This is the second time (at least) that I’ve read this book. Was I procrastinating? Maybe. Thank you rivitedlit.com for giving us free ebooks to read on the regular… You can read them too! For real though, check them out. They have a new selection of books each month - some excerpts, some full books. Anyway. This month (Sept 2020) Crank was one of the free reads. So I read it. Again.
Written in verse, books by Ellen Hopkins were my first foray into the art that is books in verse. She has a serious skill. The short (1-3 page) poems run the full scope, managing to both stand on their own and make for a compelling read together. The author utilises the page itself as an element of the storytelling; making sentences within poems, showing multiple thoughts within a poem. It’s the kind of poetry that I like, and each and every time I read her work I want to write a novel in verse myself. Being in verse the overall word count is likely lower than a standard novel. This, combined with the rise and fall of the storytelling makes for a quick read that takes your hand, tugging you onward ever faster. The Crank series is semi-(auto)biographical - she started to write the first book when her daughter (named Kristina in the books) was in jail, after years of drug abuse - primarily but not exclusively, methamphetamine. While the author notes that the story is only loosely based on her family, it is evident that she has an understanding of the pain and difficulties faced by those who have to watch a family member struggle with addiction, and the toll that their struggles take on those close to them. I won’t go into too much detail plot wise, but basically we start with a teenage girl, not knowing it but looking to find herself. Her journey goes up and down, the author following the highs and the lows without holding back. It is a hard read in places; I won’t lie. But despite that, or possibly because of that, it’s a beautiful read. Content Warnings: drugs, sex, rape, language, talk of abortion, attempted suicide by falling Overall Rating: 5 stars.
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