I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

I really wanted to like this book. The synopsis held so much promise, but the book failed to deliver as much as I hoped for from it. I enjoyed it well enough, but with a few tweaks it could have been an even more enjoyable read.

That was excellent. I truly didn't know this book would blow me away as much as it did. I truly was heartbroken for Skye. She was treated horribly by someone she was supposed to trust and didn't know what to do with that. I just felt for her. I was so happy she had her best friends Lu and Ben. They had their own problems but they were there for Skye in their own way when she needed them. Skye's mother was another story all together. She infuriated me with everything she did because he daughters didn't come first. But bad mother aside this book was a fantastic reading experience. It is heavy and emotional but worth every page you read. Highly recommend.

Uh, where do I begin? Oh right, trigger warning for literally anything you can think of!

I want to say that this book is this generations Speak but not quite as good. The writing is fantastic and the cover is beautiful! Probably one of my favorite covers I've seen in quite a while.

The biggest downside to this is that I think it almost tries too hard to be like Speak. Even down to the main character being an art student and using her art to tell her story.

I can't tell if the author tried to piggyback off of the success of Speak so made it relatable to that book or if there is heavy influence because Sibson had read it before. I know I've read Speak enough times where I'd probably accidentally insert things from that book, but this just didn't feel like an accident.

But, that doesn't make this a horrible book at all. This is still beautifully written and important. It touches topics most authors will not touch with a ten foot pole and if they do, they don't do it well.

I don't even really know what to say about this book. If you want to read a very very very vERY hard hitting contemporary about a survivor living her life, seeing the good, the bad, and the ugly while she is doing it, this is one to pick up.

This was a great book that I enjoyed. I appreciate the publisher including a warning about the content, so that I could make sure to read it when I felt prepared. I definitely could relate to the main character and how she was feeling. It can be difficult to speak up, especially as a child, and I think that the topic was tackled with sensitivity and consideration. I definitely felt for the main character and wanted her to be able to heal and improve.

The Art of Breaking Things is a page-turner to the nth degree. It grabbed me by the heart and didn't let go until the last page. Though I never experienced the type of trauma main character Skye did, I related to her completely - her doubts about her own worthiness, the use of substances to quiet those thoughts, the eventual understanding of the triggers that set her off and her resolve to disrupt that pattern. This is a great and important read. Brava to debut author Laura Sibson.

I picked this because the main character gets accepted into MICA, a school in my own city. However, I was drawn to the writing and despite the seriousness of the topics (various abuse), I enjoyed the book quite a bit. It is a vivid portrait of a young woman who has endured a lot and having to come to terms with what that means for her going forward.

An interesting look at labels and reputations and how people get them and get over them and not let them limit them.

Skye. Geez, no matter how she far she digs herself into this pit of despair, you can't help but sympathize with her. She life is awful, her mom is awful, and even though I don't agree with how she mentors her sister, she is really doing the best she can given her circumstances. I don't know how I feel about the ending, but the journey getting there was a worthy one.

truly one of the best books i have ever read, this hit a very special place in my heart and I felt this in my bones. important topics, beautifully told through complex characters. 10/10 recommend to all

“The Art of Breaking Things” was an absolutely beautiful debut from Author Laura Sibson. Skye is intent on getting away from her hometown via Art school. All she has to do is survive Senior year of high school. Those plans come crashing down when her mother’s ex-boyfriend returns, and Skye soon finds herself face to face with her past.
“ The Art of Breaking Things” is an empowering #MeToo YA book with a powerful message. The plot is solid, and the story is well-written. The characters were likeable and also multi-layered. I absolutely loved the cover of this book when I first saw it, but the inside is very beautiful as well. I can’t wait to read more from this author in the future.

*I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

Thank you to NetGalley, Viking Books for Young Readers, and Laura Sibson for an ARC ebook copy to review. As always, an honest review from me.

Trigger warning: sexual abuse of a child

Like:
- The foreshadowing - good, but is about terrible things to come
- The main character: Skye
- Good perspective about college: a way to be who you could be and learn lots about yourself, life and a career
- The abuse isn’t too graphic or triggering in my opinion
- Very realistic portrayal of a teenager coming to terms with being sexually abused by her step father and the impact it has on her life

Love:
- Discusses very difficult to talk about topics (sexual abuse) as the character is experiencing them
- Art as a way to express oneself in a way that words can’t

Dislike:
- Lots of drugs, drinking and partying - it’s realistic to the character and her situation, but it’s not something that I enjoyed reading about
- The teenage boy that she had a relationship with/ didn’t consent to/ doesn’t remember that night — confusing and not sure if I read that scene correctly
- Most of the book in some manner, revolves around the main character being sexually abused

Wish that:
- there was more opportunity for her mother to explain, think about, and remember what happened on the day her daughter was sexually abused. The story wraps up rather quickly and doesn’t give much time to explore what happened further.
- The story was a little more balanced, in terms of content.

Overall, a good realistic portrayal of Skye, a teenage girl, coming to terms with being sexually abused by her step father years ago. A definite trigger warning for most of the story revolving around this topic, but it doesn’t get too explicitly graphic. I would have liked a more well balanced story, but in general an important and fairly enjoyable read.

I am extremely moved by this brave story "inspired by truth" of a young girl holding a horrible secret for 5 years; her life spiraling out of control until her love of art reveals the truth to the people she loves.

The story is told from Skye's point of view jumping from present day to days past when the secret happens and how it changes her life forever. Her true friends, Ben and Luisa, are her support system, but the partying has got out of hand when the man behind her secret has appeared in her mother's life again. The family dynamic with her mother and sister, Emma, are very volatile and very real, especially Skye's need to protect her little sister from what happened to her several years ago.

I enjoyed Skye's art and how things in her life inspired her drawings and murals. The idea with the post-it notes was genius! 

I can't recommend this debut novel enough! It is filled with heartbreak and despair but also about renewal and healing. I promise you will be affected by this book!

Thank you to Ms. Sibson, Penguin, and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to review this book with no expectations of a positive review given.

The Art of Breaking Things surprised me as I was intrigued by the blurb; however, I did not immediately fall in love with the story or characters, but I was just curious enough to keep reading. I did feel like the tension started early for the main character, Skye though, and that is most likely what kept me going. The book, despite not being a traditional bell curve for a story arc, packs a dutiful and significant punch to a real issue. I will say I felt every piece of life that fractured Skye and caused her to dive into the spiral we witness through out the book. The story is a somber one throughout with not much relief, which I found hard at times, and I understand that it was a reflection of Skye’s mental state, but it made it hard for me feel invested. Most importantly, by the end, I walked away with my life a little altered, and my interest in art a tad bigger than when I started.

applause for an extremely well written young adult novel on timely and sensitive subjects.
This story was a slow burn read as I held my breath, hoping what was about to happen would not happen. Skye lives on a very slippery slope as she maneuvers her life around a younger vulnerable sister, an insecure single mother who loses her troubles in glasses of wine and an overbearing stepfather to be. All this home life is the background for a typical teen trying to find her way in a complicated life of choices.

Many of Skye’s poor choices are a fallout of an event that happened when she was 12 years old. Her only healthy way of coping is making art, although she often chooses to get high or hook up with boys instead. Unfortunately Skye is beginning to develop a reputation among the boys. Skye’s support group include: best friend Luisa; art buddy Ben (who sometimes feels like more than a buddy); single, hardworking mother; and spirited sister, Emma. Skye can not wait to leave her small town near Philadelphia where she has earned a paid scholarship to the Maryland Institute College of Art. Skye knows she grew up too fast and she’s doing her best to make sure that doesn’t happen to Emma. But when her mother’s ex-boyfriend re-enters their family, Skye is unsure whether she’ll be able to protect herself, let alone Emma. This novel brings to light the impact of sexual assault and the importance of consent. Fiction. 14-18

The Art of Breaking Things is interesting more for its approach to the subject matter -- through descriptions of one girl's art -- than the ways the things are broken. A quick read but not unique enough to stand out among myriad similar titles. For fans of Whitney Gardner and Jennifer E. Smith.

I almost feel bad for not liking this book because the topic is sensitive and interesting. So she was molested when she was 12 by her mom’s boyfriend. The mom and the boyfriend broke up (nothing to do with the sexual incident) and now the boyfriend is back with the mom. Should she say what happened years ago? Even more, she has a younger sister to whom he could do the same. *Sigh.

Yes, interesting plot but boring writing and development. A lot of other things around Skye’s life and her friends that I didn’t care about at all. Too much beating around the bushes.

Regardless not liking this book and not enjoying it, I think that young readers will benefit from it if only to know that it is never okay to keep quite about these things. NEVER. If your mom doesn’t believe you tell your teacher, the school principal, the school nurse or counselor but TELL somebody.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this title.

Skye is an extremely talented teenager and her art is going to take her places. In fact, she's hoping for a scholarship to art school so she can get out of town and make something of herself. Only, she's just found out that her mom is dating Dan again. Last time she dated Dan, something happened between them, something that shouldn't happen. Skye has tried to tell her mom but it seems she just doesn't believe her. Now Skye might have to put her plans for art school on hold because she can't leave her little sister Emma behind with Dan.

So unfortunately for Skye, she has rather low self-esteem now when it comes to men. She likes the attention she gets from guys, and she loves to flirt when she's drinking. Which is a lot, because drinking helps make the memories fade into the background. She finds herself in a few sticky situations because of the drinking. If anything, Skye needs to be in counseling to help her cope with the trauma.

I admired Skye so much because her love of art poured off the page. She was so insanely talented in multiple mediums and whenever she started talking about a new project, I got excited with her. My heart broke for her when she was so scared to try and speak up again to her mother. Because she felt she wasn't believed it made it that much harder for her to try again all these years later. But she's such a strong teenager and I know she's going places.

The book was well-written, I liked the characters, including Ben. Emma got on my nerves a bit, but I imagine that's what younger sisters are supposed to do. (I only have younger sisters, so perhaps I grated on them as Emma does). Luisa was a great character as Skye's best friend, and we would only hope that anyone going through such a thing will have someone like Luisa they can lean on. Keith was a great character that came out of nowhere, and I would have liked to have spent more time with him. I felt Skye's journey to speak up was probably true to what survivors go through, and Sibson did well portraying that inner battle and the scars one carries after such a thing happens. Overall, The Art of Breaking Things is very nicely done, a great read.

Laura Sibson has done a stunning job of creating a profoundly believable character who kept me engaged even though her story was hard to face. The damage done to twelve-year-old Skye by her mother's boyfriend, enhanced by her mother's dismissal of the event as never having happened, so clearly influences Skye's self-destructive behavior several years later. Yet this is a story of hope as Skye does her best to protect her younger sister when the boyfriend comes back into their lives. She finds her catharsis in art, the descriptions of which add a richness to the story, as do the realistically drawn young people who are her friends, struggling with their own demons but working through them. This is a story that needed to be told, and in the telling offers hope and understanding to those who may have a similar secret eating away at them.

A stunning debut by Laura Sibson. It perfectly encapsulates the effect of sexual abuse and the trauma the ensues after. You will laugh, cry, rage, and heal.