Reviews

The Break by Katherena Vermette

egcam's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Medical content, Violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming, Classism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Dementia, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Grief, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Addiction, and Alcohol

Minor: Child death

sara_carey's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

bettyjowerthmann's review

dark emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

mossybean's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Addiction, Sexual violence, Rape, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Child abuse

rmt33's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

camwise1's review

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I didn’t want this beautiful book to end. So painful and raw, but beautiful all the same. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Rape, and Sexual violence

sparklypages's review

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

raeraethelibrarian's review

challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

4.5

howse's review

challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

justabean_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The break talks both about a gap in the city created by hydro lines cutting through, and by the before and after following a rape, and a hundred other ruptures.

This is both brutal in that it's about substance about and sexual violence, and really really good in that it's about family and relationships, and how the web surrounding one person absorbs and transmits what happens to them. All of the point of view characters are Indigenous and Metis, and all but one of them are women (including one ghost), and I loved the interactions, how they all saw each other, the layers upon layers of history behind every relationship and point of view. I had a little trouble at first keeping track of who was cousins with who, but it all sorted out eventually.

Really beautiful book, and I had to read the next one right away. (This is absolutely a trilogy, and you need to read them in order.)