Fitting in an be hard for some people. Watching other people enjoy life from the sidelines can be even harder. Some people would do anything to be part of those people.To be the person everybody wants to be. That's exactly what Kristina did. By taking Meth, Kristina became the person she always wanted to be. However, her addiction started controlling her as it became more and more powerful. In "Crank" by Ellen Hopkins, the author shows us how overpowering drug addiction can be and how it can change people.

               Kristina had always been a good girl. Shes always followed the rules until she met crank. She became "Bree", an outgoing, risk taking alter ego. As Bree, she learned what it was like to love somebody. She became the person she always wanted to be. However, as she did, she hurt the people around her. "Crank" shows the dangers of drugs and how they can change people. We not only hurt ourselves but the people around us. Ellen Hopkins shows that the desire to fit, to experience what others experience, could be so great that people would go to extremes to change who they are; to be somebody else; to fit in. Just like Kristina. However, drugs are never the solution. Although crank took away Kristina's pain at times and changed her to who she wanted to be, crank began controlling her. She became more and more addicted to it until it was all she could think of. In the end, I learned that changing yourself to please other people, becoming someones totally different to belong with others, is not the solution, because like Kristina, although she became someone she wanted to be, Bree was just a wall hiding the real Kristina. People only saw Bree. People got to to know, to like Bree. Not Kristina. So in the end she was still alone.
               Overall, "Crank" by Ellen Hopkins teaches readers of the dangers of drugs and how they can affect and change people. Also that no matter how low you may feel, you should not turn to drugs for help because it will only hurt you even more and the people around you.
               

          Imagine growing up in a place you were taught to love and be proud to be part of, but then find  out that it was all a lie. That they were the ones responsible for your family's death and for the plagues killing of the population. That's how it was for June. A prodigy who had scored a perfect score on the Test that would define the rest of you life in the Republican. The book "Prodigy" by Marie Lu, has many themes. Its full of betrayal, love and fights. This book shows that everything is not what it seems.

          There are some things that you can forgive but not forget. In the book, June and Day really loved each other. However, even if she didn't mean it , it was June who got Days family killed. in the end. no matter how much they love each other, that will always be in between them June had brought Day so much pain. Neither would ever forget it.

          You can't judge a person without knowing their story. In the book, June was sent undercover, to lead Anden ( the new leader of the Republican) into a trap that would result in his death. However, she realized that Anden wasn't anything like the way he had been described to him. A puppet controlled by the senate who was not ready to be a leader. However, he actually waned to make a change in the Republican. He was not just a puppet, but a leader. He dint want to follow in his dads footsteps. He wanted to be his own man and make decisions that he trust would make a difference.

          Overall, "Prodigy" by Marie Lu has many themes that show that everything is not what it seems.At first June was tricked into fighting for the Republican, the ones responsible for her family's death, and then her and Day were tricked into working for the patriots, the ones "working against" the Republican but turned out to be helping them. June and Day were tricked and betrayed so many times that all they had was each other to trust and even then it wasn't enough. Even with their strong bond, their previous experiences caused them to doubt each other.