Crank by Ellen Hopkins

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Number of pages: 537
Another great book by Ellen Hopkins! I didn't like this one as much as Tricks but it was still wonderful. Ellen Hopkins' writing is so dark but it is also heartfelt and makes you really connect with the narrator and see what they are going through. So, this story follows a girl who becomes addicted to "crank" or meth. Throughout the book we see how Kristina personifies her inner bad girl to become "Bree", a girl with no shame, and this results in her downward spiral of addiction, depression, and a whole mess of other problems.
Whenever I read these books I always see how horrible these situations are and it makes you kind of realize that the world isn't perfect and stuff like this happens to teenagers and adults alike, every single day. Kind of a harrowing thought, but it happens. I would recommend these books to a lot of teenagers for that reason because it really shows you how catastrophic the consequences can be once you become addicted to drugs, or, really, anything else.
I also like how the books are written in a sort of verse that doesn't rhyme. If the books rhymed, I don't think I'd like them half as much but since they don't to me the words just look like they are put into funny shapes on the page. If this was written as a full story too, I think there would have to be a lot more detail, but since it's in verse the story is a little more loose, but it works.
Definitely would recommend this one for people 14 and up, because there are some sensitive subjects, but after the 14 year old mark this should be read by teens. Honestly, reading Ellen Hopkins' work, makes me think "I'll never make the same mistakes these kids did. I don't want that to be me." And I think that's part of the point Ellen Hopkins is trying to make with her work; to spread awareness and prevent other teens from getting messed up in the wrong stuff.
I can't wait to read the next two books because this one kind of ended at a cliff-hanger!
See you soon!
Paige

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Tricks by Ellen Hopkins

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 656
I can't tell you how good this book was (but I will try!). I've never read a book by Ellen Hopkins before, and this was excellent! I will definitely read her other books!
I've also never read a book in this format before, meaning, a book in poem. At first I kind of struggled with it and I had to get used to the way the text looked on the page (I know, weird) but after awhile I just flowed through the book.
There's this huge misconception that poems should rhyme, and this is one of those books that break that stereotype. The poems don't rhyme, but it creates a beautiful story about 5 teens.
So, the 5 teens are all going through an assortment of problems and throughout the story some will meet each other,  which is actually kind of cool the way that you can see how all of them intertwine. This book specifically deals with the problems of teen prostitution. I didn't know what a horrible problem this really was until I read this book. I think it does a great job of spreading awareness about tough issues that people don't really want to talk about. I would definitely say this is for older kids and kids who are at least in high school, because there was some stuff in here that even I was a little shocked by and once or twice I thought, "Wow, should I be reading this?". But then I realized something. Every teenager should read this book to help prevent the stuff that happens in here, from happening out there in the real world.
It's scary to think about, and even scarier to think that that could be you or one of your friends. It was really eye-opening I think. Parents may not want anyone to read this book, and I can see why, but at the same time I think teens should so they know of stuff that really happens outside of their own little perfect bubble. Life is not perfect and neither is anyone living in it and I hope that many people will read this to spread awareness and help prevent teen prostitution.
Let's just say this: it's worse than you think. Read this book. Find out.
See you soon!
Paige

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