Book Review: Glass by Ellen Hopkins

Title: Glass (Crank trilogy #2)
Author: Ellen Hopkins
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication Date: August 21, 2007
Source: borrowed from the good ol' public library

Summary from Goodreads: 

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 it, including giving up the one person who gives her the unconditional love she craves -- her baby.

The sequel to Crank, this is the continuing story of Kristina and her descent back to hell. Told in verse, it's a harrowing and disturbing look at addiction and the damage that it inflicts.

My Review:

As with any review of a second or third book in a trilogy, I shall warn you: HERE THERE BE SPOILERS from book #1 (Crank).  You can check out my Crank review here.

Got that out of the way?  Good!  On to Glass.

This review won't be terribly long, because Glass is similar to Crank in so many ways.  It is told from Kristina's perspective again, in verse, but this time she's given birth to her son Hunter, and she's been clean for a while as a result.  She's trying hard to be a good mom and finish her high school education.  Unfortunately, that doesn't last long, as she gets reintroduced to drugs via crystal meth.  The results are, as you'd expect, disastrous.  And I'd say Kristina's descent into drug-fueled mayhem is about 1000 times worse this time around, because now there's an infant thrown into the mix.

The transition from Crank to Glass is so smooth, you'll feel like you've just continued reading the same book.  Kristina's voice is very similar, her drug-induced disasters reminding you of her past mistakes.  However, the big difference here is that in Glass, Kristina no longer struggles as much between her "Kristina" and "Bree" personas.  She has very nearly given herself over to "Bree" completely...or at least, Bree wins out much more easily than she ever did before.  There's a sense of hopelessness that is much deeper than what you'll experience in the first book.

As with Crank, Glass hits you that much harder when you realize that it's based on a true story--that of Ellen Hopkins' own daughter, Cristal.  When I went to the Rochester Teen Book Festival, Hopkins indicated that Crank is about 40% fact, based on her recreation of Cristal's slide into addiction.  However, Glass is even closer to the truth, as Hopkins was able to discuss this period of her daughter's life directly with Cristal in between prison sentences.  I won't tell you all the other updates she gave about Cristal's life (I'll save those for after the last book, so as not to spoil this one), but hers is a very upsetting story indeed.  Hopkins illustrates that sadness in great detail through this trilogy.

If Crank was good, I daresay Glass is better.  Not light reading by any means, but these are important books, especially for those struggling with addiction (or those who know an addict).  Stay tuned for book #3, Fallout...