Crank #3
by Ellen Hopkins
Nikki’s Rating: 5 out of 10
Summary: Hunter Seth Haskins, 19 years old and living in Reno, Nevada with his maternal grandparents; Autumn Rose Shepherd, 17 and living in San Antonio, Texas being raised by her paternal aunt and grandfather; Summer Lily Kenwood, 15 years old and in the foster care system in Bakersfield, California. Three children all touched by meth by no fault of their own but through their mother. Kristina Snow has left her children to be scattered along the west coast as she runs amock with the monster with no end in sight.
5 Fearless Things about FALLOUT by Ellen Hopkins
(May Contain Spoilers)
1. Children of Addicts
Ellen Hopkins does an amazing job of providing a voice that is not heard very often. The children of the drug addicts. Stigmatized and ignored, the system has failed these children in so many ways. It was refreshing but difficult to read a book from their perspectives.
2. I Love You/I Hate You
One of the most important elements seen in Ellen Hopkins’s “Fallout” is the love-hate relationships all the children have with their parents who deeply wounded them in many ways. This is true in most, if not all, parent-child relationships in which the parent is the abuser or source of trauma for the child. The child’s life depends on the parent, especially the mother, and therefore the child loves the parent. And this is why no matter how much hurt a parent does to a child, the child still loves their parent, it is survival.
3. Biological Parents
Also captured in “Fallout” is the drive for a child to know a biological parent, even if the parent already abandoned/traumatized the child in the past, especially the mother. You will see this in not just foster children who may have some memories of the biological mother, but also in children who are adopted at birth and who have no conscious memory of her. As an adopted child, I can say this is absolutely true from my own experience.
4. Attachment
Finally, another concept that Ellen Hopkins explores in her novel “Fallout” is that of attachment issues experienced by children who have experienced trauma in childhood. Often having trust issues, these children may avoid getting close to anyone or simply sabotage relationships because they don’t believe they are good enough and deserve the other person’s love
5. Writing Style
Just like “Crank” and “Glass”, Ellen Hopkins’s wrote “Fallout” in free-verse poetry. Making the novel that more interesting and powerful.
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