Obsessed

As many of my friends and family know, I am obsessed with the meth. Not with taking it. I am not sure I'd even know how. Not with procuring it -- because I KNOW I don't know how to do that. I mean, how much does meth cost? Do you just ask someone for it? Or are there special words you need to know? Lots of times, drugs have special words. I saw it on COPS.

I watch every meth documentary. I watch and re-watch Intervention on A&E. When I'm at Wal-Mart, I try to spot people on meth trying to buy Sudafed. I'm kind of like a one-person DEA. But without any authority to bust people. And without any bravery to bust people. Because -- as you know if you watch COPS -- folks on the meth are stronger than normal people. And I'm a baby.

So, with this background, is it any wonder that I saw a book called "Crank" -- with what looked like lines of meth spelling out the words -- and bought it without reading the blurbs or checking out the contents. Imagine my surprise when I settled into a nice bubble bath (my regular reading roost) and found a 500 page POEM. And not only was it a POEM. It was a "young adult" book poem about meth.

I don't like poems. I didn't see how the meth could make the poem worth reading -- no matter how obsessed I am. Was I really going to read it?

Three hours later (yes, I did get out of the tub during that time), I'd read the whole darn thing. And I liked it. And, dear reader, I'm going to recommend it to you.

First of all, readers of a certain age, this is no corny Go Ask Alice (a formative book of my youth). This was actually kind of intense. It's written from the point of view of a 16 year old girl who goes to visit her deadbeat dad and meets the wrong boy. Of course, the wrong boy leads to meth. (That's a bad date for you!)

The girl goes home to her suburban home, mom doesn't know what's going on -- the story is familiar. What isn't familiar is how it's written. It's a poem, and at first it's kind of irritating to read -- kind of like the first 25 pages of A Million Little Pieces -- but then you get used to it, and then you start noticing the nuances of language and typesetting. It's a deceptive book -- and one that you should take a look at. It's not just a horizontal read -- it's a vertical read, too.

Anyway, every so often, I venture into young adult fiction. This time I was rewarded with a fresh way to tell the same old "boy gives girl drugs, girl's life spirals out of control" story. One twist is that it is loosely based on author Ellen Hopkins' experience with her own daughter. Essentially a clueless (at first) mom writing about what she didn't see and learned about her daughter's secret life the hard way.

And seriously, it only took three hours to read. Most sucky dates last longer. Especially if dinner is involved.