Fallout

Title - Fallout
Author - Ellen Hopkins
ISBN - 9781416950097
Publication Date - 2010

Plot - Fallout covers the repercussions of the original character of the Crank series Kristina, or Bree as her alter ego would have one believe.  In this novel we are told the tale of three separate individuals: Hunter, Autumn, and Summer.  Each of these three individuals has a different last name, given the fact of their mother's promiscuity it is not surprising.  Furthermore, each of these individuals is hanging onto their own sanity and lives by a slender thread. 

Hunter is 19 now and angry.  He tries to live a normal life but rage is buried within him, especially when he has to confront the dad who raped him mother causing him to be born.  Autumn has been forced to live with her aunt and grandfather, and when the aunt leaves to get married, her little stability that she held onto vanished.  Summer doesn't know about any of her family.  She has been abused at the hand of foster parents and countless of her fathers girlfriends. 

All of them are rapidly headed for destruction, and at the same time they are headed for a confrontation with the mother who gave them birth, and is responsible for all of this pain that is ripping them apart as well.  This final confrontation leads them to a deeper understanding of each other and a sense of community, while at the same time the harrowing fear that each of them has their mother, and this demon, buried within them.

Critical Review - Like with Crank Ellen Hopkins visits into the world of those haunted by the abuse of drugs.  This time she decides to elevate the story of the offspring of Kristina, trying to convey the world from their perspective.  She does such a good job of telling of the hurt and pain that each of them feel.  There are so many mixed up emotions in all of it as a reader you feel like you are caught in a storm, with no way of escape.  As opposed to the first novel, Crank, which felt like you made a decision and were being sucked down into a deep dark hole, Fallout feels more like you are caught up in something with which you have no control over.  Each of these characters feels their own personal void, and being pulled to the vortex their mother created for them when she decided to make that one fateful decision and enter the world of the meth addict.  Hauntingly real despite the telling of it in free verse.  I love the fact that it feels like layers being pulled back to delve into each new section of poetry.

Reader's Annotation - What would life be like if you felt that you had no control over anything around you?  You have a pull that grabs you and you cannot tell from where or who is doing it.  And it maybe the siren song of the mermaid calling you to crash into the rocks.  Someone has blown up your world and you are not even sure who did it.  All you have left is the Fallout.

About the Author - Ellen Hopkins began her career in the non-fiction field, writing books for children.  But in 2002 she found out that her daughter had developed a severe meth-amphetamine addiction.  Keenly aware of all the damage that was being caused by her daughters use of the drug, and desiring to sense some connection and responsibility she might bear for her daughters condition, Hopkins set out to write a novel about the monster of crank.

This cathartic journey encouraged her to explore a wide range of subjects that might be effecting teens with a series of verse novels including Burned, Impulse, Identical and Glass.  Each of these explores the drama effecting teens and how their choices have a significant impact on the rest of their lives.

Genre- Drama, Free Verse Poetry

Curriculum Ties - Discuss the use of Free Verse to write an entire novel. - Literature

Compare and contrast the novel Crank with other Epic poems such as Milton's Paradise Lost, or Dante's Inferno.  - Literature

Booktalking Ideas - Discuss the nature of addiction.

Discuss the difference, if any, of the nature of many of the prescription drugs that are out there.

Discuss the efficacy of decriminalizing drugs such as marijuana and its social impact

Reading Level/Interest Age - Grade 10+

Challenge Issues - I think there are so many challenge issues it would be difficult to start.  As I know, Hopkins has been banned from doing book talks at certain places because of the controversy over the Crank series.  It is hard to pick one issue. But aside from language issues the novel contains a person who has to confront the man who raped her mother and was literally his father, teen alcohol abuse, and severe drug abuse without any resolution aside from the fact that we know she remorseful at the end.

Overcoming Challenges - I think it would be important to first point out that there is no glamour involved to the drug use.   Discussing with teens that actions have consequences is important and this can be a good way to begin that discussion.  Also having a list of items from drug agencies about drug abuse and its negative consequences on hand to show to parents to that they have a way to discuss the novel with their teen would be a good thing as well.  This should allay the fears of most responsible parents.

Why Included - Along with Wintergirls, I really wanted to find another book that would be considered controversial in teen literature.  A friend of mine put me onto Ellen Hopkins and I was very pleased.