Crank is one of the most depressing books ive ever read. The novel is loosely based on hopkins former meth addict daughter, who is portrayed in the novel as kristina georgia snow. The book chronicles the disturbing relationship between kristina and her monster. It is based loosely on the real life addictions of her daughter to crystal meth. Crank loses one star because there are a lot of times when it wasnt really a novel in verse but prose forced into the style of a poem. Crank s time before readers embark upon the forthcoming second story. Learning from crank, by ellen hopkins linda vigen phillips. At first she finds it freeing, but soon kristinas personality di.
We used to do coke, till just say no put the stuff out of reach. This book has so much going on that it is important for students to fully grasp everything. Happy banned books week i chose to exercise my freedom to read with crank by ellen hopkins. I know im making it sound very negative, but it is indeed one of the best books i have ever read. This study guide consists of approximately 46 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of crank. Crank one of the first stories i have ever seen that was written in poetry form. This is a story about a girl named kristen and one summer she goes to see her dad. Crank by ellen hopkins tells the story of a teenage girl who becomes addicted to crank, a form of methamphetamine.
As you study crank, look closely at each poem and think about how the free verse style reinforces themes, develops characters, and advances the storyline. Students finished the book within two days and could not stop raving about it to their peers, whom were all asking for a copy as well. The story starts with kristina being a shy, smart 15. This story of a teenager who becomes addicted to crank is a book that parents as well as teenagers should read. Ellen hopkins has created poetry for the modern mind. Awesome book ok so at first i wasent even going to read this book. Education so in my high school library, we have this crank series of poetry books by ellen hopkins crank, glass, a couple others i cant think of off the top of my head and the. Poetry can be a powerful narrative toolits not all sunshine and rainbows and shakespearean sonnets. There is one more bit of poetry to introduce that has become wildly popular, particularly with teenage girls.
As a poetry lover i had set my mind on reading this book, whether or not the plot was good. Introducing the character of kristina snow for the first time, it sees her dealing with the onset of addiction for the first time too. This bowling alley is where kristinas father worked. The text, crank, allowed them to see a different, more brutal, yet gentle flow, of writing. Turning point poems telling a story of a lesson learned through someone elses perspective. Every month is a good month to appreciate poetry, but in. It deals with drugs, sex, betrayal, and many other things that some people just cant handle reading about. Crank is a novel by ellen hopkins published in 2004. Ellen hopkins is a novelist who writes her books in the form of poetry. Feb, 20 this is my favourite poem in all of history. Still, this is a terrified read and i look forward to reading more by the author. Pdf crank book by ellen hopkins free download 537 pages.
Crank up the volume poem by paul warren poem hunter. They offer something entirely potent from the candid nature of their storytelling. That said, we here at shmoop would like to extend the following challenge. The novel crank is written in a form of free verse. The reason i love her so much is because her books are written in forms of poetry.
If youre a poetry lover, ellen hopkins is your new favorite author. And she smokes cigarettes, does ecstasy, smokes marijuana, and drinks coffee. Ellens other bestselling novels include burned, impulse, glass, identical, tricks, and the upcoming fallout. It was also the place where kristina first used crank. Hopkins has a unique way of telling her story, using lines of poetry instead of prose to convey the narration. Pablo neruda poems, quotations and biography on pablo neruda poet page. The first edition of the novel was published in 2004, and was written by ellen hopkins. But on a trip to visit her absentee father, she meets a boy who introduces her to crank. Does anyone know some amazing poems from the book crank by ellen hopkins. This opening poem sets up this first book, in addition to setting the tone and establishing hopkins free verse style, it establishes that drug. So, imagine my surprise when i started reading it and found myself sucked into the story to the point where i could not put this book down.
Read one of these other books and compare it to crank. She also buys and sells including from a drug gang. The audience reads about her family, relationship and drug addiction through poetry. Ellen hopkinss semiautobiographical verse novel, crank, reads like a go ask alice for the 21st century. Please tell me full poems or sites i can find them at. But everyone was talking about it and all my friends are like you got to read crank. This book follows a teen girl named kristina, who tries drugs only once and becomes addicted. Banned books week adopts authors anticensorship poem as. Could someone please tell me if they know any good poems from crank.
Tiptoe to my room, up a darkened hall, past closed doors, i wondered if id ever feel completely human again. This traverse may the poorest take without oppress of toll. Crank quotes by ellen hopkins goodreads share book. For the fans of peter, a final taster sits inside peter. If you like crank by ellen hopkins central rappahannock. It is narrative poetry in book form, all of which tell a full story by author ellen hopkins. Its amazing what a clear picture of kristinas unhappiness with her family situation comes out in the early poems of the book. Crank by ellen hopkins crank by ellen hopkins is a book loosely relating to hopkins daughters battle with her methamphetamine addiction. Although the effects are initially pleasant to kristina, the book graphically and poignantly discusses the toll methamphetamines make on a persons life. Furthermore, some of the poems in crank are stylized in such a mesmerizing way, it makes reading it an experience like no other.
There is no frigate like a book to take us lands away, nor any coursers like a page of prancing poetry. This book is so popular, i rarely see it on the shelf, so when i saw it in the return pile on friday, i grabbed it and checked it out. Two weeks ago i blogged about the impact that karen hesses book out of. May 28, 20 crank, ellen hopkinslove this book i think ive read it six. Wow was my initial reaction after reading this bookpoem. I believe having literary circles is a great way to get students more engaged in the book and in discussions. In it, she chronicles the turbulent and often disturbing relationship between kristina, a character based on her own daughter, and the monster, the highly addictive drug crystal meth, or crank.
Ellen hopkins is the bestselling author of the enormously popular crank trilogy of young adult ya books. Crank s time short poems and tiny thoughts is the third volume 29 short poems based upon the surreal, magical story peter. Kristina is inspired by hopkins own daughter, while the monster is crystal meth or crank. A reading group guide to glass by ellen hopkins about the book this sequel to crank 2004 picks up after kristina snow has given birth to her first son, hunter. In this case, its pretty clear that there was a lot of stuff kristina wasnt telling people even when she was still the good girl version of herself. When all else fails in this worldand it seems like it wont get betterjust find a place for you to be. This book gets very deep, and it really does pull at the heart. Kristina snorts it, smokes it, and even injects it. I read crank by ellen hopkins on a recommendation from my good friend staci over at life in the thumb. If you like crank by ellen hopkins by crrlstaff june 5, 2018 kristina snow is the perfect daughter, but she meets a boy who introduces her to drugs and becomes a very different person, struggling to control her life and her mind in crank. The main characters of this young adult, poetry story are kristina snow. As a parent, it was especially scary to see how quickly the monster claimed this young girl. I really wasnt sure that this type of novel told in verse form was anything i would like since normally its not my thing. Parents need to know that this is a free verse poetry book about a teen girls addiction to methamphetamine also known as crank.
Based on ellen hopkins reallife battle with her daughters addiction, crank gives a voice to the voicelessness of drug addiction. Mcelderry books, this was the title that would set the crank series up as a whole. From the book crank by ellen hopkins i recommend you read it, its a masterpiece. After, life was great, at least for a little while. The titles are crank, identical, glass, tricks, burned, fallout and impulse. Crank by ellen hopkins opens with kristina snow going to visit her neer do well father in arizona. Crank is a collection of poems that detail kristinas descent into drug addiction. Her poems move seamlessly from page to page with a satisfying. There are several other books about teenage drug addiction, including go ask alice and smack. Her first novel, crank, released in 2004 and quickly became a wordofmouth sensation, garnering praise from teens and critics alike. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 537 pages and is available in paperback format. Critics note that ellen hopkinss hypnotic and jagged free verse, plays with the spacing of the words on the page, forming her signature mirror poems. It is not a feel good book, and it just might leave you looking at your life in a new light.
Crank book by ellen hopkins official publisher page. Her dad is the deadbeat of all deadbeats, i mean he does drugs at the bowling alley he works at. This lesson was built for writingfix after being proposed by nnwp consultant jamie priddy at during our chapter books as mentor texts workshop for teachers t he intended mentor text to be used when teaching this online lesson is the chapter book crank by ellen. Does anyone know some amazing poems from the book crank by. Crank by ellen hopkins i read crank by ellen hopkins, which is a novel about love and addiction, and going to great lengths to feed the needs of the two. She lives with her family in carson city, nevada, where she has founded ventana sierra, a nonprofit youth housing and resource initiative. The sparse poetry conveys the power of the addiction so much more intensely than prose ever could.
Ellen hopkins crank quotes 20 quotes cleansed, chlorinated to the point of chemical peel, sore muscles relieved, i felt almost human again. Critics note that ellen hopkinss hypnotic and jagged free verse, plays with the. The book is required reading in many high schools, as well as many drug. Its written in freeform poetry style, so it can be a little difficult to read at times, but if you take your time with it, you. The poem has now been picked up as the manifesto for banned books week, the annual american celebration of the freedom to read, which kicks off on saturday and which will see hundreds of libraries. The first book of this series is called crank, with the next two following. At the very end, when it cuts off the last line, lauren is meant to say. Although she was an established poet, journalist, and freelance writer before the success of crank, hopkins is now an awardwinning ya author with five bestselling novels in verse for teens.