Module 6 - Poetry, Drama, Media, & Graphic Novels
"Read three of the following selections:"
Plot Summary
Crank follows Kristina's descent into addiction. Sent to spend time with her father in Reno, Nevada for the summer, Kristina releases a repressed side of herself in her character of Bree. Romance buds from day one in Reno as Kristina runs into (insert name here) and feels instant attraction. He shows her the thrills of taking meth, and they spend the summer in and out of a complicated romance with each other and meth. When Kristina finally returns home to her mother and the rest of her family, she closets her desire for meth, but eventually finds an avenue through boys and friends to continue her affair with the monster. Her long distance relationship does not hold up, and she begins to explore other relationships. She later finds she is pregnant, but the math suggests that the father is a boy who raped her rather than the boy who becomes her boyfriend.Critical Analysis
Hopkins' poems pile layer upon layer within each single page. The free verse style leaves a lot of room for additional meanings to be inserted through the visual form or the lyrical forms. In many of the poems Hopkins will layer an additional meaning by distancing the last word or words from each verse and lining them up to the side. When read together, these last words take on their own meanings beneath or around the full text of their originating poem. For example, in the poem Introduction, the words set aside become, "I am. the face in the mirror only not. I swerved recklessly picked up speed to madness." The poem itself covers much more than just that, but the essence of the poem is distilled into those words and then set aside for convenience.Kristina's removal from her usual surroundings and placement in a new city with new people allows her to reinvent herself. This change of setting is essential for her character split. This Kristina/Bree dichotomy brings concrete form to the split that many teenagers may feel between who others think they are and who they feel they are. The unsavory characters which she falls in with in Reno are also essential to drag her into the drug scene. If she remained as Kristina in her hometown, she would continue with her existing connections and wouldn't be as likely to fall in with the wrong crowd because of her community ties. The drug connections she finds when she returns to her hometown are accessible to her because she has already become Bree and interacts with them on Bree's terms rather than as Kristina.
The purpose of this verse novel is very much to discourage teens from using drugs, and it is quite obvious in the way the events play out. The accidental pregnancy and lapses into using methamphetamines during the remainder of the pregnancy sets up the next novel to didactically describe the developmental problems for the child as a result of the mother's actions. The VOYA reviewer compares Crank to the rather didactic Go Ask Alice, but thinks "perhaps this more modern version will be more accessible to today's teens."
Bibliography
Hopkins, Ellen. Crank. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2010. ISBN 9781416995135.Reviews
From Kirkus:Hypnotic and jagged free verse wrenchingly chronicles 16-year-old Kristina's addiction to crank. Kristina's daring alter ego, Bree, emerges when "gentle clouds of monotony" smother Kristina's life—when there's nothing to do and no one to connect with. Visiting her neglectful and druggy father for the first time in years, Bree meets a boy and snorts crank (methamphetamine). The rush is irresistible and she's hooked, despite a horrible crank-related incident with the boy's other girlfriend. Back home with her mother, Kristina feels both ignored and smothered, needing more drugs and more boys—in that order. One boy is wonderful and one's a rapist, but it's crank holding Bree up at this point. The author's sharp verse plays with spacing on the page, sometimes providing two alternate readings. In a too brief wrap-up, Kristina keeps her baby (a product of rape) while Hopkins—realistically—offers no real conclusion. Powerful and unsettling.From Publishers Weekly:
Nonfiction author Hopkins pens her first novel, written in verse, introducing 15-year-old narrator Kristina, who reveals how she became addicted to crank, and how the stimulant turned her from straight-A student to drug dealer, and eventually a teen mom. On a court-ordered visit to see her slimy and long-absent dad, she meets-and is instantly attracted to-Adam, who sports a "tawny six pack,/ and a smile." Soon, Adam introduces her to "the monster" (there, she also unleashes a new personality, id-driven Bree). Her addiction grows, as does Bree's control. Readers get a vivid sense of the highs and lows involved with using crank ("I needed food, sleep,/ but the monster denied/ every bit of it"). Her life changes quickly: Soon she's dating two guys, both of whom use crank; says "Fuck you" to her mom, can't keep up with school, and loses her old friends. There are plenty of dramatic moments: The first time she does crank, for example, her dad joins her. That same night, she stumbles into a bad area and is almost raped, and Adam's girlfriend tries to kill herself. Later in the book, she does get raped and starts selling the drug for the Mexican Mafia. Readers will appreciate the creative use of form here (some poems, for instance, are written in two columns that can be read separately or together), and although the author is definitely on a mission, she creates a world nearly as consuming and disturbing as the titular drug.From VOYA:
Various styles of free verse and shape poems tell the story of Kristina, a quiet high school junior who, as with many teens, often feels like a stranger to herself and wants to test her limits. While visiting her deadbeat dad in Albuquerque, Kristina meets Adam and feels something stir, like a breeze blowing up off the evening sea. She says, My wind had awakened. To deal with these new and alien feelings, Kristina calls herself Bree and begins to think of herself as two separate people: Kristina is perfect, smart, and in control, but Bree gives her the courage to be wild, spontaneous, and a risk-taker. Adam introduces Kristina to crank or crack for the first time, and of course, she falls under its addictive and dangerous spell. After returning home to Reno, she tries to hide Bree from her family, but late nights out partying and long days sleeping off the effects soon raise their suspicions. The story reaches its climax when Kristina becomes pregnant as a result of being date-raped under the influence. Deciding to keep the baby is a courageous choice, but readers understand that Kristina's eternal struggle will be against the temptation of using crack. Although novels in verse are not new anymore, this one still works. Hopkins delivers a gritty, fast-paced read while effectively portraying the dangers of substance abuse without sounding pedantic or preachy. Teens will relate to Kristina's desire to experiment as well as her difficulty balancing conflicting feelings. Similarities to Go Ask Alice (Simon & Schuster, 1971) are undeniable, but perhaps this more modern version will be more accessible to today's teens.-Valerie Ott.From School Library Journal:
Seventeen-year-old Kristina Snow is introduced to crank on a trip to visit her wayward father. Caught up in a fast-paced, frightening, and unfamiliar world, she morphs into "Bree" after she "shakes hands with the monster." Her fearless, risk-taking alter ego grows stronger, "convincing me to be someone I never dreamed I'd want to be." When Kristina goes home, things don't return to normal. Although she tries to reconnect with her mother and her former life as a good student, her drug use soon takes over, leaving her "starving for speed" and for boys who will soon leave her scarred and pregnant. Hopkins writes in free-verse poems that paint painfully sharp images of Kristina/Bree and those around her, detailing how powerful the "monster" can be. The poems are masterpieces of word, shape, and pacing, compelling readers on to the next chapter in Kristina's spiraling world. This is a topical page-turner and a stunning portrayal of a teen's loss of direction and realistically uncertain future.-Sharon Korbeck, Waupaca Area Public Library, WIFrom Booklist:
Like the teenage crack user in the film Traffic, the young addict in this wrenching, cautionary debut lives in a comfortable, advantaged home with caring parents. Sixteen-year-old Kristina first tries crank, or crystal meth, while visiting her long-estranged father, a crank junkie. Bree is Kristina's imagined, bolder self, who flirts outrageously and gets high without remorse, and when Kristina returns to her mother and family in Reno, it's Bree who makes connections with edgy guys and other crank users that escalate into full-blown addiction and heartrending consequences. Hopkins tells Kristina's story in experimental verse. A few overreaching lines seem out of step with character voices: a boyfriend, for example, tells Kristina that he'd like to wait for sex until she is free from dreams of yesterday. But Hopkins uses the spare, fragmented style to powerful effect, heightening the emotional impact of dialogues, inner monologues, and devastating scenes, including a brutal date rape. Readers won't soon forget smart, sardonic Kristina; her chilling descent into addiction; or the author's note, which references her own daughter's struggle with the monster. --Gillian Engberg
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