Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Crank by Ellen Hopkins
ISBN: 1416995137
Margaret K. Elderry, 2010
544 p.

Plot Summary: Katrina, or should we say her alter ego Bree, met a monster. That monster is meth, or crank. It all started during a visit to her less than reputable father in California. Under his lax supervision, Bree met a young man named Adam who introduced her to the yellow powdery substance. She struggles to keep the normal Kristina and the risk-taking dangerous Bree in check when she moves back home. There, she juggles a relationship with two teenage boys, one of whom rapes her and impregnates her. Now Kristina must conquer the monster, deal with her past, and accept the possibility of parenthood.

Critical Analysis: In the introduction, Hopkins says this story is not specifically based on true events, but writes that nothing that happens is at all impossible. Crank's narrative is written in free form poems that use page placement and line breaks to illustrate or accentuate certain words or diction rhythms. This makes the book a very quick read not only because of the controversial and admittedly enthralling subject matter but because the pages are not all text. On occasion, the separated words will spell out a sentence vertically and make sense horizontally in the narrative, which I found clever.

Crank is written to show teenagers the horrors of meth and substance abuse and is mostly successful. Bree makes some terrible decisions and as a reader it is painful to read and observe their consequences. On the other side, it felt as if Hopkins tacked on a happy ending. Bree turns back into Katrina seemingly out of nowhere. Methamphetamine is no joke and I'm sure the symptoms of withdrawal and the real life consequences are devastating, but this possibility is glossed over. I think the book still has the desired effect of showing teens the horrors of meth, but I wish Hopkins had stuck to her guns and taken a few more risks to show that its not so easy to dance with the devil then walk away.

Despite its subject matter, Hopkins manages to not sound preachy throughout Crank. It could have very easily turned into a D.A.R.E. pamphlet, but for the most part Hopkins plays a good documentary filmmaker and allows the reader to draw their own conclusions and opinions on the events that occur. Hopkins also manages to make the story interesting enough to want to keep reading it, I blew through it in only a few days.

Reader's Annotation: Bree shook hands with the monster. Now she and her alter ego Katrina must face the consequences.

Author Information: Hopkins inspiration for this story was partially based on her older daughter's addiction to crystal meth. She lives in Long Beach, California, one of the settings for Crank. She has also written a number of nonfiction books and has done freelance writing and journalism.

Source: http://www.ellenhopkins.com/Bio.html

Genre: drama, poetry, young adult, realistic fiction

Curriculum Ties: Crank could easily be implemented in a health class in which kids are learning about drugs. Although its fictionalized, it portrays believable outcomes of serious addictions.

Reading level: 14-18

Challenge Issues: depictions of drugs and teen sex with some consequence, its been challenged before

Challenge Defense Ideas: Become familiar with the book, keeping the challenge issues in mind. Refer to the library's collection development policy here. If possible, find other opinions from reviews, recommendations, or others who have read the book.

Why I included this title: Ellen Hopkins' books have cover appeal, they always look interesting and edgy. This is why I chose it to read. I had also been reading too many fantasy and science fiction books, so I wanted to include some different genres.

Cut by Patricia McCormick

Cut by Patricia McCormick
ISBN: 9780439324595
Push, 2002
160 p.

Plot Summary: 15 year old Callie finds herself in a treatment facility for girls with various self-destructive addictions. It turns out that Callie is a cutter. McCormick chronicles her experiences with other girls in group therapy and one on one sessions. Slowly, Callie comes to terms with the issues that have driven her to hurt herself physically. Through all of this, she discovers that her cuts are outer manifestations of guilt and conflicting emotions surrounding her family. Her brother has asthma and her mother is in frail health and neurotic, both of which she blames herself for. Callie has chosen to take on quite a few responsibilities, much more than your average fifteen year old. Through the course of the book, Callie works toward coming to terms with these issues and with her behavior and eventually wanting to get better. She must overcome one last hurdle before becoming fully healed.

Critical Analysis: The book is obviously well-researched and a lot of the different personalities come through the narrative, not just the girl’s afflictions. I found it to be a much more sympathetic view of treatment facilities than is often seen in popular media. Narrative-wise, the first person diary feel of Cut makes it feel like it is a teenage girl talking. Overall, I thought it was well-written.

One criticism that I have is that its not a terribly nuanced portrayal of what is essentially addiction. With few diversions, the narrative takes a very linear sick-to-well path. All of a sudden at the end of the book, Callie decides that she is fine and is going to get better. It just seemed that everything seems resolved and okay in a very short amount of time. It doesn’t impress upon the reader that Callie wants to take an active role in her own recovery, just that she wants to get better.

Overall, Cut featured a realistic tone without being depressing. Unfortunately it is a fairly superficial view of affliction; it doesn’t get to many of the features or personalitites of teenage girls who typically inflict themselves harm. On one hand, Cut doesn’t get preachy and bogged down in details but on the other hand it starts in the treatment facility so you don’t get a whole lot of background, especially for the secondary characters.

Reader’s Annotation: Callie finds herself in a treatment facility for girls who have problems with self-mutilation or “cutting.” It will be a long hard road out.

Author Information: McCormick is a journalism major with many award-winning novels that typically feature teens dealing with tough issues. Cut was named a Best Book for Teens by ALA.

Genre: realistic fiction, drama

Reading Level/Interest Age: 14-17

Booktalking Ideas: Ask about the difficulty of addiction. Did Cut portray it properly?

Curriculum Ties: addiction

Challenge Issues: sensitive topic, but well portrayed. None.

Challenge Defense Ideas: No challenge issues come to mind when reading this book. The best defense is having a strong knowledge of the book, so becoming familiar with it by reading reviews, finding other opinions, and reading it one's self is a good start. One could also refer to the library's collection development policy here.

Why I included this title: I included this title because it gives the teen reader credit for being able to confront these types of issues and knowing that these things happen and that they do sometimes require outside intervention. Well researched and relatable, compelling to read. It was also a very short book, so it’s an enjoyable and quick read.

Empty by Suzanne Weyn

Empty by Suzanne Weyn
ISBN: 0545172780
Scholastic, 2010
256 p.

Plot Summary: The setting is the near future and the world's finite oil resources have been depleted. Some of the top ten oil producing countries such as Venezuela are being invaded by U.S. forces all in search of precious crude oil. This does not mean necessarily that high schoolers live different lives until Gwen, Luke, Tom, and Niki's town has a serious shortage. They must live without products that are either made of oil or are shipped by oil-guzzling vessels. It seems the adults are no better off, fighting at gas stations where the prices are hiked up to twenty dollars a gallon. When it couldn't get much worse, a superhurricane hits the town. People are in need of food, medicine, and supplies and it seems that Gwen and company are some of the only ones healthy and lucid enough to help.

Critical Analysis: Clearly, Weyn's book is a thinly veiled attempt at showing the young adult audience the possible future if the world's dependence on oil does not cease. The problem is, Weyn seems to have forgotten to inject an interesting story along with this respectable environmental message. The characters are flat. The story mostly involves Gwen and company trying to do normal teenager things, then running out of gas on the way. Weyn's teenagers are not ones that I would have wanted to hang out with now or back when I was their age. They often bring up lectures they remember from Social Studies and ask dumb open ended questions about why the world did not catch on to its oil dependence earlier. Stilted dialogue like this really detracts from the believability of the story and blows all chances of the reader's immersion into the world.

Despite it being a post-apocalyptic novel, Weyn never made an oil shortage seem any worse than a series of minor inconveniences. Niki doesn't have lip gloss, Tom can't drive his cheerleader girlfriend to the lake to make out. Are these really the first things that come to mind in a worldwide oil shortage? All of this naivete leads to a tacked on revelation that we do indeed need an environment full of bicycles, self-sustaining farms, and hard work. This is all well and good, but I did not believe for a second that these characters who were most concerned about themselves forty pages ago all of a sudden have decided that they need to contribute to Weyn's ultimately weak environmental message. I have nothing against the message, just the way that Weyn delivered it.

Reader's Annotation: In the near future, the world has nearly depleted its oil resources. How will Gwen and her friends survive without the lifeblood of the United States when disaster strikes?

Author Information: Weyn has also written The Bar Code Tattoo, an ALA pick for Reluctant Readers in 2007. She was born in Flushing, New York. She lives on a farm where she draws from her horses both as inspiration and a source of stress relief.

Source: http://www.suzanneweynbooks.com/index.php/abouttheauthor

Genre: post apocalyptic, young adult, drama, disaster, suspense

Curriculum Ideas: Empty would be an easy transition for any Social Studies class talking about depleted oil sources. Despite its triteness, it does imagine a teenage life without oil. Perhaps it could be used to spark a conversation about the world's dependence on oil and ways to resolve it.

Reading Level: Grades 7-10

Challenge Issues: N/A

Challenge Defense Ideas: No challenge issues come to mind when reading this book. The best defense is having a strong knowledge of the book, so becoming familiar with it by reading reviews, finding other opinions, and reading it one's self is a good start. One could also refer to the library's collection development policy here.

Why I included this title: I wanted to read a recent release and this was on the new young adult shelf at the library. I'm a fan of post apocalyptic works and I agreed with Weyn's message, I wanted to see if she could pull it off. I also wanted to change up my genres a bit, this one's different from the horror and fantasy that I tend to read.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
ISBN: 978-0613824224
Tandem Library, 2002 (originally published 1985)
352 p.

Plot Summary: Ender (aka Andrew) Wiggin lives in the distant future with his parents, his brother Peter, and his sister Valentine. He was born third, which makes him a second class citizen in this world, where three children are not allowed. Earth is in preparation for a war with the Buggers, an insect-like alien race who were said to have attacked Earth long ago. One day, Colonel Graff winds up on Ender's doorstep requesting that he be put through a strict regimen including Battle School and later Command School to help in the battle with the Buggers. Begrudgingly, Ender and his parents comply. Ender spends a few years in Battle School playing a game much like a 2 team version of laser tag in weightless space. Here he learns the skills of commanding troops and battle strategies. Once he wins an unprecedented number of matches in unprecedented ways, Ender goes on to command school where he will find the truth about the Buggers and the truth behind the legendary commanding officer Mazer Rackham.

Critical Analysis: I've read a few of Orson Scott Card's other books and he never managed to recapture the magic of this one. His descriptions of battles are so vivid, the reader can picture every move and every winning strategy. Like any great science fiction book, Card balances the science and futuristic aspects of the story with strong and compassionate characters.

I think Ender's Game is the perfect young adult book; it is not only the type of book that is nearly impossible to put down, it encompasses interesting and difficult moral dilemmas that so many candy-coated young adult books avoid. Card lets Ender question authority and the right to go to war with the Buggers in a way that truly makes the reader consider the same ideas.

Card's slow development of Ender from a boy to a young responsible man is also a method often gone unused in popular young adult fiction. All too often, young adult protagonists are already teenagers at the beginning of the book. Young adults who read those books do not get to sympathize with the problems of growing up as they could with Ender in a harsh environment such as Battle School.

I have no criticisms for Ender's Game, I only criticize him for continuing a saga on Ender's life that all but ignores his YA origins. In the sequel to Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, Card immediately ages Ender to the age of 30 and has him start doing dull anthropological work - not exactly a fertile ground for gaining a young adult audience.

Reader's Annotation: In the distant future, a young boy is Earth's only hope to defeat an ever growing army of insect-like aliens called Buggers.

Author Information: Card is a resident of Greensboro, North Carolina and is a proud member of the Church of Latter Day Saints. Ender's Game is the book that made him famous even though it started out as an ignored short story. His other works include the Seventh Son series and Enchantment. He's also written a graphic novel, Ultimate Iron Man and helped write for the video game Advent Rising.

Source: http://www.hatrack.com/osc/about-more.shtml

Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction

Curriculum Ties: Ender's Game has been used in many classrooms, Card has even published teacher and student guides for it. As previously mentioned, moral dilemmas and race relations could be discussed using humans and Buggers as examples.

Booktalking ideas: Ender decides that he must try to understand the Buggers if he wants to defeat them. What's the point of understanding your enemy?

When is it proper to question authority? Should Ender have listened to Colonel Graff or should he have thought for himself? Was Ender brainwashed?

Reading level/interest age: Grades 9-12

Challenge Issues: violence, mature issues

Challenge Defense Ideas: Become familiar with the book, keeping the challenge issues in mind. Refer to the library's collection development policy here. If possible, find other opinions from reviews, recommendations, or others who have read the book.

Why I included this title: I've reread this book multiple times, I first read it when I was twelve or so. This is probably the YA book I recommend the most, as I said previously I think it has a wide appeal. It is one of the few young adult books I've seen that serve both as entertainment and can be used well in a classroom.

Get Real: What Kind of World are YOU Buying? by Mara Rockliff

Get Real: What Kind of World are YOU Buying? by Mara Rockliff
ISBN: 0762437456
Running Press Kids, June 2010
112 p.

Plot Summary: Rockliff's young adult nonfiction book was written to educate youth on the unfairness, dangers, and steps to be taken in regards to world consumerism. She writes quick chapters dedicated to one subject matter, makes her argument, and gives the readers resources to do something about it. One of the chapters explains that the plastic in cell phones contains chemicals that are dangerous to our health and the environment. When they aren't recycled properly, this plastic gets broken in landfills and releases these harmful chemicals into our drinking water and the air we breathe. Another chapter describes the horrors of sweatshop labor while another explains the unfairness of chocolate and coffee production.

Critical Analysis: Rockliff was in danger of sounding very preachy throughout this book, but managed to keep a reasonable and informative tone. She never outright tells the reader to take action, rather she presents the evidence and provides the information needed to do something about it if you so choose. Rockliff recommends interesting documentaries and even related YA fiction books at the end of the chapters, which I thought was a nice touch.

The language and examples Rockliff uses can be age-appropriate. She explains the most hazardous gas to the ozone, methane, as cow farts and burps. Rockliff never assumes her audience to be uneducated, but doesn't put things in terms that are difficult to understand, either. There's always a "How low can they go?" section in which she outlines some of the biggest corporate offenders of a particular problem that helps provide perspective.

There's little bad to say about the book itself. I fear that it does not have shelf appeal. I can't imagine many teens wanting to pick up a book on consumerism even though the cover is attractive and the book itself is well-designed (and printed with environmentally friendly soy-based inks). But perhaps a young entrepreneur could pick up this book and start making a difference. It certainly made me rethink using plastic bottles and recycling cell phones and I'm a cynical twenty something. It could work for teens.

Reader's Annotation: Do you want to make a difference in the environment? Recycle that cell phone, get a reusable water bottle, and find out other quick tips from this book!

Author Information: Rockliff truly practices what she preaches, whether its drinking a cup of fair trade tea or making her own ice cream. She's never had a cell phone and she does not watch television. She also writes under a few pen names and authors the Milo and Jazz Mysteries.

Source: http://mararockliff.com/me.html

Genre: young adult nonfiction, environment

Curriculum Ties: There are a few chapters on the food industry, so this could be a great companion piece to the popular Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser.

Reading Level: Ages 12-16

Challenge Issues: N/A

Challenge Defense Ideas: No challenge issues come to mind when reading this book. The best defense is having a strong knowledge of the book, so becoming familiar with it by reading reviews, finding other opinions, and reading it one's self is a good start. One could also refer to the library's collection development policy here.

Why I included this title: I found this one on the new arrivals book shelf and thought it might be an interesting read. Though I'm not an environmentalist myself, I do occasionally try and be "green" by walking or using special light bulbs. It was a very informative read and I hope to recommend it to a few teens at my library.

ghostgirl by Tonya Hurley

ghostgirl by Tonya Hurley
ISBN: 0316113573
Little, Brown 2008
336 p.

Plot Summary: Charlotte Usher is an orphaned high school student. She is smart but determined to be popular. On the first day of school, she chokes on a gummy bear and dies. Charlotte comes to again in an alternate version of the school. Now, Charlotte must attend Dead Ed, a class that helps Charlotte and her undead peers move on to the next phase of the afterlife. Meanwhile, Charlotte is hung up on her unfinished business with a football player named Damien, so she starts trying to insert herself into the lives of the people she was interested in. Charlotte ends up befriending Petula’s sister Scarlet and embodies her to get close to Damien. Damien ends up falling in love with both of them because Charlotte is sometimes in Scarlet’s body and sometimes not. Back in Dead Ed, Charlotte must learn to not be selfish and help herself and her classmates move on to the next phase. Meanwhile, she, Damien and Scarlet have that whole love triangle thing to work out.

Critical Analysis: ghostgirl serves as an indictment of popularity. Petula's role is to be cruel to Charlotte. It is clear that Hurley has been through similar trite popularity contests and bullying and it seems that ghostgirl is a nudge to that, letting her readers know that she has been through it and it gets better later in life. It also shows that one should not look for popularity in a potential love: Damien was with Petula because she was a cheerleader, but ended up having more in common with Scarlet, a young lady who would be described more as "goth."

Unfortunately, ghostgirl drags in places and as either a positive or negative, it’s not a terribly challenging read. However, the characters well-developed and funny, most do not feel like high school archetypes unless they are supposed to be. Hurley provides enough characterization that some scenes even come off as touching.

ghostgirl deals somewhat with themes of loss and regret and the value of friendship and human interaction. It also deals with the realities that high school can be a cruel place if you don’t specifically fit into the idea of what’s socially acceptable.

ghostgirl's most respectable quality is its uniqueness. Many young adult books follow similar formulas, but ghostgirl stands out. The approach that Hurley takes is not what you typically see in YA fiction, the very premise of an undead girl with a love interest mixed with black humor is quite unique. The book itself is well-designed and inviting.


Reader’s Annotation: Charlotte Usher lusts after the man of her dreams. The only problem is, she’s dead!

Author Information: Besides being a published author, Hurley has written commercials, independent films, and has produced video games. Since ghostgirl was very music-focused novel, the audiobook versions of it feature original songs.

Genre: fantasy, humor, chick lit

Curriculum Ties: N/A

Booktalking Ideas: ghostgirl deals lightly with grief and loss. How did you think it was handled?

Other kids in the Dead Ed class died in different ways and got corresponding nicknames. Based on the characters in the book living and dead, is that a fair representation of personalities you encounter in high school?

Reading Level: Ages 12-16

Challenge Issues: N/A

Challenge Defense Ideas: No challenge issues come to mind when reading this book. The best defense is having a strong knowledge of the book, so becoming familiar with it by reading reviews, finding other opinions, and reading it one's self is a good start. One could also refer to the library's collection development policy here.

Why I included this title: ghostgirl is light entertainment. It is quite unique, Hurley's vision is a not mainstream portrayal of high school. It is an outsider’s or outcast’s perspective of high school. It deals with real issues without being depressing, actually quite funny. Good for a reluctant reader because it is quick and easy, the book itself looks interesting.

ghostgirl: Homecoming by Tonya Hurley

ghostgirl: Homecoming by Tonya Hurley
ISBN: 031611359X
Little, Brown 2009
296 p.

Plot Summary: All of the kids from Dead Ed in the previous book have crossed over into the next phase of the afterlife and they wind up at a help line where people call in with problems. Charlotte doesn’t relate well to her peers and it seems like her phone is never ringing and her advice is never sought after. She feels alone and she misses her living friends with whom she had connections. Her new roommate Maddy claims to be looking out for Charlotte’s best interest but ends up trying to sabotage her. In the world of the living, Petula was held back so she’s repeating senior year. She got a bad pedicure which led to an infection and a coma. She’s stuck in a between worlds limbo much like Charlotte's limbo in the previous book. Having learned her lesson about being selfless and helpful, Charlotte sets out to find Petula in the afterlife limbo.

Critical Analysis: Unlike ghostgirl, this book unfortunately falls flat. While the first was inventive and funny, this is dull and unimaginative. It seems like a thrown together afterthought. Much of this can be attributed to the fact that the plot is not compelling and it is not as funny. Hurley's sequel feels very repetitive in that it is the same conflict: Charlotte still does not relate to her peers and is trying to keep her connection with old friends.

As a result of these problems, ghostgirl: Homecoming feels like it drags on. It feels longer than the first one even though it’s not. While the first featured great characterization, the characters were frustrating and lacking empathy the second time around. They were not relatable at all.

Much like the first, the overall lesson or moral was spot on and unique. The message here is to move on after death or whatever major life event occurs. All of the kids from Dead Ed moved on, but not necessarily to what is traditionally thought of as heaven. I appreciated that they simply did not find closure or perfection, they instead were relegated to helping people via their phone service. This way, it is more realistic in that they moved on to a benign existence, but all of their problems are not solved.

Reader’s Annotation: This time around, undead Charlotte will have to travel to the afterlife to find the spirit of someone she doesn’t even like: a cheerleader!

Author Information: Besides being an author, Hurley has written commercials, independent films, and has produced video games. Since ghostgirl was very music-focused novel, the audiobook versions of it feature original songs.

Source: http://tonyahurley.com/?page_id=6

Genre: fantasy, chick lit, humor

Curriculum Ideas: N/A

Booktalking Ideas:How does this book compare to the first? Does the subject matter remain meaningful?

If you were in the author's shoes, is this where you would have taken the story, is there something you would do differently?

Reading Level/Interest Age: Ages 12-16

Challenge Issues: N/A

Challenge Defense Ideas: No challenge issues come to mind when reading this book. The best defense is having a strong knowledge of the book, so becoming familiar with it by reading reviews, finding other opinions, and reading it one's self is a good start. One could also refer to the library's collection development policy here.

Why I included this title: After reading the first book, I thought I’d enjoy continuing the series but it was unfortunately disappointing. For big fans of the series, it does give some insight into the serial novel writing process. It is at least a good opportunity for criticism because it is so different from another book. Despite its faults, the ghostgirl series remains unique and oddly moralistic, which can be charming.