Pink Polka Dot Books: Breakaway by Kat Spears

After the death of his younger sister, Jason comes to realize that his crew of soccer friends (him, Mario, Jordie, and Chick) are growing apart and there's nothing he can do about it. Jordie is more interested in impressing his "high class" friends, Mario has fallen in with a druggie crowd, and Jason is having a tough time controlling his anger. The only person that even cares about saving them is Chick, a small sickly boy that the other 3 have let tagalong with them for years. The problem is, while Jason is quick to look out for Chick, he's not sure how to relate to his odd behavior.

Jason meets Raine, but doesn't know if he wants to put himself out there since they come from such different circumstances. And after all, people always find a way to leave Jason.

This book!!! An emotional book to begin with, and then there's that surprise twist of the knife that left me in tears. It's been a long time since I read a book that made me feel so much, but this one just crawled right up into my heart.

I didn't love this book right away. It started off kind of slow, and I was starting to question if I would like the book at all when all of a sudden I didn't want to put it down. I fell in love with Jason's character. He was a guy with a lot of layers. He has had a rough start to life, and he has a lot of anger about that, but he's also someone who cares a lot. I also found it endearing how he put up this tough exterior, but really he was just this insecure guy who felt lost. I didn't love Raine, but I really liked the way Jason interacted with her. Somehow he was able to have this back-and-forth smart-ass relationship, while also being really respectful towards her. There was just something about the way he acted with her, that made me want to make him one of my new book boyfriends.

It was interesting and sad how the friendships between the boys broke down. I wanted them to care about each other and come back around, but I also know how it is when you grow apart from friends you never thought you would grow apart from.

The only thing I would have changed is that I wanted more from Raine. I didn't find her all that interesting or unique. She tried to act like a hard-ass, but once she got with Jason, she changed all that, and I didn't like it. Be who you are. The only thing I found interesting about her was Jason.

I know this book is not one of the "hot", hyped books that everybody has to read right now, but I hope if you are reading this, you will give it a try. If you push past the first chapter or so, it gets SO good. The feel of it and the writing was just so honest. It's definitely one of those books that's going to stay with me for a long time. I'm really, really happy I read this and I will be reading more by this author!

WARNING: The ending is as real as the rest of the book, and I appreciated that the author didn't try to "fix" everything and make things perfect for all the characters. It wasn't a lessons book and I was happy for that, but I also felt like things were cautiously optimistic.

PS- What happened to Silvia?? Did I somehow miss that this was explained?

OVERALL: An emotional book that I hope everybody reads!! I fell in love with Jason and everything going on with him. I totally recommend this awesome story about friendship and loss, family and abandonment, and love and redemption.

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