One thing I can't deny about Ellen Hopkins is that the lady knows how to write! I love the flow of every one of her books, the intriguing hooks at the end of each character section, and the different format of each poem/verse. Some of the layouts are simple and straightforward, while others creatively separate a word or two of each paragraph, forming a separate sentence out of those words that touches on the essence of the entire poem. In all of these aspects, Fallout does not disappoint.
Fallout is the third book of the Crank series, which is a fictional account of real life events that Ellen Hopkins went through with her own daughter. She manages to weave truth and fiction together in a fashion that keeps the reader tied to the story. The two previous books of the series were written from Kristina/Bree's point of view, while Fallout takes a different perspective and shows the reader how Kristina's choices and mistakes have affected the lives of her children some nineteen years later. Fallout begins with Hunter, Kristina's eldest child, giving a brief explanation of his mother's story, in case the reader has not read the previous books or has forgotten the details. We also find out that Hunter was adopted by Kristina's mom and stepfather when he was four. After we learn a little more about Hunter, the story introduces Autumn, the daughter of Kristina and Trey, who we met previously in Glass. Autumn now lives with her grandfather and Aunt Cora, Trey's father and sister. Finally we meet Summer, Kristina's third child, who now lives in foster care thanks to the mistakes of her mother and father. The book alternates between these three teenagers, telling their stories, and relating their feelings about the circumstances of their lives. As each one learns what it means to be in love, they also discover that they have more in common with each other, and their mom, than they knew.
Throughout the book, there are news articles, usually on the page before Hunter's story continues. At first I thought these articles would add some insight to the current book, but after a quick review of the two previous books, I realized that these articles were telling the reader what happened to the minor characters of Crank and Glass. While these little tidbits of information were interesting to a fan of the series, I thought it would be confusing to anyone who might not have read Crank and/or Glass first. After all, in the beginning, Hunter explains his mom's history, in case someone doesn't already know that story. I think that without the news articles, the book could stand alone, allowing a reader to pick it up without reading the other two books first.
There were two other things that bothered me about the book. One of these things is that when Summer's boyfriend meets her dad, there is a reaction in both of the guys that isn't fully explained. Summer's dad explains that her boyfriend reminds him of his old friend Trey, but we don't get any further information about the boyfriend's reaction. Perhaps he was simply having that nervous reaction that is natural when meeting a girlfriend's dad, but it seemed like more than that to me, especially after the dad mentioned Trey. I kept waiting for the boy to have some kind of connection to Trey, but I guess I just read too much into that. My other complaint is that most, if not all, of the teenagers in Ellen Hopkins' books seem to be obsessed with sex. Maybe they are virgins at the beginning of the book, but once they've had a taste, they don't want to stop. From what I can recall at the moment, the only character who hasn't been focused on sex was the main female character in Burned. It would be nice to see another book from her with a teen who isn't so focused on sex, but on other aspects of being a teenager. I know these teens exist!
Overall, Fallout is a great end to the Crank series. I think if she wanted to continue the series later, there's still room to grow - I'm sure I'm not the only one who wants to know what happens to Hunter, Autumn, and Summer, not to mention Donald and David!
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