3 stars
Kristina has lived most of her life trying to be perfect. But during a visit with her father, a new side of Kristina come out: Bree. Bree is everything Kristina is not; confident, bold, flirtatious, and unafraid to try to new things. With nothing else to do and the appeal of getting close to a boy, Bree tries something Kristina would never do. Crank.
A hard read at times.
The book discusses topics of peer pressure, drug abuse, rape, romantic relationships, friendships growing apart, wanting autonomy, and clashes with parents. While the focus on the book is on various forms of meth use, it also brings up tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, and ecstasy.
The verse format helps with the flow of the story. It sets a good pace and works especially well in scenes where Kristina is influenced by drug use, high emotion, and withdrawals.
I don’t necessarily think it needed to be quite so long as various parts dragged. Parts of the book are pretty dated at this point but overall the messages and issues discussed are still very relevant.
Overall, a good book that shows both the allure of drug use and the harsh reality of its downsides without feeling overly preachy.