Crank
When I first started reading the book Crank I did not like it. I have had two other classes that I have read so much poetry in, that I was not amused that it was in verse. I read the first 10 pages and put the book down. Maybe it was that I have read so much poetry, or the fact that I was just lazy and didn't want to read it. But for some reason, instead of just looking up the summary of the plot, I picked up the book and keep chugging. Once I actually let myself accept and enjoy(not that it was an easy book to go through considering the topic) it, I could not put it down. I read the whole rest of the book (Page 13 til the end) in one day.
I feel that this is actually due to the style. Not only did I find myself reading for plot, I also wanted to see what creative writing aspects Ellen Hopkins would use to portray in her book. I would read a page like it was supposed to and then understand where the plot was going, then I would read the page looking for these amazing aspects to create depth of the character. This writing style showed where the story was going all while harnessing the raw emotions of Bree/Kristina and what she was going through. This just blew my mind. I have never read a book that had a double meaning like this. I could read this book over again and find a new way to look at just one page. I have never read a book like this, I was completely infatuated with it. We see how the style of the poems depicted exactly how Bree/Kristina was thinking and/or feeling. At one point in the book, she is talking about how her old life used to be structured and in order and that showed in the way that the poem was set up on the page(Pg 405-406). The following page, Bree talks about her current life and how it has no order, which we also see with the way that the words were scattered on the page(Pg 407). There is also a time when she is on the plane going home, we see how crank is affecting her by the set up of the words on the page (The words are making a 'V' shape to show the ups and downs of the high. Pg 180). Also many pages the words are broken so that there is a space between them. If you read it like how a book is supposed to, you understand it, but if you read one poem alone, another message is portrayed (Pg 213-214, 234-235, 256, 286, 390, and so many more).
Without the structure of this book, I feel that it would not have had the same compelling emotional realness. Not only does the content, but the structure as well, depicts a sad life of a struggling, sad young girl.
I feel that this is actually due to the style. Not only did I find myself reading for plot, I also wanted to see what creative writing aspects Ellen Hopkins would use to portray in her book. I would read a page like it was supposed to and then understand where the plot was going, then I would read the page looking for these amazing aspects to create depth of the character. This writing style showed where the story was going all while harnessing the raw emotions of Bree/Kristina and what she was going through. This just blew my mind. I have never read a book that had a double meaning like this. I could read this book over again and find a new way to look at just one page. I have never read a book like this, I was completely infatuated with it. We see how the style of the poems depicted exactly how Bree/Kristina was thinking and/or feeling. At one point in the book, she is talking about how her old life used to be structured and in order and that showed in the way that the poem was set up on the page(Pg 405-406). The following page, Bree talks about her current life and how it has no order, which we also see with the way that the words were scattered on the page(Pg 407). There is also a time when she is on the plane going home, we see how crank is affecting her by the set up of the words on the page (The words are making a 'V' shape to show the ups and downs of the high. Pg 180). Also many pages the words are broken so that there is a space between them. If you read it like how a book is supposed to, you understand it, but if you read one poem alone, another message is portrayed (Pg 213-214, 234-235, 256, 286, 390, and so many more).
Without the structure of this book, I feel that it would not have had the same compelling emotional realness. Not only does the content, but the structure as well, depicts a sad life of a struggling, sad young girl.
This was me when I first read it too. I just knew that I was going to read only a couple of pages, and minutes later I'm almost in the middle of the book lol. I agree that there are many meanings in this novel and that is what makes it a great read because you don't have to be on drugs to relate, but there are other issues that a person can connect with.
ReplyDeleteSharissa, I completely agree and understand how you put the book down at first. It was a really tough read for me at first too. It took me a while to understand the structure and at first I didn't like how you could read both sides separately, but eventually came to accept and even enjoy it. Good to know I'm not the only one who went through this process with Crank!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you completely. I actually loved that this book is written in poems and I did the same thing while reading. The pages that were written in different styles I tried to read in different ways to see if it produced new sentences or different meanings. I also think the back and forth between Kristina and Bree was interesting as well.
ReplyDeleteReading through all of our blogs, I think we all just had to put the book down and go through a couple of class periods to really get interested in it. Once we did, we took off. It is funny to see were all the same when it comes to this book. I agree that the plot is intriguing, but it is her style that makes us want to read more and more. The structure is so important to the plot and really represents Hopkins' style. Great blog!
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