Crank

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                I think Ellen Hopkins is an amazing author and perfectly portrayed the havoc and destruction the monster can cause. Her structure is amazing and it really emphasizes important elements. This book shouldn't be banned and could potentially save someone. You can't really get that satisfying thrill from this book unless you have called someone two different names because they were clearly a different person when they weren't indulged in their addiction. Who were they before they received those names, and is it the addiction and bad lifestyle that led to the name? She did an amazing job deciphering the two. Kristina and Bree look, walk, and talk completely different to the reader.  This isn't a novel you just read through.   It is many poems morphed together that tell a story of Kristina's battle with herself, Bree and the Monster, each with their own title. That is so amazing. 
               Bree receives a lot of attention, and makes kristina's pain longing for her parent's attention numb. After all, Bree was the one who bonded with her father at the bowling alley. Not Kristina. "Dad didn't mention fireworks." Her mom is more concerned with impressing her new husband's corporate bosses, staying fit and flaunting it. The author writes, " I needed to go home 'cause somewhere deep down I needed my Mommy. And all that made me really need a line. (147). She needed to get Bree and a line, so she could forget the fact that she still needs her mom even when she is at home. She writes, "Right at that minute, she saw me. (And, just for an instant, her smile was all mine!)"(185). She is constantly competing for her mom's attention. She has brothers and sister's a step dad, and her mom's ego to compete with. When her family was waiting on her at the airport, all eyes and attention were on her, but it soon fades, after all of the rhetorical questions were asked to her: "And you want to shout, can't you see I'm here? can't you see I'm brand new? Can't you see me at all?(188).
             Crank addresses parental addiction and involvement, teen addiction, teen pregnancy, rape, and the struggle of identity. These are topics and issues that are skyrocketing at a school near you. It's crazy books are banned for the content the kids can relate to. Yes it is raw, explicit, heartbreaking, but it is real and relevant to so many young adults and teens.

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