withthebanned

5feet.of.fury

Crank | Ellen Hopkins

pan

I‘m trying to review this for what it is & the intended audience

The author successfully made it sound like a high teenager‘s journal, the references they would find clever. It was a nice stroll down memory lane of being a juvenile delinquent & Hunter S Thompson-ing around high school 😂

I understand this is the 1st in the series but I was wholly unsatisfied with the conclusion of this book.

Excited for the discussion #withthebanned @Jadams89

31 likes

Karisa

Crank | Ellen Hopkins

so-so

Not a fan, but I‘m not the target audience either. It‘s the story of high schooler Christina/Bree as she getting hooked on drugs which changes her life. Written as poetry, listened to it via audiobook, lots of cringe moments, lots of trigger warnings. #WithTheBanned

43 likes

lil1inblue

Crank | Ellen Hopkins

so-so

This one didn't quite do it for me. I like the structure of the concrete poetry, as well as some of the writing. But overall, it had an after-school special vibe that I couldn't connect with.

#withthebanned @jadams89

shortsarahrose I read a different book by this author (forget which one) and had a similar reaction 1w

lil1inblue @shortsarahrose I feel validated! 😉 1w

26 likes2 comments

Melismatic

Crank | Ellen Hopkins

pick

That was dark.

I feared the lyrical poetry style would grate on me at first but overall I think it ultimately added to the frenetic decent described. Looking forward to the discussion here. #WithTheBanned

Jadams89

31 likes1 stack add

Read4life

Crank | Ellen Hopkins

pick

I finished listening to our May #WithTheBanned #WTB25 book. I‘m looking forward to our discussion. According to the author‘s website, the book is loosely based on her oldest daughter‘s addiction to crystal meth.
#BookSpinBingo #SeriesLove2025

Andrew65, Jadams89, TheSpineView, TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Great progress!! 3w

TheSpineView Fantastic! 💜📖📚 3w

TheBookHippie This is a series FYI and yes, her daughter. 3w

See All 8 Comments

Andrew65 Excellent 🎉🎉🎉 3w

Read4life @TheBookHippie have you read the other books in the series? If so, do you recommend them? 3w

TheBookHippie @Read4life I‘ve read everything she‘s written, and yes. 2w

TheBookHippie I didn‘t get tagged! Sorry took so long to answer! Oy 2w

Read4life I often wonder how many comments or posts I miss because the tag just doesn‘t show up. 😣 Thanks for the info. I‘m adding them to my TBR. 2w

65 likes8 comments

Read4life

Untitled | Untitled

#WeeklyForecast

Includes books for:
#Readyourebooks #Roll100 #BookSpin #WithTheBanned #WTB25 #DoubleSpin #SeriesLove2025 #ThematicCozies

Andrew65, Jadams89, TheSpineView, CBee, TheAromaofBooks, PuddleJumper, julieclair

TheAromaofBooks Yay!! Enjoy!! 3w

TheSpineView Lookin good! 💜📖 3w

PuddleJumper Happy reading! 3w

Andrew65 Some good books there. 3w

julieclair Looks like some fun reading ahead! 3w

58 likes5 comments

CatLass007

Crank | Ellen Hopkins

pan

I listened to the audiobook for #WithTheBanned and I‘m including it with #Read2025 because I actually finished the book and for #SeriesLove2025 because it‘s the first book in a trilogy that I won‘t continue. I gave it two stars on Goodreads because the unusual style of poetry and prose is the only thing I liked about the book. There are several reasons I didn‘t like it. I‘m tired of YA and teenage angst. I‘m tired of multi book series. (cont)⬇️

DieAReader, Andrew65, Jadams89, TheSpineView

CatLass007 But I think the main reason is because I read Go Ask Alice in junior high and, even though I now know it‘s not a true story from a dead teenage girl‘s diary, it still set the standard as a cautionary tale about drugs and sex. There are new drugs available now but I don‘t think the book lives up to the hype. Ordinarily I would bail on a book I didn‘t like but I wanted to see if the book ever got better and I don‘t believe it did. 3w

Andrew65 Oh no, hope your next book is better. 3w

CatLass007 @Andrew65 Killers of a Certain Age is excellent and fun. 3w

See All 13 Comments

TheSpineView Bummer! Hope your next book is better. #Next 3w

CatLass007 @TheSpineView It already is. 3w

5feet.of.fury I‘ll be reading this one too, I know the series was very popular when it was first released but I was out of the target demographic at that point & never paid it any mind. 3w

CatLass007 @5feet.of.fury I liked her writing style. I hope you and the rest of the group like it more than I did. 3w

DieAReader 👋🏻 #Next 3w

DogMomIrene Years ago a parent challenged book 2 Glass in our MS library. The librarian knew I had a BS in journalism so she asked me to be on the “book ban” committee. I was like, it‘s freaking awful. The cheap voyeurism. The cliched “poetry”. The obvious money grab with a series. BUT I wouldn‘t ban it. Thankfully, the other teachers, parents, and community members agreed. Not sure the same results would hold today. Better luck with your next read! 🍀 3w

CatLass007 @DogMomIrene Is MS Mississippi? I‘m surprised that you were able to keep it in the library. I live in East Tennessee and I‘m surprised there are any books in our library at. Thank you for not banning it. It may be awful but if I had kids I wouldn‘t want anyone deceiving what my kids were allowed to read except me. My parents were fairly conservative but after I learned to read, I was never without a book. My parents knew what I was (cont)⬇️ 3w

CatLass007 reading and never told me I couldn‘t read something. These days, I buy books because they‘ve been banned with the belief that anything worth banning is worth reading. (edited) 3w

DogMomIrene @CatLass007 Middle School. I was out in Arizona. Tucson was a blue spot but this was an affluent area, so some conservative folks. I did my student teaching at William Blount High School back in the day. Spent 3 years at UTK. I think that‘s where I fell in love with fall. 3w

CatLass007 @DogMomIrene Middle School never crossed my mind. LOL. We had junior high where I grew up in West Virginia. The Fall is beautiful in East Tennessee. The politics, not so much. (edited) 3w

48 likes13 comments

Jadams89

Crank | Ellen Hopkins

Hey #WithTheBanned readers. @CatLass007 let me know that our May read is available for free on Audible.

Jadams89
@JenlovesJT47
@BooksBlanketsandahotbeverage
@Read4Life @skygoddess1
@Julsmarshall @Lapreader 4w

Jadams89 @lil1inblue @Deblovestoread @dabbe @5feet.of.fury @TheDaysGoBy @AnishaInkspell @Melismatic @bookwormjillk @KT1432 @Riveted_Reader_Melissa 4w

See All 11 Comments

Jadams89 @thewallflower0707 @catsandbooks @megabooks @Kenyazero @CoverToCoverGirl @Bookbuyingaddict @CuriousG @AllDebooks 4w

CatLass007 I appreciate you sharing this with everyone! 4w

Jadams89 @SconsinBookyBadger @PaperbackPirate @CogsOfEncouragement @Amiable
@peanutnine @CatLass007 @Karisa 4w

Jadams89 @CatLass007 Thank you for letting me know! I forget to check things like this ☺️ 4w

TheBookHippie Oh this is a good one. Enjoy. 4w

Read4life Awesome!! Looking forward to this one. 4w

CatLass007 I‘m an audiobook girl so I will always let you know. 4w

Kenyazero Interesting! I wonder how the audio experience with a book like this will differ! I read Dear Mothman by audio recently and only realized much later that it was a book in verse 🤭 4w

32 likes11 comments

Jadams89

The Perks of Being a Wallflower | Stephen Chbosky

#WithTheBanned

Jadams89 I think this book would have hit much differently for me in college. A good read, but not something that speaks to me at this point in life. 1mo

5feet.of.fury It was my first reading! May have been more impactful if I read it in high school since there‘s so many coming of age elements. 1mo

CatLass007 I wonder if we would have been allowed to read it in high school? I was never one of the popular kids growing up. I definitely remember what it was like to feel like an outsider. 1mo

See All 6 Comments

Karisa It was a re-read for me and I think I appreciated it more this time. Something about the current climate of book bans and attacking vulnerable groups makes it more poignant and important now. There‘s a lot of honesty and sincerity in this slim book that centers around found family and kindness. 1mo

Read4life It was a reread for me. It did hit a bit differently this time. Ultimately, I‘m thankful I read it when I did both times. I got so much out of it both times in different ways. 1mo

CogsOfEncouragement This is a first read for me. I think reading it now is as good a time as ever. 1mo

15 likes6 comments

Jadams89

The Perks of Being a Wallflower | Stephen Chbosky

#WithTheBanned

5feet.of.fury I didn‘t see it coming at all! All he remembered before was his love for her. So heartbreaking. 1mo

CatLass007 Aunt Helen‘s role in his dissociation and the reason he was an observer and not a participant in the world around him was a complete shock! 1mo

Karisa @CatLass007 That was a horrible shock to me too. @5feet.of.fury Heartbreaking is right! I‘d read the book awhile back and had totally forgotten that twist 😢 1mo

Read4life Me, too @Karisa . There was a niggling in my mind and an unease but I had forgotten that twist so when it happened I felt shocked all over again. 1mo

CogsOfEncouragement Yes, definitely surprised because it is so uncommon for women to abuse in this way. I was concerned that the teacher, Bill, was going to be a villain. Was relieved Charlie had a good support system when the memory hit him. 1mo

13 likes5 comments

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