Breaking Up

by Kate Cann

'That night in bed I get this thought, as strong as if someone’s said it straight into my ear: I’m here on this earth because those two loved each other. Now that’s all over, where does that leave me?'

Fliss's parents aren't getting on at all and they're turning her home into a battlefield. Fliss's only refuge is her boyfriend Simon and she leans heavily on him for support. Things come to a head when her father announces he's moving out. If this is what love is like, what chance does she stand with Simon? And why is he backing off all of a sudden, just when she needs him more than ever? Devastated, Fliss spins out of control. If her parents think she's about to stand by while they ruin her life, they can think again …..

GLASGOW HERALD: A gut-wrenchingly realistic account that would make seminal reading for divorcing parents as well as their teenagers.

THE BOOKSELLER: For authentic teenage voices, look no further than Kate Cann. In Breaking Up, we see the devastating effects of a parental split through the eyes of Fliss. Unable to come to terms with what she sees as her father's desertion, she goes to extreme measures to regain his attention. However, before she faces up to the external events she has first to deal with the turmoil, loneliness, anger and insecurity she feels but will not acknowledge. By the end, hope is beginning to emerge, and for any teenager going through the divorce mill this book will radiate truthfulness while also being a brilliantly executed piece of dramatic writing.

THE GUARDIAN: Fliss is dealing with looming GCSEs as well as the fallout from her parents' marriage break-up. At least Simon, her boyfriend, is a constant in her life. But Simon is scared by Fliss's neediness and, when he dumps her, she goes into freefall.
This is a familiar story of breakdown rendered fresh by the way it re-creates the intensity of teenage feelings. It is a racy read, but one that never feels less than emotionally true. It also scores highly in its depiction of adult feelings and behaviour, and the suggestion that parents have their own needs and don't always behave well. This is a scrupulously honest book that doesn't gloss over the hard realities of divorce.

BOOKS FOR KEEPS: A new Cann book is always a cause for celebration. The veracity of both internal and external dialogue in Breaking Up immediately communicates Fliss's anguish at the disintegration of her parents' relationship and of her own with her boyfriend Simon.
There is an overwhelming sense of isolation permeating the novel – Flss's over-dependence on Simon for support is graphically communicated and when their relationship crumbles the reader is left with a real sense of loss and anger on Fliss's behalf – a double perspective which allows one to observe and participate at the same time. The real triumph of the book is the reader's awareness that each character is reshaped by events; it is their destroyed relationships which define them, not their independent personalities.
The therapeutic value of Breaking Up cannot be ignored; the absolute realism of emotional trauma is slowly replaced by an equally determined climb to rehabilitation and renewal.

Genres: Young Adult

240 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

When I was a child, I wanted to be a witch. My first foray into writing was a series of nasty spells full of rats’ tails and bats’ wings. Then, when I turned thirteen, I began keeping a lurid diary, full of adoration or loathing, depending on who I was writing about. I used my later diaries for the Diving In trilogy.

I never thought ‘I want to be a writer’, but I loved books and writing. At school, I was rubbish at just about everything but English, so I went on to Kent University where I did two degrees in English and American Literature. At Kent, I fell dramatically in love with the man I'm still married to. We had loads of fights and adventures, but we kept coming back together. He's still the person I most want to spend time with. Awww!

My first proper job was in a publishing house, Time Life Books, as a copy-editor. I felt very glamorous. I used to go to the huge YMCA on Tottenham Court Road at lunchtime and do aerobics classes (very big in the 1980s and yes - I wore legwarmers). Then I'd fall asleep over my desk in the afternoon.

When my two kids came along, I set up as a freelance copy-editor and worked from home. By chance I got given some teenage books to edit, and I hated the way they treated sexual relationships: they were either full of gloom and doom, or were gushy, unrealistic candyfloss. So I got bitten by the ‘I can do better than this’ bug, and started writing. I remember the first day I started to write - it took me over. I forgot to eat (unthinkable for me) and I nearly forgot to collect the kids from school. About a year after that, Diving In was accepted for publication.

When I ran out of material from my diaries and memories, I realized my daughter and son were teenagers, and started eavesdropping on them. They were extremely tolerant about this although they did sometimes demand money from me.

Big changes have been afoot recently. My kids have left home - really left home, not just gap-year-travelling/university left home, and my old man is doing the sort of work that means he can work from home a lot of the time. So we've sold up and moved into the wilds of Wiltshire and so far I am absolutely loving it. The space, the silence, seeing the stars at night in the pitch black, the owls, the trees, the walks, the great food in the local pubs - everything! I'd started to bring nature into my books - it all started with Crow Girl - and now I'm working on two books about a city girl who gets plunged into the wilds. So the move is very much linked to and helping my writing. I think the sheer beauty and power of nature and how it can get right inside you is something a lot of kids are cut off from today.

I still love London though - the plan is to come up every couple of weeks, catch up with all my old mates, possibly do something seriously cultured like go to the theatre. And I want to travel a bit more, too - offsetting my increased carbon footprint with an enormous compost heap.

I love long conversations, running, reading, gardening, walking and white wine (in moderation of course) and I’m the first to admit I have the life of Reilly (who apparently had a pretty cushy life). I start the day with a run or walk with my dog, when I think about what’s going to happen next in the book I’m writing. Then I have a huge breakfast, and get down to work. I write on (or if it’s cold, in) the spare bed with a laptop, my dog at the bottom of the bed. If it’s sunny, I write in the garden, on a sun-lounger. Tough, ay? I also have this theory that you can’t be truly creative for more than about three or four hours a day, so in the mid afternoon, I knock off, and do my emails and stuff. Told you it was cushy.

Reviews

[Micki Lou Price · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having read this as a teen, it will be interesting to see how my opinion differs on the points in this book. Very much a Teen book, didn't enjoy it seco d time around.

[Tara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not Kate Canns best book that's for sure, Breaking up follows Fliss's life as her parents split up and life turns to hell. She is leaning heavily on her boyfriend Simon who has had enough.
Fliss's character is not one that yoyu will like or relate to very well. She is a callous, selfish bitch and even at the end when Kate's trying to make you feel sorry for her, you still can't stand her.

[Jenni]

The swedish version have a better cover than this.

[Sera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this about ten years ago. Nice light read, but I've outgrown it