Published August 21, 2007 by Margaret K. McElderry Books
Summary
Glass is the second free verse poetry book in the Crank series by Ellen Hopkins. The series is about eighteen year old Kristina’s struggle with drug addiction and is based on the life of Ellen Hopkin’s daughter. In this book, Kristina has just had a baby, and is struggling to take care of him. She moves in with her mother to get clean, but instead she and her boyfriend become addicted to meth. Her mother kicks her out after her son hurt himself and she was unable to do anything. Kristin begins dealing meth to one of her friends who now works in a whorehouse. Throughout the novel, her boyfriend is away, and she starts sleeping with his cousin. When he comes back, they get back together. Kristina’s mother files a court order, claiming her an unfit mother. They try to run away together to California but are caught and taken back to Nevada and placed in jail. While there, Kristina detoxes and realizes she is pregnant again. At the end of the novel, Kristina is hopeful that she can turn her life around and be a better mom the second time.
Have you ever tried
An example of the free verse style in Glass
To quit
a bad habit, one
that has come to define you?
Controversy
The problem that the complainant had with Glass was that the subject matter was not appropriate for adolescence. She focuses on the drug use, sex, and encouragement of said behaviors. In this document that was attached to her original complaint she included quotes from the book. They mostly fall into these categories:
- 16 quotes about drug use
- 29 examples of sexual content
- 15 quotes involving profanity
- 4 references to abortion
In Defense
The topics in Ellen’s books are very important for children to know about. The students need to see the devastation and consequences of these actions vicariously through these characters rather than them happening to the students in real life.
-Karin Perry, former Whittier librarian
Reading books with these topics allows students to experience these things from the safety of a book.
Ellen Hopkins, Karin Perry, and the committee that judged Glass all agreed that the book is a positive resource for junior high students. Since it covers the serious topic of drug abuse, the “powerful message” serves as a warning to students.