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catmgal's review against another edition
5.0
My review:
This book was absolutely perfect. Heartbreaking. Gut-wrenching. Relatable. Such a beautiful debut from an author I'll definitely be stocking up on, I don't even know where to begin with this review, it's so.... epically.... amazing. But amazing isn't even the right adjective for it, there's no right adjective for this book; it's every emotion we're too afraid to talk about -- even to ourselves. I'm speechless. Literally and figuratively.
Synopsis:
"Break a bone, grow a better body. The worse you're hurt, the stronger you get." That's seventeen-year-old Jonah's mentality on life; he thinks that if you're strong enough to go through the pain, then you're even stronger to survive through the aftermath. Because once "You're broken, and you're fixed ... you're better." Right?
Wrong. Jonah's world is literally tearing itself apart at the seams -- the oldest in the family, Jonah has taken over his younger brother Jesse's life, who is so allergic to almost anything he can break out in hives and die within minutes from a reaction to spilt milk. Meanwhile, the new baby, eight-month-old Will, just doesn't know when to stop crying -- Jonah's gotten used to the wails, from Will and his parents' arguing, who never cuss and think that Faith will save Them all.
Pain is the only thing that will save Jonah from the inevitable: helpless and overwhelmed with guilt for not being able to save Jesse from himself and his reactions and his parents' marriage-that-should've-been-a-divorce, each new bone he breaks doing stunts on his skateboard leads him closer to the goal. The edge. The exhilaration. Why? Because "You only get so many chances to be destroyed. Got to make the most of them."
This book was absolutely perfect. Heartbreaking. Gut-wrenching. Relatable. Such a beautiful debut from an author I'll definitely be stocking up on, I don't even know where to begin with this review, it's so.... epically.... amazing. But amazing isn't even the right adjective for it, there's no right adjective for this book; it's every emotion we're too afraid to talk about -- even to ourselves. I'm speechless. Literally and figuratively.
Synopsis:
"Break a bone, grow a better body. The worse you're hurt, the stronger you get." That's seventeen-year-old Jonah's mentality on life; he thinks that if you're strong enough to go through the pain, then you're even stronger to survive through the aftermath. Because once "You're broken, and you're fixed ... you're better." Right?
Wrong. Jonah's world is literally tearing itself apart at the seams -- the oldest in the family, Jonah has taken over his younger brother Jesse's life, who is so allergic to almost anything he can break out in hives and die within minutes from a reaction to spilt milk. Meanwhile, the new baby, eight-month-old Will, just doesn't know when to stop crying -- Jonah's gotten used to the wails, from Will and his parents' arguing, who never cuss and think that Faith will save Them all.
Pain is the only thing that will save Jonah from the inevitable: helpless and overwhelmed with guilt for not being able to save Jesse from himself and his reactions and his parents' marriage-that-should've-been-a-divorce, each new bone he breaks doing stunts on his skateboard leads him closer to the goal. The edge. The exhilaration. Why? Because "You only get so many chances to be destroyed. Got to make the most of them."
thepamz's review against another edition
1.0
Estuvo rápido de leer. Lo voy a ir a donar al final del mes con los otros libros que no me gustaron.
whenthepawnhits's review against another edition
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm
line's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
samanthabooks19's review against another edition
3.0
There are good and bad things I can say about this book. It’s short but it has a lot to unload. Some of the things I liked about his book was the characters and their relationships with one another. Particularly, I loved the relationship between the main character and his brother Jesse. It was nice to read about their connection and everything they have gone through. You could feel the bond between them. I would also say that there was some good character development. The characters learned and grew throughout the story.
It was an interesting story to say the least. The whole premise was intriguing. The story was fast paced and easy to fly through. I wouldn’t say it’s the most impactful book I’ve ever read, but it does have some good themes.
Some of the things that I didn’t like about this book was the mental health representation. I don’t think it was presented in the best way. Also, you could kind of tell that the author didn’t do substantial research on certain topics. It honestly felt like she didn’t know what she was writing about at times when a certain mental illness was brought up. I didn’t appreciate this and it did upset me. There are definitely some problematic aspects in this book.
I also feel like some plot points didn’t make sense or weren’t explained and wrapped up well enough. There were a lot of points that were added in but weren’t properly executed. There were some details that I don’t think were thought through. I also noticed a lot of errors. Both in grammar and wording. Overall, it felt very rough drafty to me in these aspects.
If you can look past these flaws, and just focus on the general story, then I think you will enjoy this book. One note I want to add to close off is that this should be labeled as an adult book and not YA. Yes, its characters are in high school, but the amount of profanity isn’t appropriate for a YA book. Just a disclaimer.
It was an interesting story to say the least. The whole premise was intriguing. The story was fast paced and easy to fly through. I wouldn’t say it’s the most impactful book I’ve ever read, but it does have some good themes.
Some of the things that I didn’t like about this book was the mental health representation. I don’t think it was presented in the best way. Also, you could kind of tell that the author didn’t do substantial research on certain topics. It honestly felt like she didn’t know what she was writing about at times when a certain mental illness was brought up. I didn’t appreciate this and it did upset me. There are definitely some problematic aspects in this book.
I also feel like some plot points didn’t make sense or weren’t explained and wrapped up well enough. There were a lot of points that were added in but weren’t properly executed. There were some details that I don’t think were thought through. I also noticed a lot of errors. Both in grammar and wording. Overall, it felt very rough drafty to me in these aspects.
If you can look past these flaws, and just focus on the general story, then I think you will enjoy this book. One note I want to add to close off is that this should be labeled as an adult book and not YA. Yes, its characters are in high school, but the amount of profanity isn’t appropriate for a YA book. Just a disclaimer.
colorfulleo92's review against another edition
I don't know if it's because I read this in a middle of an anxiety episode. But I have no frickin clue what I've just read or what the ending was about. I get that the protagonist had self harm issues where he wanted to break all his bones to get stronger as they heal. But from the middle to the end I was extremely confused and didn't understand what was going on. Not sure if it's was because my headspace or I just don't understand the book. Can someone who have read it please explain? A PM is fine
heyjudy's review against another edition
3.0
~3.5/5
[Also available on my blog.]
I was a little bit surprised by this book. I rather enjoyed it, but it wasn’t fully what I expected.
Jonah, the main character, is determined to break all of his bones. His parents are always fighting, he has a new baby brother who is always screaming and crying, and his one-year younger brother is allergic to everything, plus there are some girl problems added to the mix.
Before reading this, I hadn’t taken into account all of the casts and disabilities and hospital visits and actual breaking of the bones that go with what Jonah is doing. I don’t know why--it seems pretty obvious--but I didn’t think about it. But jesus, Jonah is constantly in a cast, and after only, like, a week or two, he’s ready to break another bone. He’s addicted to it, and it’s horrible. I was even wincing and wanting to skip ahead (I didn’t, but I wanted to) at one scene, when he was getting ready to slam a door on his hand (just thinking about it is making me grimace). It was horrible. But I’m squeamish, and there wasn’t even quite as much description of blood or anything, so other people could probably handle all of that better than me.
I felt bad for all three of the kids because of their parents. Their parents need some freakin’ counseling or to separate or something. They are not good together; I wouldn’t be able to stand it. I also felt bad for and because of the baby, what with it always screaming for no reason (that they can find).
I really liked Jesse, Jonah’s younger brother. Jesse was sweet, and I felt bad about all of his allergies. That would suck. And not only for him, but everyone around him. And it would suck having to have someone, like Jonah, to take care of things that he can’t be around when it’s constantly around him. I would have liked seeing more of Jesse, actually, and liked the stand he took at the end of the book.
A couple of things happened with Jonah that I wasn’t expecting. Some good, some not. I do feel like he had grown a bit by the end of the book, and that’s good. I like what happened with him and the girl by the end of the book.
I don’t feel like the ending was very good. There’s just… not enough closure or something. I feel like there should have been more with the parents, with what they’re doing next, with maybe them separating or trying to work through things. And then there’s the fact that Jonah broke out of this place, and I don’t understand how they wouldn’t be looking for him or wanting to send him back in. I feel like there are a couple of loose strings that I wanted finished.
I liked the writing style, and most of the chapters were rather short, which helped in making this a pretty fast read. There were a lot, and I mean a lot, of short sentences in a row all the time. It made the reading feel a little choppy, which is sometimes good, and it did grow on me, but it bothered me a bit at first.
Overall, I did quite enjoy this book, and am looking forward to reading Moskowitz’s other books.
[Also available on my blog.]
I was a little bit surprised by this book. I rather enjoyed it, but it wasn’t fully what I expected.
Jonah, the main character, is determined to break all of his bones. His parents are always fighting, he has a new baby brother who is always screaming and crying, and his one-year younger brother is allergic to everything, plus there are some girl problems added to the mix.
Before reading this, I hadn’t taken into account all of the casts and disabilities and hospital visits and actual breaking of the bones that go with what Jonah is doing. I don’t know why--it seems pretty obvious--but I didn’t think about it. But jesus, Jonah is constantly in a cast, and after only, like, a week or two, he’s ready to break another bone. He’s addicted to it, and it’s horrible. I was even wincing and wanting to skip ahead (I didn’t, but I wanted to) at one scene, when he was getting ready to slam a door on his hand (just thinking about it is making me grimace). It was horrible. But I’m squeamish, and there wasn’t even quite as much description of blood or anything, so other people could probably handle all of that better than me.
I felt bad for all three of the kids because of their parents. Their parents need some freakin’ counseling or to separate or something. They are not good together; I wouldn’t be able to stand it. I also felt bad for and because of the baby, what with it always screaming for no reason (that they can find).
I really liked Jesse, Jonah’s younger brother. Jesse was sweet, and I felt bad about all of his allergies. That would suck. And not only for him, but everyone around him. And it would suck having to have someone, like Jonah, to take care of things that he can’t be around when it’s constantly around him. I would have liked seeing more of Jesse, actually, and liked the stand he took at the end of the book.
A couple of things happened with Jonah that I wasn’t expecting. Some good, some not. I do feel like he had grown a bit by the end of the book, and that’s good. I like what happened with him and the girl by the end of the book.
I don’t feel like the ending was very good. There’s just… not enough closure or something. I feel like there should have been more with the parents, with what they’re doing next, with maybe them separating or trying to work through things. And then there’s the fact that Jonah broke out of this place, and I don’t understand how they wouldn’t be looking for him or wanting to send him back in. I feel like there are a couple of loose strings that I wanted finished.
I liked the writing style, and most of the chapters were rather short, which helped in making this a pretty fast read. There were a lot, and I mean a lot, of short sentences in a row all the time. It made the reading feel a little choppy, which is sometimes good, and it did grow on me, but it bothered me a bit at first.
Overall, I did quite enjoy this book, and am looking forward to reading Moskowitz’s other books.
kristid's review against another edition
4.0
Three words: intense, fast-paced, awesome!
What an incredible debut! Moskowitz is an extremely talented writer! Break was full of fantastically portrayed three dimensional characters and an insane central idea. A goal to break every bone in your body? How does that not pique your curiosity. Well, it did mine and this lead to me completely devouring the entire novel in one setting.
Moskowitz did an outstanding job of creating that are relatable, they have problems, feelings, and circumstances that are are not only associated with teens, but adults as well. Moskowitz’s did an excellent job with her portrayal of Jonah. I didn’t expect a young writer to conquer such a feat so well!
My only complaint would be the ending. It had a great premise, overall the writing was exceptional as well as the characters, but the ending was a little lackluster. The book was so great, I guess I was expecting a little bit more.
I’m really looking forward to reading anything from Moskowitz in the future.... so very talented! Just wow.
What an incredible debut! Moskowitz is an extremely talented writer! Break was full of fantastically portrayed three dimensional characters and an insane central idea. A goal to break every bone in your body? How does that not pique your curiosity. Well, it did mine and this lead to me completely devouring the entire novel in one setting.
Moskowitz did an outstanding job of creating that are relatable, they have problems, feelings, and circumstances that are are not only associated with teens, but adults as well. Moskowitz’s did an excellent job with her portrayal of Jonah. I didn’t expect a young writer to conquer such a feat so well!
My only complaint would be the ending. It had a great premise, overall the writing was exceptional as well as the characters, but the ending was a little lackluster. The book was so great, I guess I was expecting a little bit more.
I’m really looking forward to reading anything from Moskowitz in the future.... so very talented! Just wow.
sausome's review against another edition
2.0
So this book is a fast and easy read, but the subject matter is pretty intense. This kid is breaking BONES on purpose! Geezus. The book isn't put together in the best possible way -- it just seems like the author is trying to have too much drama going on at once, and doesn't lay it out in the best way. There's a brother who is fatally allergic to practically everything, and somehow he's still operating as a regular, sports playing kid, in a home with a new baby who won't stop crying, and Jonah, the bone-breaker, feels responsible for him! I don't get why the parents aren't way more involved with keeping this kid safe ... Also, WTF is wrong with this crying baby?! We never frickin' find out, and you'd think that would also be something of a bit more concern from the parents. It all feels dramatic and unrealistic, honestly, though that doesn't keep it from being a compelling read.