Blog Tour: Review: Breaking Point by Kristen Simmons

Title: Breaking Point (Article 5 #2)
Author: Kristen Simmons
Pages: 400 pages
Format acquired: Hardcover
Publisher: Tor Teen
Published on: February 12th 2013
Source: Received for blog tour (Thanks, PBT and Tor Teen!)
Buy the book: Amazon / Barnes and Noble



The second installment in Kristen Simmons's fast-paced, gripping YA dystopian series.

After faking their deaths to escape from prison, Ember Miller and Chase Jennings have only one goal: to lay low until the Federal Bureau of Reformation forgets they ever existed.

Near-celebrities now for the increasingly sensationalized tales of their struggles with the government, Ember and Chase are recognized and taken in by the Resistance—an underground organization working to systematically take down the government. At headquarters, all eyes are on the sniper, an anonymous assassin taking out FBR soldiers one by one. Rumors are flying about the sniper’s true identity, and Ember and Chase welcome the diversion….

Until the government posts its most-wanted list, and their number one suspect is Ember herself.

Orders are shoot to kill, and soldiers are cleared to fire on suspicion alone. Suddenly Ember can’t even step onto the street without fear of being recognized, and “laying low” is a joke. Even members of the Resistance are starting to look at her sideways.

With Chase urging her to run, Ember must decide: Go into hiding…or fight back?

(Image and summary taken from Goodreads)

Review:

I am very glad to say that I actually enjoyed Breaking Point, I felt that it was more thought out and definitely much more exciting than Article 5. The stakes were raised and you won't really know what's going to happen till it does. But while I may have enjoyed, I still didn't completely love it. There were a lot of missing links I felt that could have been filled but Kristen Simmons definitely did a good job with this one.

Breaking Point starts off directly after Article 5 (where Ember and Chase have now joined the "Resistance" run by a man named Wallace.) And the events that come after Chapter 1 honestly made me feel bad for Ember. Who, by the way, isn't as weak and angry (actually, she's still angry) as she was in the first book, but more on that later. Ember, a 5'4" seventeen-year-old girl is accused of being THE sniper. Yeah, the sniper. The sniper is basically this person who has been killing off FBR soldiers mercilessly and now, they've issued an Article One (shoot on sight, I think) on anyone the FBR may suspect as the sniper, aka Ember. I really don't understand how someone can seventeen-year-old girl as the sniper because seriously? I highly doubt that she can even carry that gun correctly. I thought that it was a bit unrealistic to accuse a girl not only that young but also with her height (and obviously, her body weight.) Didn't people wonder how she was able to do it? I mean if they had accused Chase, I totally would've bought it. But I guess that it did play in the FBR's (and Ember's) favor that they accused Ember as the sniper.

Ember, I felt, definitely grew as a character and as a heroine as well. Though she still retained some of her characteristics, she also outgrew some of them. While she may still be a bit angry about her mother's death, she's also accepted it, in a way. Ember has a lot of responsibilities being placed on her shoulders because not only is she known as the sniper, but she's also the only other girl in Wayland Inn (besides Cara.) She's had a lot of incidents where her life was put into danger but she's never faltered or ran away. You can see how much she's grown and how brave she she is. If I were in her position, I honestly wouldn't know what to do. Her life seems to scary and full of danger that it just makes me wonder how anyone can stay sane after all that she's been through. Oh, wait, she has Chase.

I understand why this book is entitled "Breaking Point". It wasn't just the breaking point for the rebels or the FBR. It was also a breaking point for Chase and Ember. Would their love really be able to survive amidst all the suffering and constant fear? Because let me tell you, so much shit happens in this book and I'm just so amazed that those two are still going strong. There were parts that made me pretty nervous but there were also parts that just made sense, you know? I wondered how I could have ever doubted the two of them. You can really see how much they depended on each other, they were each other's rocks. They stood firm and didn't move unless shaken or pushed. I loved how Chased loved Ember and even though she was stubborn, you could see that she desperately loved him too. They make me tear up.

But aside from the sweet and slightly melancholic love story we have, there's also the action and danger this series is supposed to be known for. I questioned a lot of things in this book and though some were left either completely unanswered or partially answered, I was pretty satisfied with the way it flowed. I was able to figure some things out at the early stages of the book but there were things that just escaped my grasp and left me wondering. Also, Breaking Point? Intense, yo. Lots of explosive (*pun pun*) things happen in this book. And very shocking things too! I was flabbergasted with the things that I discovered while reading this book. Just... Whoa. (<-- That was a speechless whoa.)

Reading Break Point makes me want to continue this series, it was a refreshing read. It was a good sequel and it definitely made up for Article 5's slight mediocrity. I recommend that you read Article 5 so that you'd get a taste of what happens in Breaking Point because you will not want to miss what happens in this book. Btw, I love the back cover of Breaking Point. The "Wanted" poster was a nice touch.

Rating:

.5