Review Detail

Reader reviewed by mearley

Some of my edgier eighth graders can't get enough of Ellen Hopkins, and after reading Crank it is clear to see why.  The story of Kristina's journey into the world of drugs is as addictive as the drugs themselves.  Eventually Kristina does see that her habits have brought her to a place she doesn't want to be and she's turned into a person she no longer recognizes.  

Told in verse, the 500 pages go by quite quickly.  I wouldn't recommend this for many middle school students (there's a scene of rape, quite a bit of bad language, and of course the glamorized drug use), but more mature students could probably handle it.