Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Hopkins, Ellen. (2004). Crank. NY: Margaret K. McElderry.
ISBN: 978-0689865190
Awards: ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults (2005.04|Read ‘Em & Weep, 2005)
ALA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (2005)
Abraham Lincoln Illinois High School Book Award Nominee (2009)
Abraham Lincoln Award Winner (2009)
Gateway Readers Award
Genre: Fiction
Annotation: Good girl Kristina takes a turn for the worse during a visit to her druggie father. Addicted, raped, and pregnant Kristina faces a difficult road ahead.
Summary: Kristina lives with her mother, step-father, and brother; is well-behaved, and a good student. When an opportunity comes up for her to visit her father, whom she hasn't seen in years, Kristina jumps at it. It turns out that her father works "under-the-table" at a local bowling alley, drinks too much, and is a druggie. During this visit Kristina has a transformation, embracing her wild side. She begins calling herself Bree, and herself becomes addicted to crank, thanks to attractive drug dealer, Adam. When Bree returns to her mother's, she brings her new addiction with her. She is later raped and becomes pregnant with the rapist's child. She keeps the child, and also the addiction.
Evaluation: I did not like this book. Kristina's transformation happens too fast to be believable; her choices all of the sudden incredibly bad. Also unbelievable is the fact that her middle-class, conservative mom let her stay with a man as vile as her father. If you can get by the questionable premise, Kristina's (Bree's) story and de-evolution is interesting and scary.