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Parents' Guide to

Crank

By Kate Pavao, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

First in controversial verse poetry series about addiction.

Book Ellen Hopkins Poetry 2004
Crank Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Community Reviews

age 16+

Based on 5 parent reviews

age 18+

Keep your kids away from this book

I love reading and all my kids do, but I found that my 11 girl had borrowed Glass, the second book from a friend, and perhaps we did not notice the first one, but I grabbed it to read the inside cover! Boy was she freaked out and defensive, and for good reason!!! Narcissistic, drug taking girl who's totally screwed up, sex and all that crap, and this book makes it look so alluring and cool with its hipster prose!! Adults can argue that this is a cautionary tale, and an 18 year old or a college student might get it, but beware if your 11 year old daughter and her friends are secretly sharing this book!!
age 18+

What was the point?

I literally threw this book in the trash after I finished reading it. I love books and never have done that before - this book is such garbage I couldn't risk any of my students or my daughter reading it. I just don't get the point of it. The things that bugged me are: -the way it was written; all the weird fonts and formats gave me a headache. -the fact that main character suffers no consequences for her actions - seriously? Her friends, family, teachers...no one knew she was using? No one held her accountable? She even managed to use during and unplanned pregnancy and her child was perfect? Yes, that's what we want to advertise to teenagers. You can use, get raped and pregnant, and there will be no consequences - emotional or physical! This is a sad story, and I'm sure that it happens, but I don't understand why this is marketed for a YA audience. There is no moral - no purpose other than "look what happened to me." What can a teenager gain from reading this? Basically this book teaches that it is ok to do drugs because there are no consequences - even when "bad" stuff happens to you other people will clean up your mess and you'll still end up on top. That's a dangerous message. Kids today are confused enough about drugs and sex.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (5 ):
Kids say (24 ):

It's no wonder that this book has been such a hit with teen readers: The free verse makes for a fast read, and the details are full of drama. As Kristina gets deeper into drugs, she even injects crank -- and later discovers she is pregnant. But while this is a cautionary tale, this book will leave more of an imprint than an after-school special about drug abuse. Partly, this is because of the open ending in which Kristina has still not decided if she can live drug free, even with all that she now has to live for -- including a baby of her own. Parents who are concerned about the mature material might consider reading along with their teens so they can be better prepared for questions and discussions.

Book Details

  • Author: Ellen Hopkins
  • Genre: Poetry
  • Book type: Fiction
  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster
  • Publication date: October 1, 2004
  • Publisher's recommended age(s): 14 - 14
  • Number of pages: 544
  • Last updated: July 12, 2017

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