Breaking Point

How far would you go to fit in? Paul is new to Gate, a school whose rich students make life miserable for anyone not like them. And Paul is definitely not like them. Then, something incredible happens. Charlie Good, a star student and athlete, invites Paul to join his elite inner circle. All Charlie wants is a few things in return - small things that Paul does willingly. Until one day Charlie wants something big - really big. Now Paul has to decide how far he′ll go to be one of the gang. The electrifying follow-up to Alex Flinn′s critically acclaimed debut novel, Breathing Underwater, Breaking Point is a tale of school violence that explores why and how a good kid can go ′bad′. Ages 12+

How far would you go to fit in?

Paul is new to Gate, a school whose rich students make life miserable for anyone not like them. And Paul is definitely not like them. Then, something incredible happens. Charlie Good, a star student and athlete, invites Paul to join his elite inner circle. All Charlie wants is a few things in return - small things that Paul does willingly. Until one day Charlie wants something big - really big.

Now Paul has to decide how far he′ll go to be one of the gang.

The electrifying follow-up to Alex Flinn′s critically acclaimed debut novel, Breathing Underwater, Breaking Point is a tale of school violence that explores why and how a good kid can go ′bad′.

Ages 12+

School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up. Being the new kid in school is always difficult, but it is especially hard for a scholarship student now in an exclusive Christian school where his divorced mother is the secretary. Â From the first day, Paul Richmond has problems with the charismatic leader of the in crowd, Charlie Goode. Â As the year progresses, he is tormented and verbally abused, but finds himself caught up in Charlie's group, which courts him in the evenings. Â A couple of other students try to warn him about his new friends, but outsider Paul is much too happy about being included to heed their warnings. Â The plot intensifies when Paul helps Charlie change grades on the school computers and set a bomb in one of the classrooms. Â No one is hurt, but Paul discovers that he has been set up as the scapegoat, and he recounts the events that lead to his arrest and imprisonment. Â In this intense story of peer pressure and the need to be accepted, the characters are realistically drawn and reflect the nature of high school relationships. Flinn states in her author's note that she wrote about one young man who reached his breaking point and that she has tried to understand what makes teens feel so angry, fearful, and isolated that they commit acts of violence. Â She has succeeded in her goal. Â Despite his actions, Paul comes across as a likable, although misguided, teen in a book that is well worth reading.

Fifteen-year-old Paul enters an exclusive private school and falls under the spell of a charismatic boy who may be using him.