Kristen Simmons - Breaking Point

Back to an old reliable series that I've started reading already but want to share with you all.  Like every other time, I'll try not to give too much away.

Breaking Point is the second book in Kristen Simmons's series Article 5 which is told from the point of view of Ember Miller and focuses on her and Chase Jennings, a young man that she cared about from her past.  In a war torn America, there are no police but are soldiers who enforce the law of the land, known as Moral Statues, dictating to society the moral code that people should live by.  Punishments are severe if these Statues are broken, going from being arrested to the punishments (with long imprisonments and death being common).  In Article 5, Ember starts as a 17 year old girl who keeps a low profile so to draw attention to her family or home life because her mother has broken Article 5 of the Moral Statues, a child is only considered a valid citizen when they are conceived by a married man and wife.  Unfortunately, the seventeen years of hiding catches up with Ember's mother when she is arrested by none other than Ember's former best friend (and first love), Chase Jennings.  Ember is taken into custody and forced into a reformation school where the inmates are brainwashed to comply with the Moral Statues.  Meanwhile Chase goes AWOL and goes to rescue Ember; once they are together, they find the resistance, seeking shelter.  When they're alone together, Chase confesses that he watched her mother die and did nothing about it which causes Ember to run away so Chase goes after her and is captured and arrested because he went AWOL which means Ember has to save HIM.  Once she finds him again, they fake their deaths so those in charge of America won't come after them both again.

Rating: 9

Recommended To: Definitely one for those that like dystopian fiction

Favourite Characters: Chase - many great things about him; Ember - great name as well as other great traits

Favourite Part: Instantly they consumed me, overwhelmed me, like the fact of my love was the only truth I'd ever known.  The only truth there was. Chase Jennings, I love you.  I love the boy you were and the man you've become and even when I don't like you at all I still love you because you are you, kind and safe and good, because you understand me and are not afraid.
As the honesty of my words sunk in, he became very still.  Statue still.  And I waited, more raw and vulnerable than ever.

[...]

"I love you, Em.  I've loved you since I was eight years old, and I'll love you my whole life." - Page 353-4

Good Points: How easy it was to pick back up; the reintroduction of old friends; Chase and Ember's relationship

Bad Points: Tucker - too easily accepted for me after everything

Breaking Point begins just after Article 5 with Ember and Chase working for the resistance; Chase ensures that they are secure in their hideout while Ember stays in side, organising and performing other menial tasks. Both characters are keeping a low profile because they faked their deaths in the previous book. While they're also physically together, both Ember and Chase are emotionally distant from one another until they talk finally.

What immediately caught my attention with this book was how easy it was to ease back into the series, having read the first one back in May.  Simmons writes the book so well by recapping the first book just enough so the reader isn't overwhelmed with old information and significant events such as Chase tell Ember about her mum and them faking their deaths.  This allowed me to go on reading without having to pick up Article 5 which is always good because it would just be annoying having to reread another book to read its sequel; an example for when this happened for me was when reading Prodigy and I had to look back at Legend to remember some of the significant events that weren't recapped enough, such as June and Day's life together on the street.

Another good thing about Breaking Point is that Simmons reintroduces Ember's old friends well after their absences for a lot of the book; the reintroduction of Beth allows Ember, as well as the reader, to compare how much she has grown as a character because when she and Beth speak, she realises that Beth hasn't grown (or become more jaded) like her as Beth sees hope in the world.  Ember sees Beth's hope as naivety and this makes Ember almost pity her former best friend from school and this makes me, as the reader, pity her as well because she doesn't seem to understand the real world where people are killed because she doesn't see it in her world where as Ember has witnessed it first-hand.  Becca's reintroduction brings more questions following the anticipation of her being returned to Sean or it did at least for me; I wondered what she had been through and if she's been manipulated by those in power and the others don't know it.

My absolute favourite thing about Breaking Point is the relationship between Ember and Chase.  They understand each other to the extent that each of them have allowed and will continue to learn more about one another because they've known each other since they were kids but were apart for a while.  They both understand who each other were when they were kids and once they've been reunited properly, at an age where they are ready to move on in a relationship, they both begin to learn more about the other as they open up emotionally to each other and let one another in and allow the other to connect.

His relationship with Ember is one thing that I love about Chase because the way he interacts with Ember shows he is protective and caring, such as when the leader of the resistance, Wallace, assigns Ember a task that takes her out of the compound and Chase is insistent that she shouldn't go.  This small part of the book also demonstrates another trait of Chase's that I love, his understanding of Ember needing to have some independence now so she can decide what she wants because she's not the same naïve girl he used to know as she's grown.  He back down when he sees how passionate she is about going out, so he tags along to ensure she is safe and will come home with him.  Throughout this series, Chase puts on a front of being strong for those around him as well as the reader, hiding his emotions allowing his actions to speak more by being heroic so he won't seem weak to anyone; in my opinion, this is shown when he goes into a fire with Ember, this takes a strength of character which is great in a character.  However, there is something about him that is intriguing because as a reader, through the prose, you can see that there is something wrong with him as he evades certain moments but he doesn't express certain emotions.  This is interesting for me because I wanted to know what was wrong with him and when I found out, I really empathised with him and just wanted to hug him as I fell for him even harder.

Ember is a great character too; one reason is she has an amazing name because for me, it suggests that she could ignite a metaphorical fire, a rebellion in the government.  This is implied when Wallace insists on sending her out into the city so that people will see her and think of her as a symbol of rebellion because she is not really dead despite what people said and escaped from the government's oppression.  Another reason she is a great character is that she is now fiercely independent in comparison to how she was right at the beginning of this series, showing a growth in character; this can be shown through her insisting to go out on her mission she is assigned by Wallace.  Much like Chase, she is equally protective of him and adores him; this can be shown when she sees him break down and supports him as he tries to calm back down.

The only downside of this book for me was that Tucker was too easily accepted within the resistance because Ember seems to utterly despise him for good reason.  However, if she hated him that much, she should have told everyone in the resistance what he had done because they just thought she and Chase were resentful of him for joining the resistance just after them.

Instantly they consumed me, overwhelmed me, like the fact of my love was the only truth I'd ever known.  The only truth there was. Chase Jennings, I love you.  I love the boy you were and the man you've become and even when I don't like you at all I still love you because you are you, kind and safe and good, because you understand me and are not afraid.

As the honesty of my words sunk in, he became very still.  Statue still.  And I waited, more raw and vulnerable than ever.

[...]
"I love you, Em.  I've loved you since I was eight years old, and I'll love you my whole life." - Page 353-4

Technically this counts as two parts but they're close together so I say it counts as one.  I adore this part of the book as it's the first time the pair really confess how much they love one another and my heart warmed immediately, bringing a tear to my eye.  It just demonstrated the love that these two are capable of despite everything they have been through.

So now I have to wait until February for the next book which I will review ASAP.

Predictions

1. Ember and Chase finally consummate their relationship and there are consequences

2. Chase's uncle reappears

3. The government is overthrown

Other Books by Kristen Simmons