Review: Break

Break by Hannah Moskowitz
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pub. Date: August 25th 2009
Pages: 256
Age Level: 15+

Synopsis from Goodreads
Jonah is on a mission to break every bone in his body. Everyone knows that broken bones grow back stronger than they were before. And Jonah wants to be stronger—needs to be stronger—because everything around him is falling apart. Breaking, and then healing, is Jonah's only way to cope with the stresses of home, girls, and the world on his shoulders. This is the story of his self-destructive spiral, his rock-bottom moment, and how he finally learns to accept help and find true strength through recovery.

Review
I have to admit, I was expecting Break to totally blow me away. Though I did end up liking this book, I felt that I spent more time adjusting to it than anything. Adjusting to the constant language, adjusting to the characters, and adjusting to the writing. Oddly enough though, the plot was one thing that I didn't have a problem adjusting to.

It took a while for me to form a solid connection with Jonah and I found that I didn't particularly care for any of the others characters, except for maybe Jesse. When Jonah was with his friends, I wasn't crazy about his personality. His 'relationship' with Charlotte seemed somewhat superficial. As for his best friend, Naomi, I just wanted to slap her for encouraging Jonah in his 'mission'. Also, though Charlotte made a certain good decision in Break, I was kind of ticked at how she went about handling things. Then there is Jesse whom I liked well enough; at least he showed more concern for his brother. Furthermore, it was Jonah's relationship with his brother, Jesse, that kind of made me warm to him. It allowed me to see his more caring, sensitive and protective side; you could tell that Jonah truly loved his brother. As it turns out, by the end of this book, Jonah had definitely proved to be a deep and complex character that I could care about.

The first half of Break, though compelling, was starting to feel a bit repetitive; but then, it delved deep into the powerful, and gripping part of the book. I even teared up a bit at one point. It was also after the half way point that I was able to quit 'adjusting' and, instead, just start losing myself in the story. I managed to get used to the frequent use of the F-word though I still didn't like this aspect of the book. Also, the writing, which had at first just seemed choppy and slightly amateurish, turned out to be something a little more raw, blunt, and effective.

The ending, in my opinion, was brilliantly done by Moskowitz and probably the best part. There were no promises or false guarantees that everything would work out perfectly; however she left me with the sense that, in time, most of the damage would be healed and that things were on the road to something better.

So ok, Break, in my opinion, had some faults. However, it also had some wonderful, redeeming qualities and I believe Moskowitz shows great promise and potential as an author. This is by no means a light read, despite being a quick one, so I wouldn't recommend this to those looking for such a book. But if something more emotionally wrought and slightly dark is what you are in the mood for, then I say this is the book for you. Chances are I will be reading it again in the future.

Grade
Characters: C
Writing: C+
Plot: B-
Ending: A-
Enjoyment/Likability: C+
Recommendable: C+

Overall: C+

Cover: A-