User:Kailey6/sandbox

Reception
Ellen Hopkins’s first novel, Crank, received mostly positive reviews. Publishers Weekly praised Hopkins, saying, “The author is definitely on a mission, she creates a world nearly as consuming and disturbing as the titular drug." Hopkins’s books are widely known for their “gritty realism” and for talking about “Subjects that are really big . . . Suicide. Incest. Prostitution. Bulimia. Rehab.”  Philadelphia Inquirer said that these “dark” subjects have not turned away teens, rather, “readers raced through hundreds of pages.” Although Crank has been received with praise, it also has received a large amount of controversy, as well. Hopkins was “Banned from speaking at an Oklahoma middle school because of the appropriateness of her subject matter.” Hopkins responded to being banned, saying she’s heard from, “Thousands of readers (including middle schoolers) that her books have helped to turn them away from drugs.” Niki Burnham mentioned that teens connect to Hopkins’s book because Kristina is “someone very much like them or someone they might know.” Hopkins has also been praised for using her novel to educate teens on drug abuse. Judge John Tatro said, “Ellen has allowed her readers to see and understand the absolute horrors of methamphetamine from a user’s perspective - not just from an adult lecturing in a classroom.” Niki Burnham added,“What Hopkins does, in just a few paragraphs, is show readers how irrational and overwhelming addiction to meth can be."

Awards
Crank was a New York Times Bestselling Novel. 2005 Awards: Quills Award nominee, Book Sense Top 10, NYPL Recommended for Teens, PSLA Top Ten for Teens, Charlotte Award, IRA Young Adult Choices Award. 2006 Awards: Kentucky Bluegrass Award, SSLI Honor Book Award, Gateway Readers Awards winner.