Crank

            Crank by Ellen Hopkins is about a girl named Kristina, (also know as Bree) who was dragged down by the "monster", Crank. Crank is a street/slang term for crystal meth. On the first page of crank, Kristina says,
                              
                                Life was good
                                before I
                                met
                                                                  the monster.
                                After,
                                life
                                                                  was great.
                                At
                                least
                                                                  for a little while.

This is a very meaningful poem in this book because it shows us the journey of crank. Life is good before the monster comes along, but then it's great. But only for a little while. While reading crank, I was actually disturbed by a lot of what was happening. I couldn't believe the effect it can have on a person's mind, family, and body. It takes them to a whole other planet, where nothing matters, except knowing when they're going to get high again. So does lack of confidence and love lead you to foolish, destructive things?

             Kristina was never a very confident person. She always felt like the odd, ugly one. Until she reached high school, and boys actually started to give her attention; and girls wanted to be her friend. Kristina loved the new reaction she got from guys and girls. They thought she was beautiful, confident, and a leader. But on the inside she was just lonely, insecure, and wanted to be loved. Kristina never wanted to go back to how things used to be, so she made up Bree. Bree is everything she ever wanted to be, and represented the new her. Bree was fun, carefree, and someone everyone wanted to be friends with. Unlike Kristina. She became so infatuated with Bree, she forgot who she really was. She wasn't confident in herself, so she was very vulnerable and became involved with crank.
           
             Kristina's mom and dad are divorced. So she always longed for a guy to give her the love she missed from her father. However, she chose all the wrong guys. Brendan, is a guy she met, who she did crank with. He eventually winded up raping her. This shows how addicts surround themselves with the wrong people while doing drugs. They're not in the right state of mind, and don't really care about who they're around. Until something tragic like getting raped happens. Even that wasn't enough to scare Kristina into stop doing drugs.

             This book really changed my opinion on addicts and drugs. Addicts are people that have a problem. They can't control their addiction without professional help. They become a friend of the monster. At first, they think the monster's their best friend. That it'll always be there to cheer you up. But sooner or later, they find out that the monster is only dragging them down the path of self destruction. But the monster is clever. He catches you and puts you in a trap before you can realize this, and for most people by the time they do it's already too late. I always said that I would never try drugs ever in my life, and after reading crank it made me realize that doing so is probably one of the best decisions I could ever make.