The only other thing we’ll
share for quite a while is our
fate. Already indexed
in that mostly unwritten
book is extradition.
Nevada wants us also.
Serious charges there, too.
No longer will Trey and I share
an apartment, a car, a bed. Won’t
share a pipe. A cigarette. A kiss.
Won’t share promises.
Dreams.
Vows.
We will, however, share one
very special thing, in the not-
too-distant future. A baby. All
that poking, prodding, and analysis,
in search of AIDS or Hep C, netted
that information. Guess it’s too
late to make that appointment
with Planned Parenthood.
I only hope I’m out of jail
before that big day comes.
One Option
Can shorten my stay.
It’s not only distasteful
but dangerous. Maybe
even life-threatening.
My public defender,
a rat-faced little man
with a squeaky voice,
brings me the offer.
The Feds want to disrupt
the flow of Mexican meth
into the continental U.S. If
you’ll turn state’s evidence…
I don’t really hear all
the details, through
the whir in my brain.
But the message comes
across loud and clear:
Turn in Cesar, pull
a lot less time. Some
thing to think about.
We will have to convince
courts in two states that
your cooperation will
benefit society at large.
Now, there’s something
to put down on a future
résumé. Right after
“felony convictions.”
Back in Nevada
Behind home-state bars,
I have a ton to think about
while awaiting sentencing.
Hopefully,
the Feds won’t rescind their
offer. I’ll only have to spend
six months in jail. Not so long.
Hopefully,
they will arrest Cesar, put him
away for much longer than that.
I’ll have to testify against him,
but I won’t have to pay him.
Hopefully,
his people will tuck tail, sprint
back across the border. If not,
they shouldn’t be able
to get me in here.
Hopefully
the Department of Corrections
can safeguard me—and those
I love—against La Eme–style
retribution.
Hopefully,
Trey and I will hook up again
after we get out. Hook up and
raise our baby together,
or at least share the parenting.
Hopefully,
he’ll write me. If not, Quade
has promised to. And I believe
him. You’re a complete mess,
he said. So why do I love you?
Hopefully,
one day I’ll be worthy of his
love. Anyone’s love. Trey’s.
Our baby’s. Hunter’s. Mom’s.
Hopefully,
she can forgive me for
betraying her trust. She knows
about everything. She saw the bank
photo too. Turned me in.
Hopefully,
my dance with the monster hasn’t
caused irreparable harm to me,
or to my just-forming baby.
Hopefully,
it will be a girl, a beautiful
perfect daughter, with hair
like Trey’s, eyes like mine.
Hopefully,
I will love every hour of being
her mother, even late-night
feedings, diaper changings,
the whole experience.
Hopefully,
most hopefully of all, by
the time I get out of here,
the monster will be nothing
more than a distant memory.
An unforgettable nightmare.
Yeah, Yeah
I realize that’s an awful
lot of hoping. But hey,
I’ve always been
an optimist…
…don’t ask me why.
author’s note
This book continues the story begun in my first novel, Crank. Both books, while fiction, are loosely based on the very real story of my daughter’s walk with “the monster” drug crystal meth. Our family is healing, but will always wear the scars of the monster. I hope that by opening our windows and letting you peek inside, you will gain some insight about the nature of addiction.
about the author
Ellen Hopkins has been called “the bestselling living poet in the country” by mediabistro.com. Her first book, Crank, was a New York Times bestseller, and her most recent bestselling book, Identical, was praised as “sharp and stunning . . . brilliant” in a starred review from Kirkus Reviews. She lives with her family in Carson City, Nevada. Be sure to check out Ellen Hopkins online at ellenhopkins.com and myspace.com/ellenhopkins.
A Reading Group Guide to Glass by Ellen Hopkins
PREREADING ACTIVITY
Ask students one of the following: 1) What do you know about the drug meth? 2) Why might a seemingly "perfect" teen turn to meth? 3) To what extent would you be willing to support an immediate family member who is addicted to meth?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
In the opening of Glass, Hopkins reminds the reader of Kristina Snow's fall "into the lair of the monster," a metaphor for meth. How is the word monster an appropriate metaphor for meth?
Kristina's alter ego, Bree, takes over when she is high on meth. What does Kristina mean when she says she made a "conscious decision" to turn into Bree?
Kristina meets Trey, a user and drug dealer, and falls head over heels for him. A year previously she had fallen for Adam, who introduced her to meth. After their relationship, why does Kristina fall for Trey, another drug dealer? What characteristics does he have that draw her in? Why does she maintain this relationship even though she knows Trey has other girlfriends?
Kristina knows that she should resist the monster. Why do you think she lacks the strength? Why might recovering addicts believe they can use again but control their drug habit?
Chase, a boyfriend from Crank, has a minor role in this novel. When Kristina encounters him, she is somewhat tentative. What feelings does she have for him? Why do you think Hopkins develops the scene in which Kristina encounters Chase with his new wife?
Kristina's mother and stepfather want Kristina to heal. Why does Kristina journey down the wrong path again? What emotions exist between Kristina and her mother? Between her stepfather and Kristina?
Would you describe the way Kristina feels as "empty"? Explain. How much power do Kristina's parents have to help her? Could they have done anything to prevent her from spiraling downward again? If so, what?
Kristina became hooked on meth when visiting her biological father, a meth user. When her father pays a visit on her birthday, Kristina shares her own stash with him. Describe their relationship. In what ways is her relationship with her father similar to her relationship with her mother? How is it different?
Does Trey genuinely care for Kristina? Does Brad? Cite scenes to support your response.
Does Kristina feel parental attachment to Hunter in the beginning of the story? Explain. Do her feelings toward him change throughout the story? If so, in what way?
Does Kristina grow throughout the story? Why or why not? Cite passages to support your tho
ughts.
Kristina's mother "throws her out" and/or refuses to see her while she is addicted. Does her mother take appropriate steps by turning her away?
Glass contains numerous shape poems. Identify two shape poems and explain the meaning of these forms. What effect do they have on the overall story? Why do you think Hopkins chose these shapes?
Glass begs for another follow-up in the series. What might happen to Kristina now that she and Trey have been busted? Will she distance herself from Trey or will they continue their relationship? Will she rejoin her family and resist the monster?
ACTIVITIES
Organize a drug awareness campaign in your school and/or community. You may develop brochures outlining the dangers of meth and invite a guest speaker (ex., adolescent therapist) to your school, church/synagogue, etc., to speak to your peers.
Re-examine the shape poetry found in Glass. Write your own poem in a shape that suits the poem's theme. You may create a Shape Poetry Collection that when read together convenes a theme or short story.
Research meth and its effects on the body. Develop a blog or wiki on the dangers of meth and include information about where teens can go for help. Share the site with others in your school.
Kristina is the "perfect" girl. She is pretty, smart, and lives a comfortable lifestyle with her family. Why might someone who seemingly has everything turn to drugs? Read nonfiction accounts of teens who turn to meth. Develop a presentation that outlines common reasons teens turn toward drugs.
Volunteer to work for an organization that supports high-risk children such as a Big Brother or Big Sister.
Read a follow-up fiction novel that addresses drug addiction (ex., Candy by Kevin Brooks or St. Iggy by K. L. Going). Compare and contrast the stories. What characteristics do the drug addicts share? How are they different?
Glass guide written by Pam B. Cole, Professor of English Education & Literacy, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA.
Don’t miss
Ellen Hopkins’s
Fallout
We Hear
That life was good
before she
met
the monster,
but those page-flips
went down before
our collective
cognition. Kristina
wrote
that chapter of her
history before we
were even whispers
in her womb.
The monster shaped
our
lives, without our ever
touching it. Read on
if you dare. This
memoir
isn’t pretty.
Hunter Seth Haskins
So You Want to Know
All about her. Who
she
really is. (Was?) Why
she swerved off
the high road. Hard
left
to nowhere,
recklessly
indifferent to
me,
Hunter Seth Haskins,
her firstborn
son. I’ve been
choking
that down for
seventeen years.
Why did she go
on
her mindless way,
leaving me spinning
in a whirlwind of
her dust?
If You Don’t Know
Her story, I’ll try
my best to enlighten
you, though I’m not sure
of every word of it myself.
I suppose I should know
more. I mean, it has been
recorded for eternity—
a bestselling fictionalization,
so the world wouldn’t see
precisely who we are—
my mixed-up, messed-
up family, a convoluted
collection of mostly regular
people, somehow strengthened
by indissoluble love, despite
an ever-present undercurrent
of pain. The saga started here:
Foreword
Kristina Georgia Snow
gave me life in her seventeenth
year. She’s my mother,
but never bothered to be
my mom. That job fell
to her mother, my grandmother,
Marie, whose unfailing love
made her Mom even before
she and Dad (Kristina’s stepfather,
Scott) adopted me. That was
really your decision, Mom claims.
You were three when you started
calling us Mama and Papa.
The other kids in your playgroup
had them. You wanted them too.
We became an official
legal family when I was four.
My memory of that day is hazy
at best, but if I reach way,
way back, I can almost see
the lady judge, perched
like an eagle, way high above
little me. I think she was
sniffing. Crying, maybe?
Her voice was gentle. I want
to thank you, Mr. and Mrs.
Haskins, for loving this child
as he deserves to be loved.
Please accept this small gift,
which represents that love.
I don’t really remember all
those words, but Mom repeats
them sometimes, usually
when she stares at the crystal
through the kitchen window.
That part of Kristina’s story
always makes Mom sad.
Here’s a little more of the tale.
Chapter One
It started with a court-ordered
summer visit to Kristina’s
druggie dad. Genetically,
that makes him my grandfather,
not that he takes much interest
in the role. Supposedly he stopped
by once or twice when I was still
bopping around in diapers.
Mom says he wandered in late
to my baptism, dragging
Kristina along, both of them
wearing the stench of monster
sweat. Monster, meaning crystal
meth. They’d been up all night,
catching a monstrous buzz.
It wasn’t the first time
they’d partied together. That
was in Albuquerque, where dear
old Gramps lives, and where
Kristina met the guy who popped
her just-say-no-to-drugs cherry.
Our lives were never the same
again, Mom often says. That
was the beginning of six years
of hell. I’m not sure how we all
survived it. Thank God you were
born safe and sound. . . .
All my fingers, toes, and a fully
functional brain. Yadda, yadda . . .
Well, I am glad about the brain.
Except when Mom gives me
the old, What is up with you?
You’re a brilliant kid. Why do
you refuse to perform like one?
A C-plus in English? If you would
just apply yourself . . .
Yeah, yeah. Heard it before.
Apply myself? To what?
And what the hell for?
I Kind of Enjoy
My underachiever status.
I’ve found the harder you
work, the more people expect
of you. I’d much rather fly
way low under the radar.
That was one of Kristina’s
biggest mistakes, I think—
insisting on being right-up-
in-your-face irresponsible.
Anyway, your first couple years
of college are supposed to be
about having fun, not about
deciding what you want to do
with the rest of your life. Plenty
of time for all that whenever.
I decided on UNR—University
of Nevada, Reno—not so much
because it was always a goal,
but because Mom and Dad
did this prepaid tuition thing,
and I never had Ivy League
ambitions or the need to venture
too far from home. School is school.
I’ll get my BA in communications,
then figure out what to do with it.
I’ve got a part-time radio gig at
the X, an allowance for incidentals,
and I live at home. What more
could a guy need? Especially
when he’s got a girl like Nikki.
Picture the Ideal Girl
And you’ve got Nikki.
She’s sweet. Smart. Cute. Oh,
yes, and then there’s her body.
I’m not sure what perfect
measurements are, but