she gets from it, and the people she meets because of it.

Before August, I had no idea who Ellen Hopkins was and had not heard of her books. At that time, I heard about the incident where she was uninvited from the Teen Lit Fest in Humble, Texas because a librarian and some parents protested it. I wanted to see what they were fussing about, but it took me until now to get ahold of one of her books because it lingered in the back of my mind. I can now say I have read an Ellen Hopkins book and plan to read many more.

The verse prose of the book could put a reader off at first, but the story takes hold fast and the form it comes to the reader in no longer matters. Personally, I believe that this story has more impact written in the poetic form it appears in than in the conventional form of most novels. The reader is forced to pay attention to exactly what they're reading because the form changes all over the place. This unusual form (which takes up much less page space than the usual novel) and the fast pace make Crank a novel someone can dive right into and not surface from until they read the last page.

Not only is Ellen Hopkins a wonderful writer, but she is also a wonderful storyteller: using experience gained in her own life from when her daughter was addicted to crank, she tells the tragic story of a girl who lost herself to drugs in about six months and makes the reader care. Her descent from good child to drug user to drug dealer is a terrifying one and despite not ever being an addict herself, Hopkins captures Kristina's thoughts perfectly and if I am to believe other reviewers, accurately; I have seen many readers who formerly used crank/meth comment on just how realistic the text is. It appears that Hopkins had many talks with her daughter about what her experience was like.

People who demand that every little thing is detailed, down to the stains on the carpet and the poster on the wall in a room, might be annoyed by this book. All of the detail is concentrated inwards on Kristina's experience with crank and what it is turning her into. Despite the lack of details in most situations (one of the few settings detailed well is Kristina's room), the scenes are easily pictured within the mind. Kristina spouts just enough about what is around her for the reader to put the picture together and that is it. Little else is said because why would she care about that? She's more concerned with the drugs.

Reading Crank, I wondered what this kind of novel might have done for a former friend of mine named Shelby. We were best friends when we were younger and then she went away to a private school for eight years. The next time I saw her, she was hooked on all sorts of drugs due to her family, all of whom are a special kind of messed up. I heard her talk about doing ecstasy, just as Kristina does in this book, acid, she smoked marijuana at our bus stop (which is pretty much my mailbox) one morning before school... She even overdosed at school once and was in the hospital for a few days. Sixteen years old and a drug addict, just like Kristina. She recently moved away and we haven't kept contact. How many children has this author and this book helped? Who knows. Maybe if she'd had a book like this, it could have helped her too.

Now I'm wondering what took me so long to read an Ellen Hopkins book. I wish I could go pick up the sequels Glass and Fallout right now, but it's Christmas and I don't exactly have the money at the moment. Good thing my birthday is so close! After that, I'll advance onto Ellen's other novels, written in the same prose form and tackling the same issues. Even if books about drugs make you uncomfortable the way they way they do me, get your hands on this book and read it if you haven't already done so. The time you spend reading this book with be nothing but worth it.(less)

11 likes · like · see review

G-mantwana Shariyansta hahaha..its wat it iz
12 de Sep 03:48

Adrienne Witherspoon Ellen Hopkins is the author who got me started reading recreationally, and i read it about 4 years ago, maybe for some it may of helped, and stopped t...more
19 de Dic 10:47

Jul 02, 2008 Shannon rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Teenagers/college kids

Life was good
before I
met
the monster.
After,
life
was great,
At
least
for a little while.

Like a seed planted in your body, Crank is an unforgettable read that sweeps you up into a whirlwind of drugs, sex, and the choices and mistakes you must make when growing up. After I finished this novel, a little invisible demon grew at my side and will forever travel at my shoulder-whispering this story and its consequences into my shuddering ears. Read this book, you will never do meth and will always re...more

74 likes · like · see review

Ruby Jaime-Soto I really agree with you. After i read this book it made me realize what drugs can do to you. They take control of you life in a matter of days. It's a...more
12 de Nov 09:31

Mari Do you really believe that a person with a split personality, a rather unusual and typically incurable mental disorder, is typical? Even if she never...more
6 de Mar 09:58

Wizenwyatt I when i read this book it changed the way i look at life. you can tell that she had a hard life and you can feel her pain when you read it. and that...more
16 de Ene 15:27

Nov 19, 2009 Ruby Jaime-Soto rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This novel by Ellen Hopkins is based on the main character Kristina Georgia Snow and how she is introduced to the "monster"-crank. Who starts as a strait-A student then to a drug dealer,and eventually to a teen mom. This story began when she went to go visit her father in Albuquerque.There she meet a guy named Adam who she called buddy.When Kristina would meet new people she would tell them her name was Bree.Bree was an fun,outgoing,and carefree person while Kristina was held back and shy.Bree...more

13 likes · like · see review

May 11, 2007 Kate rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: youngadult

Kristina is a bright, good kid. But now, Kristina is gone. Bree has taken her place. Bree is dangerous. Bree is willing to try anything. Bree craves the monster. Bree craves crank.

Crank is a novel, in verse, detailing Kristina’s transformation into Bree. On a trip to visit her father, Kristina meets Adam. Adam introduces her to crank. But even before that fateful trip, Kristina had felt Bree’s presence. Kristina never would have even spoken to Adam. That was all Bree. Kristina never would have...more Kristina is a bright, good kid. But now, Kristina is gone. Bree has taken her place. Bree is dangerous. Bree is willing to try anything. Bree craves the monster. Bree craves crank.

Crank is a novel, in verse, detailing Kristina’s transformation into Bree. On a trip to visit her father, Kristina meets Adam. Adam introduces her to crank. But even before that fateful trip, Kristina had felt Bree’s presence. Kristina never would have even spoken to Adam. That was all Bree. Kristina never would have been attracted to Chase or Brendan. But to Bree, they’re catnip. Kristina never would have made the choices Bree made. But Bree is in control now.

Hopkins does an excellent job of making Kristina’s transformation into Bree seem realistic, and of making the distinction between Kristina and Bree clear without suggesting mental illness. Bree does not exist because of the crank; Bree causes the crank to happen. Bree exists beneath the surface long before the drugs set her free. The novel is heartbreaking—the reader can see where Kristina is headed, but never stops hoping that something will turn her from her path.

The use of verse is particularly effective in this novel. Even the formatting of the poems is significant. I was originally quite skeptical about this format, but I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and felt that the use of this format added an extra dimension to the story.

Many teens will identify with the concept of having a secret “other half,” a personality that is quite different from their own—who is fearless and exciting. While Crank is not preachy, it does have a fairly clear anti-drug message that may be more effective than a more heavy-handed approach.

My only quibble with the novel is Kristina’s parents’ reaction to her drug use. Her stepfather, Scott, recognized the signs of addiction, but her parents ultimately did nothing save grounding her. It was established that her parents had some knowledge of the drug scene dating back to their youth, but did not use this knowledge to help her. I found that unrealistic.
(less)

15 likes · like · see review

Jul 22, 2012 Michelle rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Call me a narc, I just can't empathize. Believe me, I put myself in her shoes. I understand that there are drug users who have reasons for taking cocaine, but what's her problem? One, her dad is a big jerkbutt. ...And that's about it. I can imagine worse situations in a second. If I were her, I would call my mom and beg her to take me home. That, and call Child Services to inspect him. End of story. Also, nobody forced her to snort. It was all her stupid mind that chose to take the step because...more

13 likes · like · see review

Kelly I totally respect your opinion, but I don't think many of us CAN put ourselves in her shoes. I understand what you're trying to say, but I still thoro...more
14 de Ago 11:01

Coral Blue You shouldn't judge addicts. I can completely understand where Kristina is coming from in this book because I've been there. Not in her exact situatio...more
10 de Dic 11:32

Sara Stalder I think you're missing the point. Part of the message of the book was that she didn't have a "reason" to use drugs. She was happy, had good friends, g...more
1 de Ene 22:43

Feb 21, 2013 NCPL Teenzone rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bulldog-book-club-roosevelt, drugs, novels-in-verse, ya, soaring-eagle-nominee-08-09, soaring-eagle-winner, choices, edgy-contemporary, poetry, realistic, self-destructive-behaviors, series, teen-pregnancy, teenage-drinking

Kristina
the perfect student
happy life

A second chance
to reconnect with
absent father.

Rather
than the reunion
hoped for

Dad on drugs
dirty apartment
empty fridge

Adam/Buddy
A new reality
Chance to experiment

New discoveries
the monster
and Bree.

Return home
New person
Bad habits

The monster’s
hold
won’t let go.

No longer Kristina
Bree will do
anything

For a taste of
the monster:
Crank.

Why I picked up the book: It was a pick for our book club at Roosevelt. I had read it in 2008 when it was nominated for, and subseq...more

1 like · like · see review

Nov 28, 2012 Kristen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: disturbing, young-adult

Crank is one of the most unusually written books on substance abuse and addiction I have ever read. I knew that Ellen Hopkins had a unique writing style before I picked this up, but I wasn’t expecting to love it as much as I did. Constructing a story entirely in stanza sounds like a daunting task to me, but in doing so I feel like Hopkins was able to take something dark and gritty, and still make it a beautiful albeit heartbreaking read.
The story begins during the summer where Kristina is first...more

4 likes · like · see review

Nov 16, 2012 April rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, contemporary, verse

How many of you read Go Ask Alice when you were younger? Well, Crank by Ellen Hopkins is sort of like Go Ask Alice, only 1000x better. Upon finishing Crank, I did not think drugs were cool, whereas when I finished Go Ask Alice I was able to see the appeal of whatever that girl was on. In Crank, the drugs are legit scary and the results more tangible and immediate.
Read the rest of my review here

6 likes · like · see review

Mar 15, 2011 Ericaj rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The book I read was Crank it was written by Ellen Hopkins and it has 537. The reason I read this book was because one of my friends was reading it and told me I had to try it and I did and it was a great book and a book that would keep you guessing and the way to the end. This book is fiction and the characters are Kristina who is quite and a good all around teen ager who just wants to know how she is and then there is Bree a girl who is inside of Kristina but when Kristina does drug than Bree c...more

3 likes · like · see review

Jan 07, 2009 Audrey rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

22 likes · like · see review

Jan 25, 2011 Kenny rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was good.The great thing about it is, it didn't slow down so I didn't get bored. Anther great thing the pages are short so it didn't take me like three minutes to read one page. I liked that when you read a poem in the book, the whole thing once, somtimes if you read it a certain way ther would be another poem. Like a poem within a poem, it very hard to describe. The story is about a girl named Kristina who goes to visit her father in Albuquerque. But instde she finds "love" and "The M...more

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Mar 07, 2009 Humberto Cnca rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The book Crank is one of the best books I have read. This book has 537 pages. This book is a book from 9-12 grade. I say it is a level Z reading book. It was written in a poetic way, like no other book. The characters in the book are Kristina Georgia(a.k.a Bree), her mom, Adam, Chase, and Brendan. Kristina used to be a good girl. Until one day that she went on a trip to visit her dad. That experiance changed her for life. She met the monster: CRANK. Crank is a type of drug. She started to do it...more The book Crank is one of the best books I have read. This book has 537 pages. This book is a book from 9-12 grade. I say it is a level Z reading book. It was written in a poetic way, like no other book. The characters in the book are Kristina Georgia(a.k.a Bree), her mom, Adam, Chase, and Brendan. Kristina used to be a good girl. Until one day that she went on a trip to visit her dad. That experiance changed her for life. She met the monster: CRANK. Crank is a type of drug. She started to do it because of the guy she met Adam. Adam was her boyfriend while she was visiting her Father. After she meets the monster she becomes the girl that was "sleeping" in her. She becomes Bree. Her mom is the type of mom who cares for her kids but, doesn't show it until something bad happens. Chase was her boyfriend after she came back from her trip. He also gave Crank to Kristina. He is a smart guy and eventually becomes the husband of Kristina. Brendan was the first guy Kristina went out with after she came home after her trip. She only went out with him because he was the only one who she knew that had Crank.Brendan took advantage of that and raped Kristina. He is the original father of Kristina's baby. The characters made a huge impact on Kristina.

The book was mainly about how Krisitna was affected by the Crank. In the book Kristina had nothing wrong with her. In the end she had a lot of problems.Through out the book Krisitna kept being less and less of herself with the Crank she took. In the begining Krisitina didn't want to do Crank or any type of drug. But she did it for her boyfriend. In the end it was like she had to take the drug. But she stopped doing it so her baby could out alright instead of mutated by the drug. Her mom did not pay much attention to her until she started noticieng something wrong with her. Kristina did not tell anyone that she was taking the drug. When her parents did find out she was doing drugs they did nothing except watch her more carefully. When they found out that she was pregnant they went crazy. They did what they could do to help her. Chase ended up in USC. He was going to marry her. Her baby boy was born with no mutation. The baby boy got lucky. Kristina tried quiting the drug but, did not completely stop. She took a few more sniffs. But anything can happen to her in her life. She is only still 17.(less)

9 likes · like · see review

Nov 23, 2008 Nykole M rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I can't really put into words what this book did to me, I probably wouldn't read it again for awhile cause it made me feel low and depressed reading it but it was an amazing book that everyone should read atleast once in thier life.

The book is about 16 year old Kristina goes to her dad's place for a few weeks and meets this guy Adam. That is where she finds Bree, her other personality who is into drugs and flirting with guys, something Kristina has never done or imagined doing. Adam introduces...more I can't really put into words what this book did to me, I probably wouldn't read it again for awhile cause it made me feel low and depressed reading it but it was an amazing book that everyone should read atleast once in thier life.

The book is about 16 year old Kristina goes to her dad's place for a few weeks and meets this guy Adam. That is where she finds Bree, her other personality who is into drugs and flirting with guys, something Kristina has never done or imagined doing. Adam introduces her to 'Crank' and they fall madly in love with each other, but when she returns home Adam calls it off so they can see other people even though he claims he will always love her.
She meets Brendan a lifeguard and Chase the schools bad boy. And they both fix her need for the monster crank. One day, when Chase was out and she just needed to get out and get her fix she calls Brendan and he winds up rapping her. She aviods after words and only tells Chase, Adam, and her new drug buddy Robyn, who teached her a few other ways to get high with the monster.
Her and Chase fall in love and on her 17th birthday they make love and get wasted. Later she gets into more trouble and ends up in juvie and tells her self she will cut back on the monster and discovers why she's been so sick the last couple of days. She pregnant. She tells Chase who tells her he wants to marry her, they go to Planned Parenthood and was shocked when she realized that the baby's father is Brendan not Chase. Chase promises to take care of her and the baby even though its not his. She was going to have an abortion but changes her mind and prys that she could be a good mother. She cuts back on the monster but still dose it once in awhile. She tells her mom and her step-father Scott and they are happy she decides to keep the baby. Sadly Chase moves to college at USC and they still keep in touch. At the end of the book, she has a baby boy and is happy she kept him but once again she feels the strong call for the monster. (less)

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Mar 13, 2012 Allison rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Allison Freeman

APA Citation:

Hopkins, E. (2004). Crank. New York: Simon Pulse.

Genre: Verse Novel

Format: Print

Selection Process:

Engberg, G. (2004). Crank (Book) Booklist, 101(6), 595.

Review:

Kristina Snow is a 16-year-old, straight A junior living in Reno, Nevada with her mom, step-dad and younger brother. She has a perfect life but wants to reconnect with her estranged druggie father. She packs up her things and goes to live with her father for the summer. They go to a bowling alley and that is w...more Allison Freeman

APA Citation:

Hopkins, E. (2004). Crank. New York: Simon Pulse.

Genre: Verse Novel

Format: Print

Selection Process:

Engberg, G. (2004). Crank (Book) Booklist, 101(6), 595.

Review:

Kristina Snow is a 16-year-old, straight A junior living in Reno, Nevada with her mom, step-dad and younger brother. She has a perfect life but wants to reconnect with her estranged druggie father. She packs up her things and goes to live with her father for the summer. They go to a bowling alley and that is where Kristina has her first run in with boys and “the monster” or crystal meth. Kristina quickly becomes addicted to “the monster,” which transforms her into the flirtatious, fearless, and risky alter ego of herself dubbed Bree. Bree doesn’t want to give up the boy who introduced her to meth but she grudgingly returns to Reno at the end of the summer. Kristina struggles to take back control of her body and kick her addiction but she is quickly overwhelmed again when she meets a dangerous bad boy that brings Bree back to the surface with horrifying and life-changing consequences. Kristina/Bree dance with the devil in the pale moonlight and following a chain of edge of your seat, thrilling and terrifying events unfold, Kristina/Bree will never be the same. The story was told in fast-paced verse poetry. There was no rhyme involved but the titles, shapes of the concrete poetry located throughout, and the excess space around the words made the words flow quickly from page to page. The story begins almost predictably but quickly spins out of control and the audience is watching and waiting for the train wreck to come because the events leading up to the crash are imminent. Kristina was the good girl gone terribly wrong in Bree and the transition leaves the reader ravenous to see what happens next. The conclusion of the story is tragic and heartbreaking but the audience is left wanting more. Ellen Hopkins loosely based Kristina/Bree’s tale off her daughter, which made the story all the more real and sad. The story was told in spectacular prose and Crank is highly recommended to the all reader grades 8+, especially reluctant readers.
(less)

1 like · like · see review

Mar 11, 2012 Sandra Howard rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: poem-formatted-books, stand-alone

Life was good
before I
met
the monster.
After,
life
was great,
At
least
for a little while.

**********

I am always drawn and intrigued by books that deal with real human problems and emotion.
I have read books on incest, abuse and alcoholism.
Crank is actually one of those books.

Crank is a story about how a normal teenage girl became a substance abuser.
It was written in meaningful verses that would keep you glued to its pages.

Kristina was as shy and reserved.
Bree was fun and outgoing.
Kristina is Bre...more

6 likes · like · see review

Apr 19, 2011 Cory rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

More reviews @ Anti-Drug Reads

I don't know why, but I wanted so much to hate this book... And in some ways I did- Not because it was slow, boring, or uncreative, but because it grossed me out seeing how anyone, even I, could meander down the wrong path so easily. Crank really made me look into the mirror and rethink my standards/morals. This is definitely something EVERY TEEN should read, for it teaches an important lesson. I give Ellen Hopkins 5 stars for this masterpiece. It may not have becom...more

7 likes · like · see review

Jul 08, 2011 ♥Xeni♥ rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: author-ellen-hopkins, coming-of-age, abuse, ebook, fiction, young-adult

Wow... wait... I started reading this 7 months ago? Really? Still, it was necessary to have that really long break in between!

I really disliked this book while I was first reading it. The writing style (free prose, more like thoughts scattered; sentences broken and not proper and just mixed up) really annoyed me, but more than that the subject matter and the way the protagonist was acting was just... irritating.

Yet when I reopened the ebook and finished reading it 2 nights ago, I found the writ...more

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Jan 06, 2009 Laura rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: advisory-2008-9

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I picked this book out of my advisory grab bag and it's thickness made me a little nervous about having to tackle such a large book in a week in a half. But my hope leaped forward when a realized that this book was written in, yessss, poetry! Well I really wouldn't call them "poems" more like paragraphs with weird spacing, but those weird spaces created lots of blank space and a lot less words. Other than the shortening factor of the poetic layout, I really would have preferred a normal book. It...more

7 likes · like · see review

Dec 28, 2008 Karin rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: addiction, books-for-boys, crystal-meth, dark, depressing, drug-use, drinking, ennui, high-school, horrifying, realistic, young-adult-fiction, stream-of-consciousness, 2009-abe-lincoln-nominee, borrowed-from-the-library

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Kristina is visiting her father – a deadbeat dad who is probably best out of her life – when she meets Adam, who introduces her to the monster, crank. Seemingly overnight, Kristina develops a whole new personality – outgoing, daring, and promiscuous. She calls this new girl, Bree. And it’s Bree who smokes, Bree who drinks, Bree who can’t get enough drugs, Bree who can’t get enough love. Bree returns to her mother and family, but she – and the crank - eat away at Kristina until there’s very littl...more Kristina is visiting her father – a deadbeat dad who is probably best out of her life – when she meets Adam, who introduces her to the monster, crank. Seemingly overnight, Kristina develops a whole new personality – outgoing, daring, and promiscuous. She calls this new girl, Bree. And it’s Bree who smokes, Bree who drinks, Bree who can’t get enough drugs, Bree who can’t get enough love. Bree returns to her mother and family, but she – and the crank - eat away at Kristina until there’s very little of her left. In her efforts to find love and a new source of crank, Bree gets raped, and then winds up pregnant. Even with all of Bree’s expertise, Kristina doesn’t know what to do.

Maybe the most interesting thing about this book is Ellen Hopkins’ style – she writes in short, almost poetic prose – so, while the book clocks in at 500+ pages, there aren’t many words per page, and readers can really rip through it. Crank is very stream of consciousness, journalistic in style, and it lends itself well to the topic – Kristina’s drug abuse, her experiences getting high, her jumped up and burned out brain. Teens who have read and loved this call it real and raw. I’m not sure what their experiences are that they feel they can relate so well to this (I mean, I hope they can’t actually relate from personal experience!). It took me awhile to get accustomed to the style (though, it’s similar to ‘poetry’ I wrote when I was in high school), and then it took me awhile to get into the story.

Kristina/Bree’s experience does jive with what I’ve read in others’ memoirs about addiction and drug abuse. She wants crank (the monster) more than she wants anything else. And she’ll do pretty much anything to get it. It’s fascinating and exciting (up to a point) to read about other people’s experiences with drugs – and scary. Some readers really like exploring the edges – either personally, or through stories (real or imagined). Those that enjoyed Dave Pelzer’s books, or other hard-hitting memoirs like My Bloody Life, will probably really like Crank (the book, I hope not the drug). This seemed like a YA (somewhat sanitized) version of A Million Little Pieces (James Frey).

I’m not sure what kind of brain chemistry makes one person more susceptible to drug addiction than another, and it’s rather frightening to imagine oneself in the grip of something so irresistible. Some very bad things happen to Bree, and this story takes a rather frank approach (reader beware if you’re sensitive to bad language, drug use, sexual situations). I didn’t really buy the ending – Kristina decides to keep her baby, and her boyfriend Chase continues to be a part of her life, and simultaneously she realizes that she’s always going to want the monster and she’s probably going to give into it again. The last part is probably true, but I can’t see how the other parts are going to add up to anything positive when this is part of the equation. And, someone has drawn smiley faces throughout this copy of the book. It’s…just not the sort of story that makes you smile. I mean, I’d be willing to say that it’s definitely got some shock factor and honesty about it that are going to appeal to its audience – there’s a very no-holds-barred air about it. But smiley faces? No.
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Nov 07, 2008 Kaylee added it · review of another edition Recommends it for: EVERYONEEE thats older than hgh school

Recommended to Kaylee by: Rachel M. and Ashley R.

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. CRANK

“I gained a terrible insight. Chase was not the baby’s father, Brendan was!” Kristina is a normal girl until the summer that she ends up arriving at her father’s house. She meets and falls in love with this guy named Adam, who later introduces her to the monster, Crank.

During that summer Kristina became a totally different person named Bree. Bree is the devil conscience in the back of her head, she ends up overpowering Kristina and causes all kinds of trouble. Kristina arrives home and m...more CRANK

“I gained a terrible insight. Chase was not the baby’s father, Brendan was!” Kristina is a normal girl until the summer that she ends up arriving at her father’s house. She meets and falls in love with this guy named Adam, who later introduces her to the monster, Crank.

During that summer Kristina became a totally different person named Bree. Bree is the devil conscience in the back of her head, she ends up overpowering Kristina and causes all kinds of trouble. Kristina arrives home and meets these two guys, she has a choice take the nice one or the rebel. Of course she picks the rebel (she wouldn’t be a girl if she didn’t, I mean what girl goes after the right one?), chase. Than she decides to give the other one a chance, Brendan. When Bree becomes more powerful than Kristina, Kristina is raped more than once, pregnant, takes all the drugs you could imagine, and oh ya, falls in love AGAIN!

I would recommend this book to any high school kids because a lot of them this would really hit home on how bad all of this stuff is and how bad reality is. Kristina would have to be my favorite because I think she is a strong girl as an individual. Now Bree on the other hand, I don’t like her so much, she caused too much trouble and too much heartache.

At first the book was really slow but when she started to take all the drugs with her dad, that’s when it got captivating. When I read the ending I was shocked, I would have never thought that she pregnant! This book kept me on my toes the whole time I was reading it, this is defiantly a book that you would not be able to put down.

I really don’t know why the author wrote this book, maybe her intentions were to show people reality and how hard it is when it hits you. Now if this was made into a movie, I would LOVE ITTT!! I would pick Britney Spears for Kristina, because she is already crazy. For Adam I would go with Matthew McConahay, just because he’s hot and that’s how I picture Adam! For Brendan I would go with Michael Jackson just because he raped a little boy, and for chase, I would have to say Brad Pitt.

Go and get Crank and read it now, because you will not be able to put it down ever, it is that good!
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Mar 13, 2008 (B) Archer at KIPP rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to (B) Archer by: Donna Flores

Shelves: girls-have-read

Crank by Ellen Hopkins is about a girl named Kristina or as she likes to be called Bree is a normal teenager. She was unique, good grades, no drama, no boys. Until then she goes to New Mexico to visit her low-life father. Her eyes connect and tend to stick to her night and shining armor Adam or Buddy. Kristina never seemed to notice boys or even recognize them. Adam is this sweet,sensitive and very catching but then he brings out the monster-crank. She enjoys it, the flying, the experience, the...more

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Mar 31, 2008 Alison rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: def. 14yrs and up!!&anyone who likes the book Go Ask Alice

This book is probably my one of my favorites this year! It is a teenage fiction book that I would classify as drama/awesome story that probably everyone can relate to! Kristina, the main character, makes one bad decision during her summer that changed the rest of her life. Her alternate ego, Bree as she calls it, causes her to spiral down the wrong path and trying just about every drug out there; ecstasy, LSD, pot and crank(etc.), hence the title.
The thing that I find most interesting about the...more

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Aug 22, 2012 Laciejane rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was really moving. It makes you look through the eyes of a young girl's journey at becoming an addict and puts in shocking details of the teenager's life. I enjoyed that the book is written in poetic stanzas because it makes the pace of the book move quickly and makes you want to keep reading and not put it down, which I didn't.. I finished it in about 3 days.. There are many twists and turns that will keep you on your toes the whole time, and that's what makes this book very intriguin...more

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May 21, 2012 Kyle rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Simply put, the only book that has ever made kept me up reading until 3:00 in the morning. Do with that information what you will to understand my love of this book.

2 likes · like · see review

Jun 02, 2009 Bri'aryn rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Omg! I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!!! This Book Is The Best! I Swear This Book Taught Me Alot Of Stuff That I Probably Would Have Learned Until Years From Now! It's A Great Book You Should Read It.

5 likes · like · see review

Nov 01, 2012 Kendra Ronnfeldt rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really loved this book. I love how it tells her ever feeling of every moment. I didn't expect the book to end in the way that it did, I didn't know if it would be a happy ending or a sad ending. It tells me that getting into drugs and other things can lead you into the life that you don't want to go especially if you want to make something of yourself. Above all of all books, I suggest this book to everyone. I love it!

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Mar 03, 2009 Sarah Covington rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

this book is hilariously weird, but i liked it a lot.

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About Ellen Hopkins

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 ellenhopkin...more

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“I hate this feeling. Like I'm here, but I'm not. Like someone cares. But they don't. Like I belong somewhere else, anywhere but here, and escape lies just past that snowy window, cool and crisp as the February air.” — 880 people liked it

“Taking no chances means wasting your dreams..” — 659 people liked it

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