“Crank” is a trilogy based off of Ellen Hopkins’ experience with her daughter’s drug addiction. The three books included in this series are “Crank”, “Glass”, and “Fallout”. Kristina, who is based off Hopkins’ daughter, is willing to do anything she can to get her hands on methamphetamine, or crank; she would either snort, inject or smoke it at any time of day and not think twice about the consequences she would soon see. She eventually gets involved in a drug gang, where she earns some extra money selling crank and other hard-core drugs. This results in Kristina hitting rock bottom in her life.

This book includes mature content and could be upsetting to some readers. It includes in-depth detail of her getting raped, getting pregnant with her rapist’s child, and a scene where Kristina gets high and cuts herself and drinks her own blood. This trilogy is not for everyone and if you feel uncomfortable reading these type of things then it probably not a good series for you.

Kristina’s mother expresses her feelings, and the book realistically depicted the way Kirstina was acting and how it had an impact on the entire family as she made her poor choices to start using crank. Toward the end, Kristina’s mother takes full custody of Kristina’s child. This happened because Kristina was leaving the child alone in the house to use crank with friends and crashing from the use and the child gets stuck under some furniture. Kristina ends up getting arrested for getting caught using while traveling back to see her father, who also uses.

I personally like this series partially because it reveals a real family struggle with drug addiction and the effects on everyone from the addiction.This series could be good for adults as well to know what signs to look for, for drug abuse and open discussions about the effects drug use has on a family.

This trilogy is an eye-opener for many people to realize that even a wealthy family could be a victim of drug abuse and that it could happen to anyone, not just people who have a poor family background. It could open many discussions and help people understand the effects of drugs and that they don’t only impact the user, but everyone around them. I give this series a 5 out of 5 cardinal heads.