Review: Fallout

[Kymberly Mosley]

 

 Fallout is the final book in the Crank trilogy which tells the story of Kristina Georgia Snow, a girl who threw away her future when she became hooked on crystal meth. The first two novels, Crank and Glass, focused on Kristina’s story, whereas Fallout tells the story of her children. These children--Hunter, Autumn, and Summer--have no genuine attachment to each other, but they are still connected by their absent mother, Kristina. Written in free verse like the previous two books, Fallout switches between their individual narratives, so that we are able to see just how the effects of their mother’s poor decisions have influenced them. Hunter, Kristina’s firstborn who first appears as a newborn at the end of Crank, struggles with the typical issues of a 19-year old college student in addition to his feelings of abandonment and resentment towards Kristina. He is under the care of Kristina’s parents, and thus is the most aware of Kristina’s past and how it has affected him. Autumn, Kristina’s 15 year-old daughter, lives with her paternal aunt and grandfather, and struggles with a developing alcohol addiction as a result of loneliness. Kristina’s second daughter, Summer, is the most removed from her family due to being bounced around between her father’s house and various foster homes. Although these homes were meant to give her a positive family environment, she finds herself victim to physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her foster families as well as her father’s many girlfriends. All three of Kristina’s children reflect some part of her, whether or not they are willing to admit it. Throughout Fallout, we watch their personalities and personal issues unfold as they try to cope with their past and avoid letting it destroy their future.
 
I may be a little biased because I’ve read all but two of Ellen Hopkins’ books, and she’s one of my favorite authors. However, the reason that I’m such a fan of hers is that her stories are compelling, raw, and enduring. By choosing to write Fallout and introducing the children of the stories’ subject, Hopkins explores on an idea that many other authors only vaguely mention. She does not completely leave Kristina behind, but she demonstrates that there are several others who are affected by one character’s poor decisions. For the first two novels, I was rooting for Kristina, hoping that she could leave behind her meth addiction and salvage any chances she had left at a bright future. However, now I am hoping that her children can avoid falling into the same troubles, despite their similarities to Kristina. I would definitely recommend this book for high school students because sometimes youths can feel as though they are doomed to follow a path that was predetermined for them. Or they can sit at the opposite end of the spectrum and be blind to the fact that they are going down a path which they had not intended to follow. Either way, Fallout presents the idea that although we cannot change things like our parents’ bad decisions, we can make conscious efforts to avoid letting those bad choices determine the type of person we want to be.
 
For more info, I'd also recommend taking a glance at Ellen Hopkins' website: http://www.ellenhopkins.com (In the Bio and FAQS sections, she talks about how her real life experience with her daughter inspired the writing of the Crank series.) It's worth your time, I promise!