Category Archives: Poetry

A Brilliant Novel In Poetry: Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Poetry, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , ,

Locomotion by Jacqueline WoodsonLocomotion
Jacqueline Woodson
Speak, Penguin Group

Lonnie Collins Motion learns to pour out memories and feelings in a poetry journal. He writes about the night his parents died. About his little sister, Lili. About his foster mom. About the teacher he admires who doesn’t understand what his life is really like. His story unfolds, poem by poem, packed with emotion and insight.

One of the most powerful things about a novel-in-poetry is the power of each line. The narrative has been distilled down to just a few words, yet it’s enough to paint a complete picture of what Lonnie sees and experiences. There are simply not enough stories like this one, both in its approach to storytelling and in the story itself. Lonnie is easy to love – his desire to protect and stay in touch with his younger sister is moving, and it’s easy to sense his longing for young men he can look up to. This would make a great addition to classroom study or a great independent read for late elementary-aged children. I highly recommend it.

Language Content
No profanity.

Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Lonnie’s little sister asks him if he has “found God yet?” He responds, saying he wasn’t looking for Him. But for her sake, so her foster family will like him more and allow him more time with her, he begins going to some church events and trying to read the Bible.

Violence
Lonnie’s parents were killed in a fire long before his story begins. He remembers their deaths, but no gory details are related.

Drug Content
None.

Review: Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Poetry, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

Crank
Ellen Hopkins
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published October 1, 2004

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Crank

In CRANK, Ellen Hopkins chronicles the turbulent and often disturbing relationship between Kristina, a character based on her own daughter, and the “monster,” the highly addictive drug crystal meth, or “crank.” Kristina is introduced to the drug while visiting her largely absent and ne’er-do-well father. While under the influence of the monster, Kristina discovers her sexy alter-ego, Bree: “there is no perfect daughter, / no gifted high school junior, / no Kristina Georgia Snow. / There is only Bree.” Bree will do all the things good girl Kristina won’t, including attracting the attention of dangerous boys who can provide her with a steady flow of crank.

My Review

CRANK is the story of Kristina Snow and the summer that changes her life, when she goes to visit her father and meets the “monster”, Crystal Meth. Ellen Hopkins captures the turmoil and grip of addiction in a raw, authentic manner as she tells the story of a girl caught in the same kind of addiction her own daughter has battled.

The entire story is told in verse. Each poem captures the story in vivid detail. They flow from scene to scene very smoothly, capturing the raw emotion of the heroine– her desperation, heartache– and the downward spiral of her addiction to Meth. What a really powerful read.

This is the first novel in verse that I’ve ever read. I think the thing that stands out to me is how starkly each scene is portrayed, even though it’s told in shorter lines of poetry rather than paragraphs of prose. It’s pretty amazing to me how Ellen Hopkins paints such vivid pictures with her words and draws us into the stories of people we might overlook or judge in real life.

Update 12/5/2022: If you liked WRECKED by Heather Henson, add CRANK to your reading list.

Content Notes

Content warning for drug use and rape.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme word choice, moderate frequency.

Sexual Content
Kristina has some sexual experiences in the story. In one scene, her boyfriend rapes her. Both scenes are short and don’t really give a whole “play by play” account, but leave the reader with no doubt of what has occurred.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violence
A boyfriend rapes Kristina. She licks blood from her arm in one scene.

Drug Content
Kristina experiments with meth and other drugs and wrestles with addiction throughout the story. Several scenes depict her using drugs.

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