[Review] Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Crank by Ellen Hopkins
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderrly Books
Publishing Date: Oct 1, 2004
Format: Audio CD
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

Synopsis 

In Crank, Ellen Hopkins chronicles the turbulent and often disturbing relationship between Kristina, a character based on her own daughter, and the "monster," the highly addictive drug crystal meth, or "crank." Kristina is introduced to the drug while visiting her largely absent and ne'er-do-well father. While under the influence of the monster, Kristina discovers her sexy alter-ego, Bree: "there is no perfect daughter, / no gifted high school junior, / no Kristina Georgia Snow. / There is only Bree." Bree will do all the things good girl Kristina won't, including attracting the attention of dangerous boys who can provide her with a steady flow of crank.

My Review

I finally read a book by Ellen Hopkins! I've heard really good things about her novels, and have always wanted to read one. I borrowed the audio version of Crank from my library and listened to it while I was traveling through Italy and Greece on my honeymoon. I really prefer to read books as opposed to listening to them, but I enjoyed listening to this time. 

Kristina, aka Bree, seems like a pretty typical teenager when the book starts. She doesn't really know her dad, though she's got a fairytale image of him in her mind. She begs her mom to let her visit him, and when she does, her life changes forever. She meets a boy who introduces her to crystal meth, or crank as its sometimes known on the streets. Pretty soon, she's spiraling out of control and will do anything to get her hands on more. And while I've never done drugs, or been tempted to, its not impossible to identify with Kristina as a character. 

I've read some reviews of this book (after I finished it) of people who didn't like it because they couldn't identify with Kristina because she uses drugs and "had no reason to." One reviewer even said Kristina had a good life, so she had no reason to start; things weren't that bad for her besides a crappy dad. That makes it seem like a person can only do drugs because they have a crappy life. What about people who have everything they could possibly need and want and a great family? Are they 'not allowed' to do drugs because they have a good life? Or if someone has a crappy home life, they should be the ones doing drugs? I don't condone doing/taking drugs by any means, and I don't think its an answer to anything, but I don't think you can say one person has more of a right to start doing drugs that someone else. Does that make sense? It does in my head, but maybe not one I wrote it. 

I wasn't surprised by some of the things that happened in this book simply because of the content. But it still made me really sad listening to it, and I just wanted to help Kristina so much. The ending, however, was a bit of a surprise to me. I can't talk about it too much because it would definitely have some spoilers, but it was just surprising! 

I'm really glad I was finally able to read a book by Hopkins. I think she wrote this story beautifully, and I can't wait to read more! Glass is the next book in the series, followed by Fallout. I actually didn't know much about this book when I started it, and I didn't know it was a series until just a few minutes ago! Definitely going to grab the next two as soon as I can! I want to know what happens in Kristina's life! 

Other Books In This Series

Stacking the Shelves 11.7.14

 

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga @ Tynga's Reviews. Its all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, whether physical or virtual books. This means you can include books you buy in physical stores or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts, and of course, ebooks! Tynga posts this meme on Saturdays, but you can post on any day that works best for you! Check out the guidelines by visiting Tynga's blog! 

Bought

What books have you added to your shelves?! Have you read any of these books? 

Wedding and Honeymoon Adventures

So for those of you who follow my blog, you might have noticed that I've been a little absent the last month or so. But I have a good reason, I promise! Almost three weeks ago (October 18), I got married!!! Our day was absolutely perfect and I couldn't have asked for anything more! It was a perfect fall Saturday, a little chilly, but sunny and full of color. We got married near my hometown in Wisconsin at a cute little chapel. My father-in-law performed our ceremony and we had a very large wedding party -- 17 bridesmaids, groomsmen, and an usher. The day went by so incredibly fast, and I wish we could do it all over again (without all the planning and money, of course!). But at the same time, I'm very glad to have everything settle down a little bit and get back into our normal lives (:

(c) Brittany Geise Photography

Two days after our wedding, we started our amazing honeymoon by flying to Rome, Italy! We were there for 3 days, then took a train to Florence, where we stayed another 3 days. After that, we took another train to Venice, staying 2 days, and finally took a flight to Athens, Greece to finish up our trip! It was an amazing honeymoon, but it definitely wasn't very smooth and took quite a bit of patience...

On our way to Italy, we had a layover in Germany for a few hours. Well, when we got to the airport and went to find our new gate, we learned the airline was on strike and wouldn't be able to fly out. After freaking out for a few minutes (we were in a foreign country unable to understand their language at all!), we were able to speak with someone to change our flights. I was a little worried we'd have to fork over the additional money for new flights, but thankfully not. So, instead of flying directly to Rome after that, we flew from Frankfurt to Milan, and Milan to Rome. Because of the flight change, however, we knew we were going to miss our Segway tour that night. We were a little disappointed, but there wasn't anything we could do about it at that point. Unfortunately, we're not nearly close with begin done with the problems on our trip....

We may have landed in Rome.... but my luggage didn't.... I wasn't very happy because I didn't pack any clothes in my carry-on, nor did I pack any in my husband's bag (which did make it to Rome). After a long time with customer service, we finally left and went to our hotel. It was getting late, so we just hung out in the hotel and went to bed early. The next day we had our tour of Ancient Rome, which was absolutely amazing! I improvised with clothing and wore a pair of my husband's boxers as shorts, and one of his shirts! Not the prettiest I've ever looked, but it was still a lot of fun (: We were able to reschedule our Segway tour and things went smoothly the rest of our time in Rome.

Now moving on to Florence. It was a beautiful city and I really loved it! The first day and night my husband and I had some free time with nothing scheduled, so we just walked around on our own and found the beautiful Il Duomo. We had a really good dinner in front of the dome and enjoyed our relaxing night together. My husband loves the dome because its a main setting in one of his favorite video games, Assassin's Creed. We're definitely a nerdy couple! The next morning... disaster struck... my husband came down with the flu pretty bad. So we had to skip one of our tours and stayed in the hotel room all day. He couldn't move without getting sick. I felt so bad for him, and he felt awful because he didn't want us to miss tours. The next day, he was a little better, and we were able to go on the tour we missed the day before (Tuscany day tour, which included the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and it was beautiful!!). Because of my husband being sick the day before, we did end up missing one tour without begin able to reschedule it. Tuscany was gorgeous and I thought the troubles were going to be over. Needless to say, they weren't...

That night, I woke up with the flu.. Unfortunately for me, we were traveling the next day to Venice, so I couldn't really stay in bed and relax. When we got to Venice, I was still feeling pretty awful, so we again missed a tour - a gondola serenade. I felt pretty bad that we missed things, but again, there wasn't much we could do. The next morning I was feeling okay - at least well enough to make it to our tours. We rescheduled the gondola ride for that night and it was so beautiful and romantic. It was quite expensive, but I would certainly recommend everyone to take one with their significant other (: 

The good news is that was pretty much the last trouble we had! We finished Venice without any more problems, and made it to Greece. Athens was pretty fun, and we were able to see the ancient ruins, including Zeus' temple, the Parthenon, and Athena's temple. The next day we went on a day cruise to three islands - Hydra, Poros, and Aegina - which were very pretty and peaceful! The next morning we got up for our day full of flying! If I remember correctly, we were flying for a total of about 14 hours! Needless to say, we were both exhausted when we got home!

Despite the very bumpy road of our honeymoon, I wouldn't trade it for the world. Paul and I had an amazing time traveling together and really can't wait to do more in our life together! (I'm hoping Ireland will be next :)) 

*Book Blast* False Start by Barbara Valentin

False Start

by: Barbara Valentin

Synopsis

Mattie Ross is probably the last person who should be doling out good counsel to anyone on anything. Still smarting after being left at the altar two years earlier, she is strapped with debt, has sworn off men and, despite her well-proportioned figure, remains haunted by childhood taunts of "Fatty Mattie." But to her publisher at the Chicago Gazette and readers, she is their latest advice columnist, The Plate Spinner, a self-assured working parent to adorable fake children and is a multi-tasking savant.

Enter Nick Derosa, the twin brother of Mattie's cold-footed fiancé who is trying to get back on his feet after his brother steals his identity and implicates him in an illegal investment scheme. But thanks to Nick's legendary running career, the publisher of the Chicago Gazette proposes a wager: If Nick can train an out-of-shape working parent to compete in the Chicago Marathon, he will contribute enough to help Nick launch his own non-profit running club for homeless kids.

Suddenly "Fatty" Mattie and Nick are thrust together as the most unlikely of pairs and under a deadline to put their trust issues aside and avoid another false start in their lives. 

Buy Links:   Amazon    B&N   Smashwords   iTunes

Kobo    Gemma
Halliday Publishing

Excerpt

Nick DeRosa. Why Eddie chose his estranged twin brother to be his best man over any of his esteemed colleagues at his LaSalle Street investment firm, she had no idea. The awkwardness of their greeting the night before was matched only by its impropriety. Mistaking him for Eddie, Mattie had pulled his face down to hers and, with all of the exuberance of a jubilant bride-to-be, planted a passionate kiss on his surprised lips.

That he had the same chiseled Mediterranean features and wore his chestnut-colored locks in the same style as his brother’s was hardly her fault.

That he kissed her back was his.

Hours later, as she was leaving the rehearsal dinner, Nick managed to confirm, if not worsen, the bride-to-be’s opinion of him when she overheard him ask Eddie, “Why do you want to marry somebody like Mattie?”

Somebody like Mattie.

Taken out of context, that question could be twisted any number of malicious ways and twist it Mattie did. But, given that she was less than a day away from becoming Mrs. Eduardo DeRosa, co-owner of a custom-built Gold Coast penthouse and a cherry red Ferrari, she simply added the insult to the already long list of offenses Nick had incurred against her over the years and filed it away for future reference.

           

About the Author

Barb is a freelance writer, over-scheduled parent, and connoisseur of fine chocolate. A second-generation journalist, her work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune and its affiliates. The exploits of her five boys provided fodder for her column, The Plate Spinner Chronicles, a long-running feature in the Chicago Tribune, which snagged her a runner-up spot in an Erma Bombeck Humor Contest. A member of RWA's Windy City chapter, she still dreams of the day when her to-do list includes "Send NY Times book critic thank you note" and "Accept Godiva's request to be a taste-tester."

Contact links

email: spinninginburbs@gmail.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Platespinner

Twitter: https://www.facebook.com/Platespinner

GIVEAWAY!

$10 Amazon giftcard and ebook of False Start!

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October 2014 Wrap-Up

October 2014 Wrap-Up

Wow! I can't believe its already November! October absolutely flew by for me! Might have a little something to do with me getting married on the 18th and then going on my honeymoon to Italy and Greece! Eek! It was so much fun! (: I'll be posting something towards the end of this week or early next week about our amazing vacation, so keep your eyes open!

Although October was an amazing month for me personally, my blog suffered a little bit and I wasn't able to read nearly as much as I would like. Hopefully that will change now that we're home and can settle back down into our normal routine.

Book Reviews

Where There's Smoke by Jodi Picoult

Alex by Sawyer Bennett (Blog Tour)

Memes

Stacking the Shelves 10.4.14

Feature and Follow Friday 10.10.14

Top Ten Tuesday - Places Books Make Me Want to Visit

Other Posts

Gone Girl Movie Review

Home Libraries and Book Nooks

The Fault in Our Stars Movie Review

Non-Bookish Hobby

Happy Halloween!

Top Ten Tuesday 11.4.14

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the The Broke and the Bookish. Every week she posts an idea for a 'Top Ten' list relating to books, and encourages other book bloggers to respond and participate. All the details are listed on her site.

This week's question: Top ten books I want to reread!

1. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

2. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes 

3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

4. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

5. Addicted to You by Krista and Becca Ritchie

6. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

7. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

8. Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult

9. Harry Potter series

10. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

Stacking the Shelves 11.2.14

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga @ Tynga's Reviews. Its all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, whether physical or virtual books. This means you can include books you buy in physical stores or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts, and of course, ebooks! Tynga posts this meme on Saturdays, but you can post on any day that works best for you! Check out the guidelines by visiting Tynga's blog! 

Bought

Over the last year or two, I've realized that I love reading about this time period, so I like picking up anything involving it. I've never read anything by this author, but depending on this book, I might grab some more! This book was only $2; I couldn't pass it up! 

A book set in the 1100's that sounds pretty interesting. More kings and queens and again, a really cheap buy! 

Two books in one: Opposites Attract and The Heart's Victory. I've always been a big Nora Roberts fan and haven't read this one yet, so I thought I'd add it to my library! 

This book has been on my TBR list for quite a while. I actually got the audiobook from the library recently, and was going to listen to it. But when I found it for a couple bucks at a used book store, I couldn't pass it up! I definitely prefer reading to listening, so it was a good buy! This book sounds so good! I can't wait to start reading (: 

And... 

Ok, it's not a book, but I was SO excited to come home and find this gem in my mailbox! I'm addicted to HGTV and since I don't have cable, the only time I get to watch it is when I'm working out at the gym. So I decided to sign up for the magazine (: It's much cheaper than subscribing to cable! haha I can't wait to start reading through this and getting a bunch of decorating and DIY ideas!!