Crank by Ellen Hopkins (Best Book I’ve Read in Quite Some Time)

Crank by Ellen Hopkins is the best book I have read in quite some time. To say I loved it would be an understatement.

From the back cover:

Life was good
before I
met
the monster.

After,
life
was great,

At
least
for a little while.

Kristina is the perfect daughter: gifted high school junior, quiet, never any trouble. Then she meets the monster: crank. And what begins as a wild ride turns into a struggle for her mind, her soul–her life.

You follow Kristina’s journey completely in free verse. You have to understand something about me. I don’t like poetry. I haven’t ever understood what I’ve read. I am a “just give it to me straight” kind of gal. I don’t want to have to look for a deeper meaning, I want to read and understand.

So poetry and I have always had a love/hate relationship. I love the art and appreciate those who understand it and those who can write it. I hate it in the sense I’ve tried for years to see what others see in it. I don’t get it. Until now.

Now, I was blown away. Now, I am adding Crank to my list of best books. Now, I am telling everyone about this book and how great it is.

I didn’t expect to like this book. I picked it up at the library, flipped through it, saw that it looked like poetry and thought why not. (I will often check out a book of poetry and try to will myself to understand it. It hasn’t happened yet.) Not only did I check out Crank, but I also picked up Impulse which is also written in free verse.

Any guesses to what I’m going to go do next? Read Impulse!

What’s your favorite book that you’ve read recently?
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Tagged as: Books, Crank, Ellen Hopkins