Crank | 
 enlarge | Author: Ellen Hopkins
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Category: Book
List Price: $9.99
Buy New: $5.41
You Save: $4.58 (46%)
New (36) Used (39) from $2.98
Rating:  112 reviews
Sales Rank: 5215
Media: Paperback
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 544
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 6.9 x 5 x 1.7
ISBN: 0689865198
EAN: 9780689865190
ASIN: 0689865198
Publication Date: October 5, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
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
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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 107 more reviews...
 AWESOME!! January 6, 2009
Ellen Hopkins is amazing! The way she writes is amazing! The way the book is written is crutial to the story line. I learned things in this book I had never thought about before. I suggest this book for any girl that wants to read something out of the ordinary.
 Crank December 8, 2008
Crank is about a girl named Kristina, she is a very shy person. Over the summer she decides to go visit her dad which makes her mom uncomfortable. Kristina is pretty much a perfect daughter, but her dad is an alcoholic that is known to do some hard drugs. While Kristina is visiting her dad she meets a gorgeous guy who she introduces herself as Bree to. Kristina does not like herself too much so she is shocked when he takes an interest in her. It turns out he is a drug dealer, but she falls in love with him anyways. He shows her new things and she gets addicting to crank. Summer comes to an end, but being at her dad's brought out a side of her that she continues to call Bree. She doesn't want to leave the boy but they agree to write. Once she comes back she can't stop thinking about the monster. Kristina/Bree ditches her old friends to find new ones that can satisfy the monster. By the time her mom notices she has a serious problem, it is too late. Kristina will do anything to get some including losing her virginity. Which towards the end proves to be a poor decision on her part.
Crank is a very good book. It is an easy read that opens your eyes about drugs. This book makes you feel several different emotions, and lets you know what Kristina is thinking the whole time. Ellen Hopkins has a very unique style. The book is written in poems which add to the overall novel. But you forget you are reading poems and you will not want to put the book down. Something else that makes the book more interesting is that Hopkins states that the story is loosely based on her daughter's journey with the monster.
Crank, Ellen Hopkins December 7, 2008
I really became a huge fan of Ellen Hopkins, when I read her first book Crank. I really enjoyed the story line and I could never put the book down until I had finished the whole story. This story line has very many different interest. Such as, teenage love, school drama, family drama, peer pressure, drugs and alchol. Everything a teenager goes through during the highschool years. If you are looking for a story with these kind of interests, Ellen Hopkins is the author for you. In this story, Kristina is the perfect daughter. She is a junior. She is very shy and a quiet girl. She is the kind of girl that has the reputation of never have gotten into trouble in her life. The summer comes around and Kristina decides to go spend the summer with her father. Here she meets the monster. A hard core drug. At first she thinks it is amazing, a joy. The next thing she knows it is a struggle for her life, for her soul, and for her mind. While over the summer, at her fathers, she changes her name to Bree. She gives into peer pressure and begins to get hooked on drugs and sex. But on the flip side. Bree falls in love with a boy. Through this book, Kristina has to find herself again, and get through her punishments from the decisions she has made. This book has very good details, at one moment you get the chills, the next you want to scream, and the you find yourself smiling and laughing. Crank is written in verse. It is a fast and easy read. I would give this book a 10 out of 10. I think it is outstanding and I would recommend Crank to anyone!
Young girl struggles with her inner-self December 5, 2008
I loved this book and I believe it is good for teens to read. It opens your eyes to the challenges teenagers' experience. The style of writing was in poem form and it gave the story life and detail. The main character Kristina was just an ordinary teenage girl. She was quiet and never got into trouble. That changed when she got hold of Crank. That one summer with her dad would change her forever. Bree was released, which was her wild side. She met a boy that summer named Adam. Adam was her first kiss and her first love. He also saved her from three men who approached her when she was on her way home from the bowling alley. He was also the one who helped introduce her to crank for the first time, and it only took that one time. When she returned home to her mother she was fully addicted to the monster. Kristina found a hookup in no time at all. She still loved Adam, but she moved on and so did he. She began seeing a boy named Chase who was also into crank and could get it anytime. Kristina and Chase grew very fond of each other. Chase wasn't her type but as they spent more time with each other she found herself wanting him even more. But with her addiction spiraling out of control her interest in boys had grown to. She had this new found confidence and she ran with it. Then there was Brendan who was the hot body, lifeguard type. They began talking and she found out he did crank to. He convinced her to go on a date with him. He came and picked her up and they did the monster and drank beer. He took her to a place she was unfamiliar with so her screams couldn't be heard. What started with a kiss would end up scaring her for life. He had taken her virginity but she had not let him. She will regret the consequences and continue to fight her addiction. See what happens to Kristina in Ellen Hopkin's sequel Glass.
Life with the Monster September 29, 2008
Life with the Monster
While visiting her good for nothing father, 17-year-old Kristina meets the guy she thinks is the love of her life and is introduced to the "MONSTER". It's taking over Kristina and turning her into Bree, who is her negative alter ego. Switching between these two personalities her life is a roller coaster, which she can't control.
After returning home to Reno, things were not normal. Her grades weren't good anymore, and her relationships with family and friends had changed. She always managed to find a way of getting hold of the monster just to get through the day.
This book is written in a physical poem format that can be confusing at times, but yet it's a page-turner because it can be an every day reality that many teens face. It is based on a true story that is captivating and you will not be able to put it down.
Reviewers:
Eduardo
Diana
Jose
Erika
Crank
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