Today’s guest post from Hayley:

When reading Crank it’s easy to see why it it’s been banned in so many places. While I certainly don’t agree with the banning, this is not a book that would appeal to those who think sex, drugs, lying, fighting, pregnancy and swearing have no place in young adult literature.

Crank is a clear cut tale of good girl gone bad. While on a three week holiday to visit her father, Kristina meets local boy, Adam, who introduces her to crank: a form of methamphetamine. She quickly becomes addicted to the drug and takes her addiction back home where her stable life begins to unravel.

There is so much to this story and the way it’s written. I can’t honestly say that Kristina is always likable, but this is only a result of her addiction. Underneath is a sweet girl with mountains of potential. The story is loosely based on Hopkins daughter’s crystal meth addiction and because of that it feels completely based in reality; particularly in the breakdown of Kristina’s relationship with her mother. The themes are so relevant to many teens and Hopkins isn’t afraid to go beyond the usual light dramas found in young adult novels.

Much of the hype surrounding Crank comes from the unusual format Hopkins uses. This is a novel written in verse. The author plays with space on the page and throws some grammatical rules out the window.

An example? The blurb:

                  Life was good
                  before I
                  met

                                  the monster

                                  After,
                                  life

                                                  was great,

                                                  At
                                                  least

                                                                    for a little while.

I’m still in two minds about the format. The book lover in me wants to cheer that a book for teens has been written in verse and is popular. However, I had to admit, I found it tiring at times. About halfway through I started to miss the detail that traditional prose gives you. Free verse means that the writing, while tight, is sparse. At points I felt like I was racing through Kristina’s life because there were just so few words.

Will I be reading either of the follow up novels; Glass and Fallout? Absolutely. Hopkins’ writing is too gritty to turn away from.

Rating: 4/5 Worms

Buy Crank on Amazon here

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