Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Crank:
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.








Ellen Hopkins is a truly gifted author and is not afraid to explore the darker side of life that most of us would like to forget exists. I loved this book, but am finding it hard to find the right words to articulate exactly how I feel about it. In this incredible book told through Kristina's voice, and written in Ellen's beautiful prose, we see just how destructive addictions can be; not only the user but also to those around them. There is another person living within Kristina, and her name is Bree--much more outgoing than Kristina--and she quickly finds herself in trouble when Kristina/Bree decides she needs to visit her absent father. For eight years Kristina/Bree has had no contact with her father and has blamed her mother for his absence, but once they come together, Kristina/Bree knows that it is the drugs that have kept him away. When she meets Adam, her whole world is torn apart by the monster. After returning home, Bree is still in control and craving the monster. Kristina/Bree's life begins spinning wildly out of control leaving her raped, pregnant and addicted to the monster. I loved Chase, a boy from Kristina/Bree's school that she never would have approached if it weren't for Bree. Although he himself was into the drug scene, he still managed to always treat Kristina/Bree right and truly loved her, he shows this when he is willing to give up his dreams of school to stay with her and raise the baby together. Kristina manages to come back to the forefront long enough to encourage Chase to go to college, and that unselfish act just makes Kristina's character more incredibly dynamic, there is so much more to this girl than just being a drug addict.