Flirtin' With The Monster

Flirtin' With The Monster

YA nonfiction
At the point when I had read Crank and sent for Glass by
interlibrary loan I was delighted to find Flirtin' With The Monster:
Your Favorite Authors on Ellen Hopkins' Crank and Glass, edited by
none other than Ellen Hopkins. I studied and reviewed those amazing
books. I was eager to see others' perspectives on them. The book
delivered big time.
The authors, dissecting the novel from various perspectives,
offered interesting insights. My favorite piece was Niki Burnham's
Role Models. It's about the importance of authors writing for teens
to give them authentic characters and situations rather than the
sanitized offerings demanded by would be gatekeepers such as parents,
teachers and librarians. Susan Hart Lindquist talks about why
Hopkins' very distinctive format works so splendidly. Terrie Clark
opines on the centrality of secrets in Hopkins' work and Megan Kelley
Hall compares shows the similarities between addictions and drugs.
However, some of the most poignant pieces come from people in
other fields. Mary Bryan, director of a non profit substance
treatment facility, goes into the many reasons why the character
Kristina can't just quit using meth. Gail Giles writes about the
painful decision to kick a loved one out of the home if his or
continued presence is endangering the rest of the family. John Tatro
provides the perspective of a judge who must decide the fates of the
increasing number of young meth addicts who show up in his court.
And then the last section contains the musings of Hopkins' own
family members who were models for characters in Crank and Glass.
Flirtin' With The Monster is a must read, in my opinion, for
fans of Hopkins' YA novels and people who are concerned with meth
addiction and its effects on families and communities.
On a personal note, the Orono Community Garden is looking quite
spiffy. As part of UMaine orientation, freshpeople were given various
volunteering assignments. We got a gang from the honors college who
did some big projects we otherwise would not have had the people power
to accomplish. That was a true blessing.
A great big shout out goes out to the University of Maine class of '19
(of which my son is a proud member).
Julia Emily Hathaway



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