Fabiana Lopez - Crank

By -
I only found this book vaguely interesting, to be honest. I liked the main character Kristina's descriptions of things. I enjoyed reading a book in verse. I've also read Out of the Dust which is in verse and is an adolescent lit novel about a girl during the Dust Bowl.

I like how Kristina has this other side of her that she names "Bree." It made sense to me that she wants to explore this other side of her, wants her to come out. I could also understand how she ended up doing drugs, since she's exposed to that part of her father's life. I have a friend who was exposed to drugs through her father and her brother so I know that it's really hard to escape that life when it's part of your home life. When you're a teenager, your brain is still developing, so if you don't have someone who is a good guide then it's pretty easy to get into trouble. Teenagers can make impulsive decisions and drugs lower your inhibitions.

I was disappointed to some extent in the character, though, because it seems like she doesn't have a basic sense of self preservation. But through her pain in her relationship with Adam, I was reminded of what it's like to be a teenage girl and to want boys to look at you a certain way, to want to feel that connection with someone else.

Honestly I think Crank is a good book because teenagers who are struggling with those issues might be able to identify with Kristina. But they also might find it too close to home. Especially if they've experienced sexual assault, it can be triggering even to read about something like that. So I guess teachers could maybe have this on a book shelf in their class and offer it as something for students to read for independent reading. Students who have no experience with drugs might be curious to see what that kind of life is like.

Comments

  1. AnonymousNovember 6, 2016 at 4:33 PM

    I agree with everything you're saying. But I'm wondering about the drug use message in this book. You say it offers "students who have no experience with drugs...to see what that kind of life is like" but is that kind of a negative advertising you think? From Kristina's view, the drugs are everything she has. It shows kind of the positives, but seems to lack the negatives in some aspects. I'd be too afraid to even consider this book in the classroom.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownNovember 7, 2016 at 9:10 AM

    I also found this book vaguely interesting. I like the way that the author chose to write it as well and feel as though it added more meaning to the book. She used very good descriptions and painted good imagery for readers. I also found the alter ego of Kristina and Bree interesting. I feel that the author made sure to add this in the story because many adolescents may have this same idea.

    ReplyDelete
  3. StephanieDawkinsNovember 9, 2016 at 5:58 AM

    I love that you included that it is hard to escape something when it is all around you, and honestly I hated her father for this. Teenagers do drugs all the time and sometimes it does affect others around and causes them to experiment with it until they become hooked on it, but I could never imagine a parent who has such a negative influence in her life and actually consumes the monster with her.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Growing Pains - The Symbolism of the Tree in Speak

By -
I have felt the paralyzing pain of internal disease. The kind of trauma that causes your mouth to curl in and swallow you whole. I, like so many other women, are walking the halls in Melinda’s shoes in “Speak.” I thought Laurie Anderson did a phenomenal job of twisting all of the tribulations a high school girl goes through, into the tree that Melinda is. Whether we’re as strong as an oak or weak as a bush, we have all gone through the disease that strikes Melinda from the inside out. Melinda is like a half-dead tree. Some parts of her strive to blossom and create beauty. Other parts are broken and diseased. Like a dead tree, Melinda needs to save herself and “cut off the damage, [so it] is possible for the tree to grow again” (187). The symbolism of a tree is significant in “Speak.” Trees reflect her growing process. In the beginning, Melinda is a sick and lifeless tree. Her view is negative and dark. She’s so far past repair, bursts of sunlight do her no good. Sunlight would be pe...
Read more

How Starr Goes from Acting to Embracing in The Hate U Give

By -
In The Hate U Give, Starr Carter is caught between two worlds. She lives in a predominantly black neighborhood, but her father sends her and her brothers to a private school where she is surrounded by white people. She talks about acting differently depending on what group she is around, which can create some identity problems. She says on page 11, "Funny how it works with white kids though. It's dope to be black until it's hard to be black." When at Williamson, she sees white kids that think it's cool to engage in black culture, but she knows they don't understand what she goes through in her Garden Heights community. She witnessed her friend Natasha's death when she was 10 years old, and she sees gang activity in her community all the time. When she is among her black friends, like at the party, they tease her for hanging out with the white kids. This reminds me of a Drake song where he says, "I used to get teased for being black, and now I'm...
Read more

Postmodernism in Curious Incident

By -
Before I start writing, I first want to acknowledge that I just really loved this book! It seemed like a lot of the class had trouble enjoying or appreciating the novel because it's so different stylistically, which is understandable, but all of those unique elements helped make the novel more authentic. The main topic I want to focus on (also what I'm writing my paper on) is how a lot of postmodernist elements were used in the novel to make Christopher come to life. While obviously not every postmodern novel is about an autistic kid, I think Haddon really used a lot of these elements to his advantage and they ended up working out really well to characterize Christopher. One of the major postmodern elements which helps this book really craft an authentic portrayal of autism is the fact that it's metafictive. Basically, this means it's a "story within a story." Readers would be extremely limited just reading the parts of the novel which are meant to be C...
Read more