Breaking Point

Author: Alex Flinn
Recommended Age: Young Adult
Publisher: Harper Teen

ISBN:  0-06-623847-1

Year Published: 2003
No. Pages: 239
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Main Character Gender: Male
Read & Reviewed by: Kyle

“We may need to plant a bomb in Old Lady Zaller’s room.”

Paul Richmond is new to town. He attends a fancy private school for free because his mom is the school’s counselor. This does not go unnoticed by the rich kids who push him into lockers, and pour cola into his locker. Then he meets Charlie Good who invites him to play mailbox baseball with his two sidekicks Meat and St. John. Soon, Paul is stealing and vandalizing. Realizing Charlie is a bad influence, Paul tries to avoid him but he gets sucked back into the group. When another kid at school kills himself because of Charlie, Paul ignores it. Charlie is like a ticking time bomb, will Paul ever rise against him?

Written in first person narrative, I really got to know Paul. Alex Flinn’s writing helped me understand Paul’s feelings as he went from being a nice kid to a bully. Through his internal voice and by watching his actions as a reader, Paul’s character was able to show many aspects of bullying. If I hadn’t read from Paul’s perspective I would have thought there was an easy fix to all this; “Just walk away.” This novel helped me better understand how complicated bullying can be and how trapped a victim can feel.

I felt that every character played a good role in the book. Paul’s character was so well narrated that I felt like I could predict what he was going to do or what was going to happen. The writing pulled me in and I felt like I was in the book. I’ve been picked on before for being different and found that it isn’t always easy to stand up for yourself. Paul learned who he was by going through this ordeal and many teenagers will relate to him. Flinn’s portrayal of Paul and the subject of bullying was realistic. The dialogue was believable too.

The story was suspenseful because I wanted to know how Paul would get out of this mess. Every chapter left in a cliffhanger. I just wanted to read more of it. Compared to other books about bullying, such as Bystander, I found this one much better and easier to understand. I felt I connected better to the character so the message ended up having more of an impact on me. It was also a much quicker read.   

I read this book in three days and all I could think about is what would happen next. I would rate this novel an 8 out of 10. I would recommend it for anyone looking for a book about bullying or a quick captivating read.