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Reviewed by:
  • Breaking by Danielle Rollins
  • April Spisak
Rollins, Danielle Breaking. Bloomsbury, 2017 [304p]
ISBN 978-1-61963-740-5 $17.99
Reviewed from galleys         Ad Gr. 8-10

Charlotte is still reeling from the death of one of her two best friends at boarding school when the body of her other bestie is found. Then in her dorm room she discovers a tiny bottle of liquid with a note from her late friend to drink it, and Char as always does what her friend asks. Soon she finds herself with exceptional physical and mental abilities but also a creeping numbness, and she's wondering who else received this liquid and what medical experimentation is behind it. Boarding-school fans will appreciate the lush yet foreboding descriptions of a place where attendees are so driven they don't even pause to celebrate achievements and everyone hides something behind perfectly white toothy smiles. Unfortunately, Char herself reads as a bit of a dopey pushover, way too slow to stand up for herself and frustratingly obtuse about the motivations of others. In addition, the shock ending of a secret experimental lab with tortured youth may make sense to those who have read the companion novel Burning (BCCB 3/16), but it is so far off course from the chemically enhanced privileged teens that take up the rest of this novel that it's really just baffling as a conclusion. Even so, those who are in the know will likely find the further insight into the formidable Dr. Gruen (Char's mom) intriguing, and they'll likely be pleased to see the protagonists from the earlier book finally have something go their way.

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