Customer Reviews

Breaking Point

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've read several young adult novels that deal with school violence and this is really the first one that I feel truly delves into the mind of one of the perpetrators in a realistic way. Paul Richmond could be someone we know, he could be us. Flinn has the courage to remind us that violence doesn't happen in a vacuum, that all of us have a Breaking Point and that many times, our smaller cruelties may be pushing someone else to their Breaking Point. As we follow Paul through his downward spiral we are forced to look at these issues in our own homes and classrooms and wonder, who we know, who is at the edge, who is ready to break. This is a must read for kids and for teachers, too.

"Being popular isn't everything." If we all only believed this statement, I think life would be a whole lot easier for kids. This is the dream of every kid, "Being Popular," and "Being Cool." Some kids try so hard to fit in with the cool kids they forget about their old friends. Then when you don't fit in with the cool kids to treat you just like you did them. All of this just to be "Popular," its not worth it, people...trust me.

Paul and his mom just moved to a new city knowing no one. With his mom's new job at Gate High, Paul gets into the school without having money like the other kids. Gate is a rich, private school that happens to have nothing but jerks in it, according to Paul. With his dad out of his life and no friends to count on, Paul is lonely. Everything is going terrible for Paul until the most popular, athletic kid comes and knocks on his window at night. Charlie is the kids name and you can pretty much call him THE PERFECT CHILD. He is the kid that everyone wants to be and it leaves Paul astonished when he thinks he's becoming his friend. Now everything has taken a big U-turn in Paul's, not so great life and everything is going pretty good for him, or so he thinks. Is Charlie really his friend or is he using him, is the question that is popping up in Paul's mind. Paul is thrown for a ride on this crazy roller coaster, that you don't want to miss.

It's through the tragic death of David Blanco a kid that got picked on all the time at Gate, that Paul has to find out who his real friends are. David was pushed to the limit at Gate and committed suicide. Why would David do a think like this? Binky warns Paul about Charlie but of course Paul does not pay any attention to her. A weird mysterious note shows up in Paul's locker that says "Ask Charlie about David's dog." This makes Paul really confused and scared. Who left the note in the locker and why would Charlie kill David's dog, it just don't make since to Paul. Paul has to go through many things that Charlie asks but the last task is a little bit more extreme. Will Paul accept the challenge or go back to his normal lonely life.

Paul's desire to be cool and popular leads him into doing some wrong things. Paul is caught in the middle of a tough decision and doesn't know what to do. Will Paul's dream of being popular lead him to devastation? This decision that he has to make with not only effect him but it could hurt many others. What will happen, is Paul big enough to say "No" or will he give in and say "Yes?"

The lesson to be learned in this book is that no matter how cool you think it is, being popular isn't everything. You really have to find out who your true friends are and stick with them. No matter if you're in a big fight with your friends work it out because they could be the only ones that you have. Work it out and try to be there for each other when in need.

This book is great for everyone, no matter what age. This book is a boy; girl read which they would love. Out of all of the books that I have read I would have to say that this is the best one. If I had to choose to recommend this book to only one group of people I would recommend it to the kids who are just starting high school. It is a big transition and can scare many junior high kids. This is another reason this is such a great book because it has such a varied audience.

Especially if you fit the category of nerdiness. And that's exactly what it is like for Paul when he first enters Gate, the exclusive school for rich kids. But he gets to go there free because his mother works in the office. At first, school for him is total hell - from coke getting sprayed into his locker to a group of jocks mooning him in the hall. His only friend is the odd and homely Binky, a girl with no friends herself. But then he meets Charlie Good, a very popular, charismatic boy who drags Paul out of the world of nerdiness and into the world of the popular. Paul is mesmerized by Charlie and is so needy for love and acceptance that he will do whatever it takes...even if it means planting a bomb in the school.

Overall, this was a very good book. There were a few disturbing scenes in the book and I wish Paul had more balls to stand up to Charlie and realize that Binky was a true friend, but Alex Flinn's amazing, funny writing style more than makes up for it. She is an excellent writer and I loved her book, Breathing Underwater, which takes us into the mind of an abuser - quite a delicious twist, if you ask me. She is good at creating anti-heroes that we can relate to in one way or another.

I look forward to her next endeavor. I hope she joins the ranks of Chris Crutcher and other popular authors of the YA genre. She is extraordinary!

The book Breaking Point is a book for those who love the exciting lives of teenagers. It is about a boy, Paul Richmond, who is new to a school where he doesn't fit in. He sees the "popular" kid Charlie Good and wants to be just like him. Charlie is a tennis player at Gate and is well liked by everyone. Charlie and his friends see Paul and decided to allow him to hang out with them. Now, Paul is a "cool" kid who treats his mom really badly. His life at home is terrible and is falling apart. Suddenly, stealing, cheating, drugs, and drinking aren't enough for Paul. Charlie and his friends find out Paul is good with computers and use this to their advantage. Will Paul go to the edge to fit in?

The son of an ambitous military man, Paul Richmond never had
a chance to develop friendships or put down roots. When his
parents divorce, Paul and his devastated mother move yet again,
this time to a run down apartment complex in Miami. The only
things Paul's mom takes with her is a collection of "Royal
Doulton figurines and me-the junk Dad hadn't wanted."

Homeschooling isn't an option anymore. Paul must attend the
private, elite school where his mom works as a secretary.

Still stinging from his father's rejection, he tries to fit
into a school where flagrant affluence is a constant reminder
of what he doesn't have. And being the new geek in school, he
becomes a target for abuse.

What would you do for acceptance?

Enter Charlie Good, big man on campus, who takes Paul under
his wing. The small favors Charlie asks of Paul are well-worth
what is given in return, but as the story unfolds, the reader
sees what Paul doesn't want to see. That Charlie Good is
a master manipulator, willing to go to any length to get
what he wants.

A chilling, realistic story. Highly recommended.

How much can one kid suffer before he lashes out? And who will be there when he finally breaks? Read Alex Flinn's Breaking Point to learn the truth about Paul Richmond, one of "those kids"---you know, the kind you see profiled on CNN after the latest school disaster. Flinn shows us Paul *before* the disaster, when he is still a shy, likable kid longing for a friend. Is it Paul's fault that the friend he finds is so very evil? Flinn explores this question and more in this entertaining and insightful page-turner.

These are characters I'll remember for a long time--probably longer than I want to. Everything about this novel is "intense." The characters are intense, the situations are intense, and the final choices Paul makes are intense. I felt sorry for Paul as he tried to deal with his parents' divorce, the apparent rejection by his father, and the abusive treatment by his classmates at his new exclusive private school, but I had difficulty identifying with him. I think his subservience to the sociopathic Charlie which led to so many poor choices left me feeling more frustrated with Paul than sympathetic to his situation.

This book is an excellent look at the manipulation and violence that occurs not just at inner city schools,but private expesnive ones as well.

Having been homeschooled, Paul Richmond is naturally apprehensive about returning to high school, particularly since he is less well-off than his ritzy classmates. He is picked on until a way out is offered by golden boy Charlie Good. In exchange for homework help, which gradually escales into antisocial acts, he will receive protection from the bullies. Dealing with the pain from his parents' divorce and his father's seeming rejection of him, Paul is unsure whether Charlie's friendship is genuine or simply based on what he can provide. Like "Shattering Glass" this book exploes what happens when an outcast hooks up with a popular teen with sociopathic tendencies. The language used by the characters is somewhat coarse, but not unusual for a teen novel published today.

"A long time ago, a battle happened between the beasts and the birds. The bat, which found himself an outsider, wanted to join the bird's side. The birds didn't want him because he looked like a beast. He went to join the beasts but the didn't want him because he had wings like a bird. Finally the birds and beasts decided to join together and just fight the bat, I'm a bat Paul." This powerful statement was said by a suicidal teen in the book and can be held true to any student body in America, and possibly around the world. In schools everywhere students are classified into many different groups. Whether it be rich, poor, popular, or not each student either belongs to a group, or is tortured by another.

Young Paul Richmond learns this important lesson while adjusting to a new, private school. As a new student, Paul is picked-on by his former classmates. Paul's mother, who works as the school secretary, just doesn't understand. When Paul becomes friends with Charlie Good, "no E just Good", he's on top of the world. Little does Paul know that Charlie just wants to use him. Through lies, love, deception, and suicide, Paul will learn the most important lesson of his life. Paul will discover the reason for his parent's divorce and his father's true personality.

The lesson of friendship is brilliantly placed in this book. Paul's first friend Binky, tries to warn him of the dangerous ways of Charlie Good. Binky and Paul get close throughout the plot, but how close is too close? It is said that the best way to learn a lesson is to suffer the consequences. Through this book you will see how someone else suffered the consequences and learn for yourself. In this cleverly titled book you will see what Paul Richmond's Breaking point is.

This book is an attention getting book for today's youth. Not only does it express the stress filled lives of many students, but also the tragedy behind school bullies. This is a good book to read not only as a student, but as a parent with a trouble teen that may seem different from others in their school. While reading Breaking Point, you will see the importance of not letting other's thoughts and actions bother you.