Crank

Crank by Ellen Hopkins

I sometimes turn my nose up at Young Adult literature. Don't get me wrong. There are plenty of excellent titles down there. I've read them and loved them. But when I am reading the reviews from a magazine and a title is suggested for 9th-12th, I always try to find what makes it unsuitable for younger kids rather than accept that the reading level is that of a high schooler. What I mean by this is that I look for sex, drugs, and homosexuality. I might have to read several reviews to find it, but I usually succeed.

Yes, I'm a juvenile literature snob. Madeleine L'Engle is quoted as saying ''I never write for any age group in mind. ... When you underestimate your audience, you're cutting yourself off from your best work.'' She also said “You have to write whichever book it is that wants to be written. And then, if it’s going to be too difficult for grownups, you write it for children.” Successful children's books pull it off with out the taboo and sensationalistic.

So what does Crank have? 3 parts drugs, 2 parts sex, and a pinch of homosexuality. Add a tablespoon each of violence and rape. And now let me sell it.

This book is based upon a true story – the story of the author's daughter. This is a book written by the Mom hoping to help her family and save someone else's. Many of the characters ring true because they are based upon real people.

With over 500 pages of free verse, I devoured it in the course of two days. I could not put it down. I ate and read. I walked and read. I read in stolen moments and during commercials.

I was particularly impressed with the author's ability to narrate the book in the voice of her daughter. It could not have been easy to view herself and write about herself in her daughter's voice. It is not a pretty picture.

I would want to share with my daughter how very dangerous drugs are and how very quickly they can not only ruin, but run your life. Very hard to share without personal experience. The book does an incredible job of showing how a very normal, intelligent teenager can get caught in an unexpected downward spiral. It could have very easily been me … That's a frightening thought.

More frightening for me is how spot on the girls three "boyfriends" are. I've met them in high school and college. Multiple times, unfortunately. For me, they more than ring true. They are blaring horns. I would much rather share this book with my daughter so that the flags go up when she meets such young men, than for her to read this book later, like I did, and wonder why she wasn't warned.

It is so easy to identify with this young girl from a broken family. She is in need of love and since she isn't getting it at home, she goes in search of it. She finds a substitute who provides her with affirmations she's never been given before. And she follows the White Rabbit. But books aren't her escape. The Monster, drugs, is.

Not preachy. Horrible and Hopeful. Ugly and Beautiful. Educational. For when they won't listen to us.