Crank - 01 (23 page)

that “addiction” is much more

than a buzzword.

Discovering

how very much it applied

to my “me first” psyche.

Struggling

not to give in to inner voices

much stronger than my own.

Winning

most of the time, gritting my

teeth and “just saying no.”

Losing

in those moments

when the world

I’d created for myself

closed in around me.

Happy Endings

I’d like to give you one.

But I’m not really sure

how this story ends myself.

Being a mother is hard

A lot harder than I imagined.

My baby boy is beautiful.

I sense an Old Soul within him.

But he cries a lot and he

doesn’t really sleep like a

newborn should. No lectures,

okay? I accept my part.

I watch my mom with my son,

loving him, as she must have

loved me. She’s patient when

he cries. She paces him to sleep.

I wish I could be like that. But

I’m only 17.1 feel like life is passing

me by as I stand here on the deck,

listening to him fuss inside.

Sometimes I want to curl up in

a ball and roll away. Sometimes

I just want to die. I only know one

thing that can make me laugh again.

Crank is more than a drug.

It’s a way of life. You can

turn your back. But you can

never really walkaway.

The monster will forever speak

to me. And today,

it’s calling me out the door.

A Reading Group Guide to
Crank
by Ellen Hopkins

PREREADING QUESTIONS

Why might teens begin using drugs like meth even though they know the dangers?

How might drug addiction impact a family?

What scars might drug addiction leave for generations to come?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

How would you describe Bree? Is this the same way that Kristina would describe her? Where did Bree come from?

For Kristina, what is the lure of crystal meth? What does it provide for her? What does it take away?

Describe Kristina's mother, father, and stepfather. Are they in any way responsible for her addiction? Do you think that there's anything else they could have—or should have—done to help her?

Why is Kristina drawn to Adam? To Chase? To Brendan? In what ways are these three similar and in what ways are they different? How does Kristina's relationship with each one affect her?

Which boy is most harmful to her?

Why does Kristina decide to keep her baby? What reasons might she have had for giving it up? Do you think she made the right decision?

Why does Kristina always call crank "the monster"? How do you think her renaming of the drug affects her attitude toward it and her sense of responsibility regarding it? Are there other things or people in the story that get renamed? How does this affect the way in which they are regarded?

Kristina sometimes refers to herself and her life before drugs as boring and worthless, yet at other times she seems to regard it as something very precious. What attitude do you think is closest to her true feelings? Do you think those around her would agree with her assessment?

The author chose to write this story in verse. Why do you think that she chose this format? What effect does this have on how you feel about the characters and events?

What is the overall message of this book? Do you think the story will act as a deterrent for teens who are considering drugs?

ACTIVITIES

As we can see in
Crank,
poetry allows us to express ourselves in new and creative ways. Write a poem or series of poems about something that has happened in your life

Choose a drug—crystal meth or some other drug that you've heard of—and research its effects on the user. Find out exactly what it does in the body, how long the side effects last, how much it typically costs, and any other pertinent facts.

Kristina has an alter ego who allows her to be more careless and daring. What would your alter ego be like? Choose a name, list all the character traits s/he would have, and list the things that s/he could help you do. Imagine what your life would be like if you acted more like your alter ego.

Kristina's baby, like many children of addicts, cries a lot and needs to be held more than other babies. Find out if your local hospital will allow you to volunteer to hold babies born addicted. If your community has no such programs, perhaps you could consider volunteering at a local drug clinic or an anti-drug program at your school.

Write a short story about what you think will happen to Kristina and her baby after the events depicted in the book.

There are several other books about teenage drug addiction, including
Go Ask Alice
and
Smack.
Read one of these other books and compare it to
Crank
.

Crank guide written by Cory Grimminck, Director, Hillsdale Community Library, Hillsdale, MI.

Find out what happens to Kristina
next in Ellen Hopkins’s

Walking with the Monster

Life

was radical

right after I met

the monster.

Later, life

became

harder,

complicated.

Ultimately,

a living

hell,

like swimming

against a riptide,

walking

the wrong

direction in the fast

lane of the freeway,

waking

from sweetest

dreams to find yourself

in the middle of a

nightmare.

You Know My Story

Don’t you? All about

my dive

into the lair of the monster

drug some people call crank.

Crystal. Tina. Ice.

How a summer visit

to my dad sent me

into

the arms of a boy—a

hot-bodied hunk, my

very first love, who led

me down the path to

insanity.

How I came home

no longer

Kristina Georgia

Snow, gifted high

school junior, total

dweeb, and

perfect

daughter, but

instead a stranger

who called herself Bree.

How, no matter

how hard

Kristina

fought her, Bree

was stronger, brighter,

better equipped to deal

with a world where

everything moved at light

speed, everyone mired

in ego. Where “everyday”

became

another word

for making love with

the monster.

It Wasn’t a Long Process

I went to my dad’s in June, met Adam

  the very first day. It took some time

    to pry him from his girlfriend’s grasp.

      But within two weeks, he introduced

        me to the monster. One time was all

          it took to want more. It’s a roller-

            coaster ride. Catch the downhill

              thrill, you want to ride again,

                enough to endure the long,

                  hard climb back up again.

                  In days, I was hooked on

                  Adam, tobacco, and meth,

                in no particular order. But

               all summer vacations must

              end. I had to come home to

              Reno. And all my new bad

             habits came with me. It was

            a hella speed bump, oh yeah.

            Until I hurt for it, I believed

            I could leave the crystal behind.

            But the crash-and-burn was more

            than I could take. When the jet landed,

             I was still buzzed from a good-bye binge.

              My family crowded round me at the airport,

               discussing summer plans and celebration dinners,

                and all I wanted to do was skip off for another snort.

                 Mom kept trying to feed me. My stepfather, Scott, kept

                  trying to ask questions about my visit with Dad. My

                   big sister, Leigh, wanted to talk about her new girlfriend,

                    and my little brother, Jake, kept going on about soccer.

                     It didn’t take long to figure out I was in serious trouble.

Not the Kind of Trouble

You might think I’m

talking about. I was pretty

sure I could get away with

B.S.ing Mom and Scott.

I’d always been such a good

girl, they wouldn’t make the

jump to “bad” too quickly.

Especially not if I stayed cool.

I wasn’t worried about

getting busted at school

or on the street. I’d only just

begun my walk with the monster.

I still had meat on my bones,

the teeth still looked good.

I didn’t stutter yet. My mouth

could still keep up with my brain.

No, the main thing I worried

about was how I could score

there, at home. I’d never even

experimented with pot, let alone

meth. Where could I go?

Who could I trust with my

money, my secrets? I couldn’t

ask Leigh. She was the prettiest

lesbian you’ve ever seen. But

to my knowledge she had

never used anything stronger

than a hearty glass of wine.

Not Sarah, my best friend since

fourth grade, or any of my

old crowd, all of whom lived by

the code of the D.A.R.E. pledge.

I really didn’t need to worry,

of course. All I had to do

was leave things up to Bree,

the goddess of persuasion.

Before I Continue

I just want to remind you

that turning into Bree

was a conscious decision

on my part. I never really

liked Kristina that much.

Oh, some things about her

were pretty cool—how she

was loyal to her family

and friends. How she loved

easily. How she was good

at any and all things artistic.

But she was such a brain,

with no sense of fashion

or any idea how to have fun.

So when fun presented

itself, I decided someone

new would have to take charge.

That someone was Bree.

I chose her name (not sure where

I got it), chose when to become her.

What I didn’t expect was discovering

she had always been there, inside of me.

How could Kristina and Bree

live inside of one person?

How could two such different halves

make up the whole of me?