Review: Glass

Title: GlassSeries: Crank # 2Genre: Young Adult- ContemporaryAuthor: Ellen HopkinsPublisher: Margaret K. McElderry Release Date: August 21, 2007Book: Gifted from friend “Crank. Glass. Ice. Crystal. Whatever you call it, it’s all the same: a monster. And once it’s got hold of you, this monster will never let you go. Kristina thinks she can control it. Now with a baby to care for, she’s determined to be the one deciding when and how much, the one calling the shots. But the monster is too strong, and before she knows it, Kristina is back in its grips. She needs the monster to keep going, to face the pressures of day-to-day life. She needs it to feel alive. Once again the monster takes over Kristina’s life and she will do anything for...

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Review: Tricks

Title: TricksSeries: NoGenre: Young Adult- ContemporaryAuthor: Ellen HopkinsPublisher: Margaret K. McElderryRelease Date: August 29, 2011Book: Gifted from friend “Five teenagers from different parts of the country. Three girls. Two guys. Four straight. One gay. Some rich. Some poor. Some from great families. Some with no one at all. All living their lives as best they can, but all searching…for freedom, safety, community, family, love. What they don’t expect, though, is all that can happen when those powerful little words “I love you” are said for all the wrong reasons. Five moving stories remain separate at first, then interweave to tell a larger, powerful story — a story about making choices, taking leaps of faith, falling...

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Review: Burned

Burned by Ellen Hopkins Published by Margaret K. McElderry Books on March 28th 2006 Genres: Young Adult-Contemporary Source: Gifted Goodreads "Raised in a religious -- yet abusive -- family, Pattyn Von Stratten starts asking questions -- about God, a woman's role, sex, love. She experiences the first stirrings of passion, but when her father catches her in a compromising position, events spiral out of control. Pattyn is sent to live with an aunt in the wilds of Nevada to find salvation and redemption. What she finds instead is love and acceptance -- until she realizes that her old demons will not let her go." Again, another beautifully written book that left me speechless. I mean, I had no words. I wanted to talk about it, but wasn’t sure where even to...

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Review: Crank

Crank by Ellen Hopkins Published by Margaret K. McElderry Books on October 5th 2004 Genres: Young Adult-Contemporary Source: Gifted Goodreads "Kristina Georgia Snow is the perfect daughter: gifted high school junior, quiet, never any trouble. But on a trip to visit her absentee father, Kristina disappears and Bree takes her place. Bree is the exact opposite of Kristina -- she's fearless. Through a boy, Bree meets the monster: crank. And what begins as a wild, ecstatic ride turns into a struggle through hell for her mind, her soul -- her life?"     If you really want to know how one falls into drugs and is paralyzed there, read this book. Right from the start, I was amazed. You hear these stories all the time. At least I do. Some of my family members are really...

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