Crank by Ellen Hopkins

At first glance, this book looks daunting simply because it is so thick. However, once you start reading you'll see that it is written more in poetic form so there aren't really that many words on a page. The story is riveting; you will love reading it, but it will break your heart. The central character gets hooked on meth when she visits her loser father (and he is really a pathetic loser type guy--you'll hate him). Before the end of the book Kristina (who turns 17 in the story) has smoked, snorted and shot crystal meth. She is raped, then gives herself to almost any guy she convinces herself she loves. Since she is narrating the story, you can see how hopelessly addicted to drugs that she becomes, even though she protests that she is not addicted and can quit whenever she wants. Toward the end of the book, she gets pregnant (well, duh. she doesn't use any type of birth control). Her mother and stepfather were in denial for most of the story, but toward the end when she had the baby, they were sort of trapped. They don't kick her out because of the baby, but they don't really know what to do with her. It's also a scary story to realize that Kristina drives a car, goes to school (but drops out before having the baby), and does so many other things while she is totally, absolutely, out-of-her-mind high. Crank is a sad story, but a compelling one. I can't wait to read Glass, the continuation of the story.