Review: Breaking Point by Kristen Simmons

Breaking Point 

Author:Kristen Simmons
Series:Article 5, Book Two
Publisher:Tor Teen
Genre:Young Adult Dystopian
Format:Hardcover, 400 pages
Release Date:February 12, 2013
Source: Personal Library, Bought

Synopsis:

It’s finally here! The sequel to Article 5, Breaking Point, has finally been released! We dive back into the lives of Chase Jennings and Ember Miller right after they have joined up with the Resistance. All eyes are on the Sniper, an anonymous individual who has been systematically taking out soldiers. No one knows who the mysterious Sniper is, but suddenly Ember lands in the top 5 on the list of suspects. The FBR issue a shoot to kill order on Ember and she suddenly is faced with a choice. Run and hide or fight back. To complicate things even more, someone from Chase and Ember’s past reappears. Someone they would both like to erase from their memories. Will Ember run away from her demons or face them head on?

My review: 

This sequel has been long awaited for me. I read Article 5 twice because I just couldn’t get enough of Chase and Ember. Kristen Simmons delivers another fabulous story in Breaking Point. The tense atmosphere of the book is constant, making you feel as if you are in constant danger with the characters. There are many mysteries and unanswered questions in this book, which of course, just makes it that much harder to wait for the third one.

In this book, you can really feel Ember’s grief over her mother and all that she has lost. At the beginning she is completely broken; her world has been shattered. I loved seeing her progress as an individual through this book. The strength and courage that she exudes is inspirational. She also reveals insecurities though, which makes her a more realistic character. Seeing her vulnerability allows the reader to connect with her more and believe in her character.

Chase is also broken in this book, feeling the loss of Ember’s mother just as much as she does, but in a different way. Responsibility and guilt riddle him as he fights to let these feelings go. In this book we learn some more about Chase and see him for more than just the hardened soldier that the FBR made him into. This was one of my favorite things about this book. You really get to know Chase and see below the hard exterior shell he wears.

Simmons paints a heart wrenching picture of destroyed cities all over the country and starving, hurting people. The images that she conjures up will pluck at your heart strings and make you root for the Resistance even more so than the first book. The details she gives us about the FBR instill a growing hate for the organization from her readers. I wished that I could leap into the book and join the Resistance so I could help take them out.

Overall the second installment of the Article 5 series swept me right back into the world of Ember and Chase, where breaking the Moral Statutes means almost certain death. The suspense throughout the book was constant and thrilling. I cannot wait for the third book in this exhilarating series.

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