I wish I hadn't let this one sit on my shelf so long before I read it. It was good! I wouldn't really call it a romance, that seems secondary. It is more about teens trying to make sense of their circumstances and find a little bit of connection with one another. Definitely one I will purchase for my HS library.

This was a beautiful yet sad story about two teens stuck in a detention facility, who begin to communicate through notes in a journal left in a library. I found it to be a really unique setting and concept for a story, especially as the teens try to scheme and figure out a way to meet each other in person, with all the people they know either helping or hindering them along the way. The plot twists and conflicts throughout the story were really interesting and kept me reading to find out what would happen! I would definitely recommend this as it’s a fun and bittersweet story about two young people falling in love in a very unusual place, and doing anything to get to each other.

interesting ideas, and shusterman is (naturally) able to pull it off in an effective way. definitely worth a read, though not a reread

Narratives about teen incarceration can be fascinating and heartbreaking. I'm not really sure what this one was going for. It's got a decent concept but the execution is rather odd. It asks some valid questions but never digs deep into possible answers. It gives too much space to the star-crossed lovers idea and not enough to questions of morality and responsibility.

I think the concept of this story was pretty unique because it is able to pull in the elements of star-crossed lovers in an unconventional setting which I thought was cool and I like how this story gave a dual perspective for these characters.

I will never get tired of books that shed light on where we have failed in our society. This may sound strange but it is almost encouraging to become aware of these issues as the truth of the matter is always so much more complex than we could have imagined. In Break to You we are shown what could be the hearts and raw emotions of teenagers in a juvenile detention center. Still they refuse to be bound to what the world tells them that they can amount to and cling to what lifelines can be found in such a bleak environment. In this case Jon and Adriana find each other. Our justice system is broken and it is beyond sad how many kids and teens are being failed by it. I had no idea that it was a real thing for kids who have reached the end of the line in foster care and have nowhere else to go will sometimes end up in detention centers such as this one. The consequences that this could have on a young person who has already suffered so much were realistically portrayed in Silas's character and his story definitely hit me the hardest out of them all. The dynamics between characters and especially how they come to interact with our main character's was really interesting. Not everyone's story of how they came to be at Compass got told but each character proved that it is never a single mistake or circumstance that is responsible. These were some complex moral issues being discussed here and, though I wish some plot points could have been expanded on as I feel like we only scratched the surface on what I wanted to know about these kids and their stories, I was able to become SO INVESTED in such a short amount of time and can safely say that it did its job in making me curious and left needing to research more on this topic. Such an eye-opening read by an incredible author that I highly recommend giving a try! Happy Reading :)

Break to You is an incredibly original take on the notion of star crossed lovers that is also shining a light on life in a juvenile detention center. It took me a pretty decent amount of time, and putting it down for a few weeks before starting over, for me to get invested in this one, but I think that speaks more to my frame of mind than the quality of the writing.

In Break to You, Adriana is sentenced to 7 months in a "high quality" juvenile detention facility. The one thing she is allowed to keep is her journal, though she is not allowed to use a normal pen. Each of her chapters starts with a poem that gives a lot of her background story. When she loses her journal, she fears the worst. Turns out that someone has read it, but it is not one of the other girls, it is one of the boys that exist in the same facility but who are never seen. So starts Jon's story, one that is very different from Adriana's.

The book is really quite interesting, especially after the two start writing to each other, but it starts to lag towards the end. I'm simply impressed by a story that examines incarcerated life of juveniles in a way that lures in readers of a wide variety. For some this is a warning story. For some it might be similar to things they know intimately. For many, this is a story of a world that they don't even realize exists. The kids who wind up in detention centers like this because they are lost in the foster system especially tug at your heart strings. This isn't an easy book to read, but I am glad that the authors wrote it.

I love Neal Shusterman's books, but this one was hard to read. We had two main characters, Jon and Adriana, who were in a juvenile detention center. The boys and girls in the center are kept separate, but when Adriana accidentally leaves her journal in the shared library space, Jon finds it and writes to her. Thus starts our story of alternating points of view from both teens. Not the most exciting, although I liked the setting of this one.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were well developed and lovable. The pacing was perfect and left you wanting to read more. I can't wait to read more by this author!

Break to You is an unconventional story of two teenagers who are living together at a juvenile detention center. I thought from that summary that I would be hooked but I found the voice and pacing of the book a tad slow and not engaging enough for me. That being said, I can see how this book would be really informative and of value to people to better understand just how children are treated when put in a center.

This wasn’t exactly what I was expecting from this book. I enjoy all Neal Shusterman novels and I did enjoy this one but I was expecting more heart and more character development. I just felt like this didn’t really go anywhere.

Every time I think Neal Shusterman cannot surprise me any more, he puts out a new book that is so unlike anything else he has written. This time we get a love story between teens getting through sentences at a juvenile detention center–so many risks for love! The book is as well written as you would assume for a book with Shusterman’s name on it, and this time it includes poetry!

Adriana must endure seven months in juvie. The only saving grace is she has been permitted to keep her journal. When she misplaces it, she thinks everyone will know her secret thoughts. She is relieved when she finds it, but unsure when she discovers that someone has written back … a boy. Jon is in juvie for a different reason and this journal may be the connection to someone else that he has been craving.

Break to You is a stand-alone realistic fiction story that helps readers understand the juvenile justice system as well as some issues that lead teens to be in juvie. Although this is written by multiple authors, I did not see any demarcations of when one was writing and when another took over. The overall story was well thought out and I was fully invested in these two young people. A great story for teens and adults alike.

Both Adriana and Jon are incarcerated teens. Adriana is new to the facility and has a seven month term. Her therapist gave her a journal before coming and she would like to bring it in with her. After some time her new therapist at the facility allows it. Adriana is given the role of helping in the library and one day she forgets her journal on the library floor. After a few days she notices it has been shelved and someone has written in it. Jon is on the boys side and found it. They become pen pals and decide they need to meet. At one point it reminded me of Love is Blind. The ending was somewhat heartbreaking.

WOW! This book had me from the get-go. I loved the setting and main character Adriana, but what really kept me going was the tone of the writing and the fact that she took the fall when she didn't commit the act that landed her in juvie. That combination was perfect for this story. I was terrified for Adriana when she lost her journal, and my relief when the story unfolded was complete.

I am a bit partial to Neal Shusterman, and the co-writing in this book was well done. "Break to you" is not afraid to directly address issues modern-day teens face, including racism, social issues, and the tendency to fall head over heels immediately.

This book is definitely going to be on my shelves and shared with many teens.

Break to You tells the story of an unlikely romance between two teens living at the Compass juvenile detention center. Adriana has just begun her seven month sentence after taking the fall for someone she thought was a friend of hers. She manages to convince the counselor to allow her to bring her journal in with her, but accidentally leaves it behind in the library shared with the boys at the detention center. The journal is found by Jon, who has been at Compass for years and built a reputation for himself. He writes back to Adriana through her journal and the two strike up a friendship by passing the journal back and forth in the library. It was heartwarming how the two found friendship with one another through the journal, but it felt like it jumped to love a bit quick. The buildup of the story was also quite show throughout the first section and then felt almost rushed in the last quarter. That being said, it touched on important topics, especially those surrounding how incarcerated children are treated by the state.

Normally, I do not look for books with more than one author, but Break to You publicity had an intriguing topic for me – two teens in juvenile detention. Break to You has three authors: Neal Shusterman, Debra Young, and Michelle Knowlden. As a writer, I can’t figure out how you even write with one other person, much less two, but these three have figured it out.

Adriana has seven months to hang in there at the detention center before returning to a dysfunctional family – a distant father, a stepmother who is trying too hard, and a toddler stepbrother who is the only family member with whom she has a loving relationship. Jon, who has already been at the center for years, has a family backstory that put him there and gains the reader’s sympathy. Touted as a modern detention center, flaws in the system show up quickly.

Happenstance puts Adriana in the library as her work assignment and sets up the accidental leaving of her journal that will become a connection with Jon even in a center where the boys and girls never meet up. Teenage and adult secondary characters are well defined with believable characteristics.

The three authors worked seamlessly to produce a story with tension that kept me turning pages and rooting for both Adriana and Jon as well as several of the secondary characters, especially the foster child who has no reason to be there except that there is nowhere else for him to go.

While this is written especially for middle graders, anyone who cares about redemption of young people who, at worst, have made bad choices in friends, places to be, and spur of the moment decisions will find it a good read. I read it in an ARC from Net Galley, but it goes on public sale today.

I have used Shusterman’s Bruiser as a read-aloud in my classes for some time and it’s always a hit with students. Unlike that story, there is no element of magical realism here. There is, however, some pretty good poetry.

Adriana must spend seven months in a juvenile detention facility, thanks to being in the wrong place at the wrong time. She almost welcomes the opportunity to get away from a father she had been estranged from, a step-mother who’s trying too hard, and a cute toddler half-brother. She feels like her dad avoids her as much as possible—even before she goes into lockup.

Jon is a legend at Compass, having been there for a long time due to one very bad decision in the wake of his mother’s death. He is about to age out, and is facing the possibility of being moved to adult prison.

The two “meet” via Adriana’s misplaced journal and begin a furtive correspondence that leads, although they’ve never spoken to each other, to love.

Both must navigate in an institution where not every adult is trustworthy, and many of their fellow inmates are even less trustworthy. The friendships an alliances they form lead to an almost Shawshank-like plot to actually meet face to face in the bowels of the facility.

Both Jon and Adriana definitely show character growth and development over the period in which the story takes place. The teenaged side characters are interesting and well fleshed-out, the adults somewhat less so.

The storytelling itself is a great example of showing, not telling. Things like the races of the characters are subtly telegraphed without coming out and declaring them. I love this.

I don’t want to spoil things here! I will say that, like Bruiser, this is not wrapped up in a neat little bow at the end. It ends with hope, but not certainty.

Possible Objectionable Material:
Some cursing. Difficult family situations. Violence. Lying and sneaking. Parental death.

Who Might Like This Book:
Those who like gritty, reality-based stories of teens in difficult situations.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book is also reviewed at https://biblioquacious.blogspot.com/2024/07/lets-start-july-with-bang.html

Break to You is told in alternating POVs. Adriana and Jon are both in a juvenile detention center. They find a way to communicate. While the main focus of the story is on Jon and Adriana's relationship, the authors manage to get across the many different types of situations and interactions that kids may find themselves in when in a detention facility. I think this is a solid YA read.

Hands down, the most important facet of this book for me was the discussion of the juvenile detention system. The stories of the kids who ended up there were definitely emotionally provocative, and while this is definitely marketed as a romance book (and it does have a romance plot, no doubt!) that was secondary to me to the commentary on what kids go through in this very messy system. This is such a complex topic, and I have so many thoughts on it, certainly too many to cram into what is supposed to be a book review, so I'll just say this: it is not by accident that most of the kids who end up in the juvenile detention system are those least able to fight their charges. If you head down to your local juvy, I'll give you a guess at how many rich white kids are in there. You probably won't need more than one chance.

This is in part how Adriana and Jon find themselves in their respective predicaments. And, how they find each other. Adriana is to be keeping a journal for mental health reasons, and eventually convinces the detention center psychologist to let her keep it. One thing leads to another, and she finds she's left it in the library... with all her most personal, deepest thoughts inside for anyone in the facility to stumble upon. Luckily, Jon doesn't share her thoughts with every dude in the group (granted, he does read it, which is kind of crappy, but alas), and he also responds to her. So begins their correspondence, which makes both of their stays a bit more bearable. And look, the relationship is a little (a lot? Idk) insta-lovey. But it wasn't a huge deal for me.

Because there is so much more going on than just Adriana and Jon's developing relationship, and I really think that is where the heart of this story lies. Each main character has a group of fellow detainees that become almost more like a family, and deciding who is trustworthy- who would help them and who would harm them- becomes a huge focal point. So too do the secrets festering behind the scenes at this center. It is corrupt, as most are wont to be, and figuring that out is equally harrowing (and important) for our characters. And if you are not absolutely enraged at some of the issues... well, you need to be.

Bottom Line: It's a beautiful story of love and friendship, but I also hope it makes you as incensed as it made me.