Audiobook Review: Glass (Crank #2)

Author: Ellen Hopkins; Narrator: Laura Flanagan
Publish date: 2007
Source: Library
"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." (Goodreads)

BEWARE: Spoilers for Crank, the first book in this series, are below. You've been warned.

I read Crank a little while ago and really enjoyed my first experience with a verse novel. I tried the audiobook for the sequel, Glass, and loved both the novel and the audiobook.

In terms of the novel, I found Glass to be just as hard hitting as Crank, although much grittier in terms of drug use, sex, etc. Kristina falls more and more into drugs, this time meth, and oh man, I just wanted to smack her most of the time. She kept making terrible decision after terrible decision and it was so easy/sad to see how drugs just rip her life apart. The fact that Kristina has a baby in this book really shows you how immature she is...still.

In terms of the audiobook experience, I really liked listening to this verse novel. As I have heard from professional speakers and I now say to my students, poetry is meant to be read aloud and this book is no exception. Laura Flanagan, the narrator, did a great job at conveying Kristina's immaturity and her lack of caring as her life continues its downward spiral. I thought her rhythm was great and I felt really really satisfied when I was done listening, like I made the right choice to listen to the audio rather than read the print version. I would highly recommend listening to this series and have already borrowed another EH verse novel from the library, Burned.