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whitneymouse 's review for:
The Breakup Lists
by Adib Khorram
challenging
emotional
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
**Thank you to Penguin Teen for the ARC. This in no way changed my rating**
This is the first Khorram book that wasn't a 5 and it breaks my heart. I love his writing style and most of his characters. The main character in this book is named Jackson and he has some issues stemming from his parent's divorce. It causes him not to get too close to anyone. He is biracial and deaf and gay and a the drama department's stage manager. He's pretty much running the tech department single-handedly. The story starts when he starts to become closer with swimmer-turned-actor, Liam.
Enter the reason for this being a 4. Jasmine, Jackson's sister.
I've read all of Khorram's other YA books and all of them were a 5. This is the first one with a teenage, female main character. I honestly think maybe he shouldn't do another after Jasmine. I despise her. She IS the entire book's problems. Yes, there are individual issues between Jackson and Liam, but the vast majority of the plot's central conflict stems from Jasmine. She's selfish. She (and the rest of her family) didn't even attempt to learn ASL to help her brother communicate better. She asks him to make these lists of reasons why her (MANY) relationships have failed (none of them include her being psychotic). She starts dating Liam because he's hot and sees nothing past that. She forces her brother to write a list when that inevitably doesn't work out. I have nothing redeeming to say about her. Literally nothing. I knew what the conflict was going to be a mile away and that is what made it a slower read for me than most of Khorram's other books, which I fly through. I didn't want to read about Jasmine being awful and overdramatic.
Jackson and Liam both have their own issues. Jackson's stems from unresolved childhood trauma. Liam's stem from a current divorce between his parents. They both have individual qualities to work on. Neither one is perfect. But they both have a dimensionality to them that feels real as opposed to Jasmine just being annoying the whole book. That's why I didn't go deep into these two. I rooted for them. I liked them together. The little dates they went on were cute.
I also REALLY liked Jackson's friend, Bowie. They're amazing . They're very supportive, but also willing to give it to Jackson straight. If, in the future, there was to be a spin-off about Bowie, I would read it in a heartbeat.
Given that I loved the writing and the two main characters, I'm giving this a 4, rounded to a 4.5 on Storygraph (4 on Goodreads). Jasmine was a HUGE flaw for me and a character I did not enjoy, even a little. That was a bummer. But the rest of the book was fast-paced and sweet.
Edit: VERY small nitpick: I don't know any high school that would do Jesus Christ Superstar as a musical in this climate. Seems like an incendiary choice. Good musical, though.
This is the first Khorram book that wasn't a 5 and it breaks my heart. I love his writing style and most of his characters. The main character in this book is named Jackson and he has some issues stemming from his parent's divorce. It causes him not to get too close to anyone. He is biracial and deaf and gay and a the drama department's stage manager. He's pretty much running the tech department single-handedly. The story starts when he starts to become closer with swimmer-turned-actor, Liam.
Enter the reason for this being a 4. Jasmine, Jackson's sister.
I've read all of Khorram's other YA books and all of them were a 5. This is the first one with a teenage, female main character. I honestly think maybe he shouldn't do another after Jasmine. I despise her. She IS the entire book's problems. Yes, there are individual issues between Jackson and Liam, but the vast majority of the plot's central conflict stems from Jasmine. She's selfish. She (and the rest of her family) didn't even attempt to learn ASL to help her brother communicate better. She asks him to make these lists of reasons why her (MANY) relationships have failed (none of them include her being psychotic). She starts dating Liam because he's hot and sees nothing past that. She forces her brother to write a list when that inevitably doesn't work out. I have nothing redeeming to say about her. Literally nothing. I knew what the conflict was going to be a mile away and that is what made it a slower read for me than most of Khorram's other books, which I fly through. I didn't want to read about Jasmine being awful and overdramatic.
Jackson and Liam both have their own issues. Jackson's stems from unresolved childhood trauma. Liam's stem from a current divorce between his parents. They both have individual qualities to work on. Neither one is perfect. But they both have a dimensionality to them that feels real as opposed to Jasmine just being annoying the whole book. That's why I didn't go deep into these two. I rooted for them. I liked them together. The little dates they went on were cute.
I also REALLY liked Jackson's friend, Bowie. They're amazing . They're very supportive, but also willing to give it to Jackson straight. If, in the future, there was to be a spin-off about Bowie, I would read it in a heartbeat.
Given that I loved the writing and the two main characters, I'm giving this a 4, rounded to a 4.5 on Storygraph (4 on Goodreads). Jasmine was a HUGE flaw for me and a character I did not enjoy, even a little. That was a bummer. But the rest of the book was fast-paced and sweet.
Edit: VERY small nitpick: I don't know any high school that would do Jesus Christ Superstar as a musical in this climate. Seems like an incendiary choice. Good musical, though.