crank...random thoughts

Crank by Ellen Hopkins.

Okay, so I knew going into this book, it wasn't going to be a pretty read. I knew the general story--"good girl" turns "not-so-good girl" thanks to drugs. (Quotes signifying that I know nothing is ever so straightforward.) What I didn't know is how much this book would leave me feeling physically battered. How much I would relate to these issues, to these scenes, to these feelings.

See, I could have been Kristina. No, our stories were not identical. No, our family circumstances were not the same. And no, my fall was not nearly as devastating. But it could have been. And I'm smart enough to know how very lucky I am. And here I'm only talking about the drug use.

But I could relate to other details of Kristina's life, too. For example, her rape. Again, different circumstances. Different outcomes. But also again...I found her voice so believable.

And speaking of believable, Ellen Hopkins wrote this story based in part on the experiences of her own daughter, her own family. This knowledge had a way of breaking my heart even more...I found myself time after time thinking, "Oh no...I hope this part is purely fiction" because I didn't want to think about the reality of this or that happening to a real live human being. And of course, the sad truth is, all these things do happen to real live human beings every damn day.

You know what made it all the scarier? Being a mom.

This book is written in free verse. A thought that scared me a bit before I started reading. But I loved its style. And it certainly made it a very fast read for a book of over 500 pages.

If I have any complaint about the book, it would be the ending. After spending over 500 pages spanning just a few months time, the last few pages cover the rest of an entire year. Yes, I think I understand why Hopkins wrote it this way...and I can't really talk about it without giving things away...but I really would have loved to have heard more about what Kristina did and thought and felt during that time.

There is a sequel to this book. And I believe a third coming out later this year. Will I read them? I haven't yet decided. Not because I didn't think this was a great book. But more because it just hit me so very, very hard.