Before I read the book, I was not sure about how I was going to like it. The cover seemed different and it was not something that I would have gravitated towards if picking my own book. However, I was very impressed at how well the book held my attention and how quickly I read the book.
I really liked how the author not only had crank represent a drug, but crank also seemed to be another character in the novel. For me, this helped to solidify the idea that this drug played a part in almost every area of her life.
Another part of the book that at first I was disappointed in, but later appreciated, was the ending. I was expecting Kristina to have her baby, come clean and represent more of a success story. While some of this was true (she had the baby and had, for now, come clean) it did not seem as if she would remain a drug-free person. Unfortunately, this is normally the case in real life. Many teenagers who use drugs end up in situations such as this and they often battle with this monster for the rest of their lives.
I think that this ending was very appropriate because I think that it teaches students the reality of things- you cannot just start using addicting drugs and quit when you want to. The fact that Chase went off to college and Kristina was home, raising a baby on her own hits home for many high schoolers- they don't want to be the ones sitting at home while their friends are away enjoying college.
I would definitely recommend this book for high school students. I think that it would be something easy for them to relate too and I think that it also teaches them that choices have consequences and they cannot always be fixed easily.
I agree! I was initially disappointed in the ending too, but then I realized that this is based on true events, and that is how her life worked out. Happy endings are not realistic, so I accepted the way it ended.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I also thought that the pregnancy was almost used in a way to just wrap up the story. I mean, I know that is what really happened, but I almost feel like it was just thrown in there to kind of make an end. Maybe if it were written differently I would have liked it more. I felt like there wasn't closure, but maybe that is why there is a second book.
My point is, that was a wordy way of saying I had mixed feelings about the ending.
I think one of the main reasons this book is so controversial and on the banned book list in school libraries is because of the ending. Schools want books with happy endings where the teenager learns her lesson, quits her bad habits, and lives happily ever after. Hopkins doesn't do that in this book. She shows, like you said, the reality of things when Kristina uses crank twice during her pregnancy and then seems to be leaving to do it again at the very end of the book. I think that is what scares the schools and librarians enough to ban it.
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