Complex Characters In The Book, Crank, By Ellen Hopkins

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People change everyday, whether it is from good to bad or for the better. People often say to themselves, maybe, if I didn't do “blank” this wouldn't have happened. However, the reality is, it happened, and there is no way to change that. Why go around throwing maybe’s around if you cannot change it? Authors purposefully make readers ask those questions. Authors love to create complex characters, characters that go through change. In Ellen Hopkins’ book, Crank, is the perfect example. Ellen Hopkins writes from her own daughter's perspective, Kristina, on how “the monster” changed her own life and her family's life. Ellen Hopkin’s daughter, Kristina, starts off as a sweet and innocent girl with great academic achievement. She gets a court sentence to go see her father for a few weeks. When she finally sees her father after not seeing him for years. He smells like alcohol and tobacco and looks like he hasn’t slept in days. She asks him on the way home if he has anything planned for the two of them but he seemed to not care. Upon arriving she steps outside for a minute where she notices a boy making out with a girl. He notices her and begins to flirt. They introduced …show more content…

She dedicates this book to her “..family, and all the families whose lives have been touched by the monster.” Kristina talks about what a horrible person her mother is; a wannabe writer who never spends enough time with her daughter. A step dad who always has a stick up his butt. A brother who is spoiled and is too caught up in sports and video games to notice any change. Her sister is wonderful, but recently came out as a lesbian and caused distance between them so she moved away. Kristina was alone, until she met “the monster”. “The monster” is just a metaphor Ellen uses to describe the drug Methamphetamine, better known a Crystal Meth. Crystal meth can be eaten, snorted up the nose, or

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