Breaking Point (25 page)

BREAKING POINT

BREATHING UNDERWATER

NOTHING TO LOSE

FADE TO BLACK

DIVA

BEASTLY

A KISS IN TIME

CLOAKED

BEWITCHING

Cover art © 2012 by Howard Huang
Cover design by Sasha Illingworth

Breaking Point

Copyright © 2002 by Alexandra Flinn

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Flinn, Alexandra.

Breaking point / Alex Flinn.

p. cm.

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

ISBN 0-06-623847-1—ISBN 0-06-623848-X (lib. bdg.)

ISBN 0-06-447371-6 (pbk.)

EPub Edition © FEBRUARY 2012 ISBN 9780062208217

[1. Friendship—Fiction. 2. High schools—Fiction. 3. Schools—Fiction.] I. Title.

PZ7.F6395 Bl 2002 2001039504

[Fic]—dc21CIP

AC

First paperback edition, 2003

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I write about the things that scare me. When I sat down to write my second novel for teens, I didn't have to go any further than the newspaper. Acts of violence in our schools are terrifying. What is it like, I wondered, to sit in class, not knowing whether the guy beside you might pull out a gun or plant a bomb? What is it like to feel you have reason to commit an act of violence at school—and nothing to lose?

I don't know the answers. But by writing the story of one teen who reached the breaking point, I've tried to make sense of something that teens are already trying to make sense of. I've tried to understand what makes some teens so fed up, angry, fearful, and—above all—isolated that they feel they must strike out. I hope this book will stimulate discussion. Although we cannot excuse the acts of kids like Paul, we must try to understand them. It is the first step toward preventing them.

ALEX FLINN loves fairy tales and is the author of the #1
New York Times
bestselling
BEASTLY
, a spin on
Beauty and the Beast
that was named a
VOYA
Editor's Choice and an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers.
Beastly
is now a major motion picture starring Vanessa Hudgens! She also wrote
A KISS IN TIME
, a modern retelling of
Sleeping Beauty
, and
CLOAKED
, a humorous fairy tale mash-up, as well as
BREATHING UNDERWATER
,
BREAKING POINT
,
NOTHING TO LOSE
,
FADE TO BLACK
, and
DIVA
. Alex lives in Miami with her family. Visit her online at www.alexflinn.com.

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