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Completely agree with the part about a lot of Kristina's problems not coming just from meth. Like, what does her dependence on men have to do with her addiction to speed? And what caused her to suddenly jump into meth? It's like we don't get to know Kristina as a person, just her addiction. I liked the book ok, but I love to get to know characters and this didn't seem to do that very well.

Irisjade wrote: "Completely agree with the part about a lot of Kristina's problems not coming just from meth. Like, what does her dependence on men have to do with her addiction to speed? And what caused her to sud..."
Interestingly, I made the same observation--that the addiction was more the main character than Kristana (or Bree, for that matter). I grew up in a small meth-riddled town and can tell you such is often the case with addicts--often what they say and do has more to do with their addiction than with the person. At risk of being melodramatic, it's like they die and become their dependancy. And it's harrowing to watch. So the lack of character development, be it intentional or not, resonated with this as Hopkins' most brutally poignant commentary.

I completely agree. I think that the book lacks realism. The truth is that no drug can pull something out of you that wasn't there already. People do not become their dependancy. In fact I have met several very well functioning addicts. But more often then not drugs are a symptom, not the cause of the problem. that is certainly the case in this book. The monster is not the drug. The monster is her own psyche, and her lack of ability to realize that even without the drugs she is a very bad decision maker. People do not become their dependence. People let their dependence take the blame for their actions.

i agree with the part about chase's dialogue. also, it felt like the kristina and all her boyfriends fell in "love" after knowing each other for five minutes.

I also agree. The writing bothered me. The book was very cliche (the story) and the characters were very stereotypical.

The book, to me, may have been stereotypical. However, the stereotype is quite factional! Being an ex meth user way before I ever read this book, it seemed to follow very true to how many young people get started on it, no matter what they're 'issues' are. As far as her 'boyfriends' went, they were convenient to get the drug. It wasn't exactly them she was in love with, it's easier to make yourself believe that you love someone when they are supplying you with the drug you've fallen in love with! The reference to the fact that she has other monsters than just the drug is true. But the reason the drug was used as the persona of the monster is because in the dope world, at least 16 years ago, you were always chasing the monster looking to get higher and higher! At least one of you said that the drug is a symptom of something else. That is not always the case. In this story she was against the whole idea of it, at first. She knew her father was, or had been a user. It has been over a decade since I actually sat down and read this book so some of the details may be a bit fuzzy, but the overall story hit very close to home. That being said, if I recall correctly, she was offered a taste from Chase. She ended up becoming curious about it. The drug made her feel in a way she had never felt before, which is very true of the drug! It became something she was doing to have fun, and I think even to attract Chase. It became an addiction. Yes there are a few very functional addicts, but that's only a few. There are also several addicts that believe they are fully functional addicts. Those addicts though aren't doing, doing, doing to continuously get this outrages high. They do a small amount so they can function, they try to keep on a certain type of schedule where they still eat at least a little something, and even if they don't sleep they lay down and rest their body and eyes! When you are a teenager in the summer without a job or a reason to be perceived as a functioning human being, you don't think about those things. All there is to think about is the monster in your head telling you that you HAVE to have it, you NEED more. That is exactly what happened to Kristina, then she was too addicted to stop, even though she thought she had control of herself. So, stereotype or very true to reality? I say absolutely BOTH!!

I respect the stylistic choices that Hopkins has made. I think some parts do have a cliche sort of ring to them that makes them sound almost satirical. Like it's a parody of adolescence, a perversion of what is understood to be the normal, healthy development of a young woman, stretching her limbs and exercising independence. Her encounters with love and sexuality are somewhere between a fairytale and a horror story. She's surrounded by dark things she's never known before, and is immediately and superficially enamored with them. Her feelings towards Chase, Buddy, and Brandon mirror her relationship with the Monster. She was seduced, abused, and left to try to cope with the scars. Though she put herself in all of these situations, somehow she still seemed like a passive force in the story, playing into the concept of Bree taking over and rendering her helpless to the charms of this dangerous world of drugs and sex.
I feel that Hopkins chose these "limitations" purposefully and used them to tell the story that she wanted to. For me, it added a level of immersion that I don't think would have been possible without the dreamlike poetic form.