Review: Breaking Point by Kristen Simmons

Breaking Point by Kristen Simmons

Article 5 #2

Release Date: February 12^th, 2013

Number of Pages: 400

Publisher: Tor Teen

Source: ARC from Raincoast Books

GR - Amazon - BD - Chapters

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?

When I got my hands on Breaking Point, I was really excited to be able to sink back into the world Kristen Simmons had created. I have to say, it was extremely easy to get back into the story started in Article 5. I felt like I had read Article 5 minutes before starting Breaking Point, even if I had actually read it last year. The way it is written, it is easy to be reminded of what happened before.

One of my favorite things about this series was seriously the world in which the story takes place. In Article 5, we learned a lot about the world, about the past, and about the articles controlling the life of the characters. In Breaking Point, we learn more about what really happens in the world, and this is something I really appreciated, especially since it was well included in the story. I never felt like the information was forced on us. It was always nicely included in the story. Dystopian novels are one of kind of novels you can never have enough background information.

In Breaking Point, we follow once again Ember and Chase. The relationship between those two isn’t getting easier, and have to say there is little romance in this one, which I liked, despite loving those two together. After all, romance isn’t the priority when you’re fighting for your life. Ember is getting stronger each novel, and she isn’t afraid to fight for herself and those she cares about. She wants to do her part, even if Chase is often overprotective and would rather have her stay safe behind. We also see Chase under a different light in this book, as he is haunted by his past. This showed how much those two need each other. Their interaction was really one of my favorite parts of the novel, with the world.

Article 5 and Breaking Point are books I definitely would recommend to fans of dystopian. It’s a series I think deserve a lot more love than it has received. Those who have read and loved Article 5 will be more than please with its sequel. Breaking Point was a strong sequel that will leave you wanting more. I already can’t wait to read what will happen next.

About The Author

From NetGalley

Kristen Simmons has a master’s degree in social work and is an advocate for mental health. She loves Jazzercise, her husband, and her precious greyhound, Rudy. Also chocolate. She currently lives in Tampa, Florida.

Her Website

Her Twitter

The Trailer

Waiting On Wednesday: Breaking Point by Kristen Simmons

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly Meme hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine. It is an opportunity for us to show books we can't wait to get our hands on.

This week, my pick is:

Breaking Point by Kristen Simmons

Article 5 #2

February 2013

Tor Teen

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?

I really enjoyed Article 5! I've been dying ever since to read the sequel. Only 5 months to wait...

Review: Article 5 by Kristen Simmons

Title: Article 5

Author: Kristen Simmons

Series: Article 5 #1

Release Date: January 31th, 2012

Number of Pages: 384

Publisher: TorTeen

Source: From Raincoast

New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned. 

The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don't come back.

Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren’t always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it’s hard for her to forget that people weren’t always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It’s hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.

Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.

That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings…the only boy Ember has ever loved.

Wow. I was already super excited about reading this book. I love the premises. It sounded so amazing. So when I got an ARC from Raincoast, I couldn’t wait to read it. I simply couldn’t stop once I started. It was simply captivating! I had to know what would happen to Ember. It is so hard for me to find the right words to describe how much I enjoyed this book!

The world Kristen Simmons was brutally real. It’s the kind of world I would hate to live in, because the population has lost all control over their life. That for me is scary. All the rules Simmons created, the military, the rehabilitation centers, those are horribly scary. That’s one of the things I adore of this. I love a dystopian novel that is able to create a world that seems so real, yet so scary.

Through the novel, there is no dull moment. There is always something happening, something to keep you on the edge of your chair. It keeps you addicted to the characters, to the story. From the moment Ember’s mother is arrested, Ember has never a second of real freedom. She is fighting for herself, for her hope of seeing her mother and for the memory of her Chase. I love how Kristen Simmons has introduced some of the happy memories she has with Chase, those lived before he left her. That showed that there was ways to be happy, there were people who still could love. It reminds us that there is still hope, even in this kind of dystopian world.

Now the main characters were really amazing to me. I love Ember. She was strong, and she was ready to fight for those she loves, even if it can kill her. That’s one of her side that I really liked. Now, there is also Chase that really got me interested in what went on behind the door of the MM. In a way, I was reminded, as a history geek, of the Nazi (Am I the only one?)  Some were doing what they thought was right, others were fueled by their need of power, and others were doing what they were told, scared of what could happen to those they care about. That’s one of the reasons that it was easy for me to like Chase. I knew which kind of those he was.

Kristen Simmons really got me hooked from page one. Her debut novel really set a series that is sure to keep me hooked until the end, really a must read for any dystopian lover.