Book #2 and #3

Okay, I blew through these next two books, and since they go hand in hand, I thought I would write about them together. I read Crank and Glass by Ellen Hopkins. If you can't guess, they are about crystal meth. That is not why I read them--no worries, I am not a user--but I read them because I like to know what things are out there that my students (real or imagined) are reading or may be reading or could be reading. These books are written as poems. Each new "chapter" is a new poem that flows together amazingly well to create this story.

The story itself is about a 17-year-old girl who takes a walk with the monster and falls further and further into its' clutches. At the end of the first book, she has a son. At the end of the second...just read it! I am still thinking about this story later. You get sucked in as fast as meth sucks people in. It is so real--so vivid. I can't imagine what life must be like for someone who has succombed to the call of this drug. Then you read that this story is semi-autobiographical because Hopkins daughter took a similar walk with the monster, and her family is still healing from the hurt. Such a scary thing.

I loved these books and I hated them. The story is brilliantly told, while the tale hurts to read, but I had to keep reading. I had to know how it would end. If you choose to read it...call me after! I still need to talk about it.