Six Sentence Saturday - Take Five

Welcome to Six Sentence Saturday.
Where I try to express my thoughts on recent reads using only 6 sentences!!!!.
At the end of each review I will post a
rating scale of 1-5 using the cute and original (lol) Playing Cards.
Rating scale will be as follows:

5 of Hearts- You must read this book NOW!!
4 of Hearts- A great read, put it on your TBR list.
3 of Hearts- Glad I read but no big deal
2 of Hearts- Why did I finish this?
Joker Card - Don't bother (why did I?)

Glass by Ellen Hopkins (Crank Trilogy, Book 2)
I don't read a lot of books written in verse because poetry has never been a favourite of mine, but Ellen Hopkins does it so well I can't help but read it and love it. This is the sequel to Crank, which I read and reviewed earlier this year. In comparision to Crank, this book wasn't quite as good, but it still was a very eye-opening, scary look at just what it is like to be addicted to a drug that Kristina calls the monster. The big change between this book and the last one is that Kristina has a dependant that she is supposed to be responsible for, and she does try, but she can only resist so long. The third book is out next year, so I am looking forward to seeing what happens on her journey next. It has not been easy so far and I am sure things will continue to get worse before they get better!

Clubbing by Andi Watson
This book was just a bit weird. It was like the author took every popular trend she could think of, mixed it all together, and wrote a book with some pictures. It's not that I hated the book, don't get me wrong, but I didn't really love it. In the grand scheme of things I have read better graphic novels this year, so this one is not really all that memorable. It was okay, that's really all there is to say about it. I wouldn't rush out to read it, but if you get a chance to read it, don't necessarily pass it up.
Olivia Kidney by Ellen Potter
The best way to describe this is as cute! I have seen Ellen Potter around the blogosphere a bit lately and I decided that I wanted to read her, but the library didn't have her most recent book. This is the first book in middle-grade series and it is a nice mix of just about everything. Olivia was a fun character who has a lot of potential for future books, but whether or not I continue with the series is undecided at the moment. It was a bit young at times and I have so many series on the go at the moment, so it might just be something to enjoy for a moment and never touch again. Still, an enjoyable read!

Tom's Midnight Garden by Phippa Pearce
I only even heard about this book from Nymeth, so thanks to the wonderful world of bloggers I discovered a book I probably never would have read otherwise! It's an older book, and I did find it a bit dated at times, but generally it was a good read. It's a magical book where Tom finds a garden that only he can see and spends every night visiting. He has many wonderful adventures there while his brother is recovering from the measles back home. When the time comes that he has to go home, he doesn't really want to, but he has memories that will last him a long time. Things are not always as they seem, of course, so you will have to read it to see what you think!


Larklight: A Rousing Tale of Dauntless Pluck in the Farthest Reaches of Space by Philip Reeve
Okay, I actually really liked this book. It was a really fun read, more than anything, and I think I will probably read the rest of the books in the series if I can talk the library into buying them. It's about the juvenile fiction age and it includes pictures. I actually think this series would make a really good audio listen if that is available. Anyways, a bit of fantasy and science-fiction tied together, so keep it in mind for Carl's challenges next year. I also think it would be a good read for the read-a-thon because it looks long, but with the large text and pictures it moves along pretty quickly!

Crank by Ellen Hopkins (Crank Trilogy, Book 1)

Books Completed: 31
Completion Date: February, 2009
Pages: 544
Publication Date: October 5, 2004

Reason for Reading: Friend lent me her copy, New Author Challenge

Kristina Georgia Snow is the perfect daughter: gifted high school junior, quiet, never any trouble. But on a trip to visit her absentee father, Kristina disappears and Bree takes her place. Bree is the exact opposite of Kristina -- she's fearless. Through a boy, Bree meets the monster: crank. And what begins as a wild, ecstatic ride turns into a struggle through hell for her mind, her soul -- her life.

I have never heard of Ellen Hopkins before. I have read a lot more young adult fiction this year than I normally do, because generally I don't read that many in the course of a year. This means that I generally miss out on interesting finds. One of my friends that doesn't normally read a lot has been reading to entertain herself at work, and she mentioned this book to me. Since it was right in the midst of a chick-lit discussion, that is what I assumed it was. So, when I was at her house last weekend and she gave me two of Hopkins books to try I was surprised to find out that they were actually young adult novels! I started the book while I was waiting around on the weekend, and then finished it when I got home.

I am going to be the first to admit that I have never been very interested in poetry. I try to avoid poetry with a ten foot pole in many cases! That being said, when I like a poets work I am generally a fan for life. Hopkins writes her novels in verse, which I wasn't sure about at first. When you get reading, though, and see how she has everything crafted it will really blow you away! It is a time-consuming enterprise to write any novel, but with Hopkins she has to have everything work together. She writes a poem, so you read it and it tells a story. Then, each stanza she will have a word separate from the rest of the text. If you read the separated text from top to bottom it also tells a story. The difficulty in doing that blows my mind! Then, there are other pages where the poems make shapes. For a book that is over 500 pages, this has to be a very time-consuming project. I don't think I would have the patience to write one in this format, so I applaud her efforts.

The way in which Hopkins tells this story is what makes it original. The story itself is something that has been told before in many mediums. Writing in verse, though, made it feel original. We have a young girl, Katherine, who decides to go visit her father for a couple weeks in the summer. She leaves a child with perfect grades and hardly any trouble at all. While there, though, she becomes Bree. Bree is fearless and through a boy that she meets she discovers something that will change her life forever. The book shows the struggles of a young girl who is addicted to very powerful drugs. Katherine is still in there, but more often than not Bree takes control. The world of drugs is a very scary place.

I recommend this book! Even if the story is nothing new to you, Hopkins tells the story in an original way. It was nice to read something different for a change! I look forward to more books by her.