Alan Ruff - Crank

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“Crank” by Ellen Hopkins tells the story of a 16-year-old girl as struggles with an addiction to meth.  The book opens with Kristina traveling to meet her biological father.  She has been separated from her father since he walked out on her and her mother years ago.   Kristina’s hope for any type of reconciliation is quickly dashed when she meets her and learns of his living conditions. While visiting she meets Adam and he introduces her to the monster.  She falls in love with him and the meth but soon has to return back home to her Mother’s.   She’s lost her boyfriend but found a new love in getting high with the monster.

                Crank is written in free-verse poetry style.  This allows Hopkins the ability to tell the story in a more creative way.  The way the words fall visibly on the page help to convey the message of the story as much as the words themselves.  Hopkins often uses two columns on the same page to represent opposing ideas.  Sometimes this is between Kristina and another character and other times it is between Kristina and the voice in her head that she calls Bree.  This type of structure allows the reader to see the conflict of emotion and thought that Kristina wrestles with as she deals with her addiction.  Other times, Hopkins will choose to place a single word or phrase to the side of a column.  This almost creates a “blackout poem” within the text of the regular poem.  I really enjoy this type of novel.  I have read “Out of the Dust” and it is written in the same style.  It’s as if the writer decides to create some extra “hoops” to jump through in writing their story.  

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