Thank you to the publisher who gifted me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Cortland Hunt has made some dangerous mistakes. Now he’s waiting quietly for those mistakes to catch up with him. Ian Tanner coasts through life denying the spark of anger beneath his laid back exterior. When school politics and personal lives become a battleground, the pair find that what they share may just be their only safe haven.
Breaks is the story of two young men discovering who they were, who they are, and who they will become. It’s a love story . . . but a bit broken.
I hadn’t heard about Breaks until around a month ago and I have no idea how that had happened. As soon as I read the synopsis I was intrigued! It is being marketed as a darker alternative to Heartstopper and I think that is the perfect description of it. It was an enjoyable read and I’m excited for another volume soon.
Cortland has made some dangerous mistakes and now he is waiting for them to catch up with him. Ian coasts through life whilst denying the spark of anger beneath his laid-back exterior. When school politics and personal lives become a battleground, the pair find that what they share may be their only safe haven.
Breaks grips you right from the word go. Readers are hinted at something awful happening later on in the story. That then leads us to watch many different things unravel. Plus, readers can try their best to work out how the story will reach that conclusion.
Ian and Cortland are excellent main characters and I thoroughly enjoyed watching them grow as people and together too. It is easy to tell them apart throughout the story both through visuals and also through the character’s personalities. I loved watching their relationship change throughout the book and I’m excited to see how this will change even more as the series continues.
I would have loved to learn more about them both in the first volume of the series as I feel this one didn’t give us quite enough. But, I feel like in the coming volumes we will learn more about them both and what they have been going through both together and individually.
This is a YA story but it deals with some serious themes. So, please be aware of them before heading into this. These themes are discussed sensitively without shying away from the seriousness of them. Plus, the artwork in this book is beautiful.
I’m certainly going to be picking up the next book in this series as soon as I can. I’m looking forward to seeing how this story will progress. Vol. 2 is out in June.
Overall, I would certainly recommend Breaks if you are looking for a YA graphic novel series. If you are a fan of Heartstopper and looking for something similar but slightly darker this is certainly one for you.
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