Argument Essay Draft #1

            The book, "Crank" By Ellen Hopkins was number 4 out of 348 challenged books in 2010.  Parents want to ban this book because they say that this book is inappropriate for young people to be reading.

            First of all, this book contains terms that kids shouldn't be reading about.  For example on pages: 96-97 and 430 it contains examples of sex. Kids shouldn't be learning about this at such a young age. Kids should be learning about this from their parents not from a book. On page 111-117 Kristina, the protagonist almost got raped. On page 341-343 she got raped by one of her boyfriends, Brendan. If a kid doesn't know what sex is, then that kid doesn't know what rape is. A kid shouldn't know about rape until their parents want them to know. On page 322 Kristina curses at her mother. Although, we all know what cursing is, parents don't want their kids to be cursing especially at them.

            Another reason why this book should be ban is because most of the book is based on drugs. We all know what drugs are. We also know that drugs aren't good for us. We might know people that use drugs but Kristina is addicted to them. On page 42 she starts to smoke, she was smoking a cigarette. We all see people with a cigarette on the streets, but at this point Kristina has changed completely. By this point she has been taken into the dark side. On page 88-93 she cranks for the first time. (For those that don't know what Crank is: A Street from of calling Cocaine form base) By this point she has shaken hands with the "monster" as refer to crank in the book. On page 478-479, Kristina has gone to the extreme and has started to sell crank on "The Avenue" or a smoking area for kids who aren't supposed to smoke.

            On the other hand the author uses Kristina to show her readers the problems and consequences most teenagers go through. "However, the junior high transition years are frustrating and difficult for parents as their control over their children," says in the article, "Texas: If you can't ban books, Ban Authors" by Phil Bildner. This shows that parents cannot always give advice to their kids because they're having difficulty trying to control them. However, Kristina is a bad influence for kids. Throughout the book she smokes, cranks, gets high, has sex, curses, lies, and is disobedient. (High means to be kind of open minded and dreaming caused by using drugs) These terms are used so many times in the book that could influence kids to try these things. In the article, " The 'sick-lit' books aimed at children: It's a disturbing phenomenon. Tales of teenage cancer, self-harm and suicide..." by Tanith Carey it says, "I'd finish reading and immediately reach for my blade." Here a girl named Jess is describing how when she finished reading a book she felt very close to the characters. If a girl gets influence by reading a book, wouldn't others get influence to do things by reading other books?

            In conclusion, Crank, By Ellen Hopkins should be ban because it contains terms that kids shouldn't be reading about, most of the book is based on drugs, and this book can influence teenagers to do things that Kristina does. I personally think that middle school libraries shouldn't have books like this in their libraries because kids are sometimes not ready to know about these things. That's why it's up to their parents to tell their kids about these things at an appropriate time.