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Breaking Bailey
In the tradition of Go Ask Alice and Lucy in the Sky, this heart-wrenching story chronicles a girl’s fatal experience with testing her moral limits and the dangers of addiction.Bailey welcomes a fresh start at the prestigious boarding school, Prescott Academy, far away from the painful memories of her mother’s death and the unendurable happiness of her father and his new wife. She expects rigorous coursework and long hours of studying—what she doesn’t expect is to be inducted into the Science Club, a group of wealthy and intelligent students who run a business cooking up drugs in their spare time. Suddenly, Bailey has everything she’s ever wanted, including a sweet and handsome boyfriend named Warren, the brainy lead chemist in the Club. But as she wades deeper into the murky waters of their business, Bailey finds herself struggling to reconcile her new lifestyle with moral dilemmas she just can’t ignore. Can she have it all without breaking?
384 pages, Hardcover
First published June 4, 2019
81 people are currently reading
2093 people want to read
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Anonymous
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See also: Anonymous
* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
* They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author
Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.
See also: Anonymous
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 119 reviews
June 10, 2019
3 stars.
The Annonymous diaries are books which follows the accounts of teenagers who each have to deal with outside forces that make them do some rash decisions that affect themselves in different ways.
Go Ask Alice - Drug use.
Lucy in the Sky - Drug use.
Letting Ana Go - Eating disorder
The Book of David - Coming out
Calling Maggie May - Teenage prostitution
These are fictional (yes, Go Ask Alice is fictional and not an actual diary of a teenager) that are rooted with subject matters that can be difficult for people to talk about. These Annonymous diaries, while fictional, highlights what these kids have to go through. And Breaking Bailey is the latest installment to this series.
Breaking Bailey is about a girl named Bailey who goes to an elite boarding school in the hopes of getting into an ivy league school to pursue her dream of working as a scientist. Along the way, she meets new friends who introduce her to the world of drug making and she is roped in that group.
It should be said that these Anonymous series are pretty much formulaic (except for The Book of David which ends happily) and if you've read one book, then you know the outcome of what happens to them at the end. Breaking Bailey is no exception. It literally says on the goodreads page: this heart-wrenching story chronicles a girl’s fatal experience with testing her moral limits and the dangers of addiction. So yeah, keep that in mind.
CW: Drug abuse.
Breaking Bailey to me was an OK book. Out of all of them, The Book of David is my favorite because I could sympathize with the protagonist and his story was fairly consistent and flowed evenly from beginning to end. Breaking Bailey did have a sympathetic (kind of) character but her story was dragged on and the climax didn't happen until the last 100 pages out of a 364-page book.
I know I'm sounding like a broken record by saying this, but the story could've taken out maybe sixty pages and it could've been more enjoyable and the climax would be put in a place where it made sense. Most of the story was about Bailey's life at school, her making drugs, and eventually her addiction to OTC meds. That's great on paper, but it was poorly spread. And the unnecessary passages did not make it evenly paced. This will be a book some will have to force themselves to get through.
The story itself, while giving an insight into how easy it is to make drugs as well as how someone can become addicted to OTC meds, suffers on account of the uneven pacing. I found myself detached from the story and characters.
Bailey herself as a character was fine. I didn't have much of an attachment to her but there are moments in the story where her feelings about her school life, her friends, and even the death of her mother did make me sympathize for her.
Even if I do sound like I hated Breaking Bailey, I didn't. The same with Calling Maggie May, I did like it but compared to CMM, Breaking Bailey had a decent protagonist which was something lacking in CMM where I found the protagonist annoying. Bailey sounds naive and sometimes oblivious to what was going on around her. But looking back, I did see a girl who was lonely and dealing with her family issues being pulled into a group knowing they're up to no good but didn't want to be lonely.
Verdict
Breaking Bailey was an OK book. This and Calling Maggie May are the weakest of the books but I didn't dislike them. You will have to get through Breaking Bailey at times because of the poor pacing. Otherwise, it was an OK read.
Thanks for reading my review!
-Cesar
The Annonymous diaries are books which follows the accounts of teenagers who each have to deal with outside forces that make them do some rash decisions that affect themselves in different ways.
Go Ask Alice - Drug use.
Lucy in the Sky - Drug use.
Letting Ana Go - Eating disorder
The Book of David - Coming out
Calling Maggie May - Teenage prostitution
These are fictional (yes, Go Ask Alice is fictional and not an actual diary of a teenager) that are rooted with subject matters that can be difficult for people to talk about. These Annonymous diaries, while fictional, highlights what these kids have to go through. And Breaking Bailey is the latest installment to this series.
Breaking Bailey is about a girl named Bailey who goes to an elite boarding school in the hopes of getting into an ivy league school to pursue her dream of working as a scientist. Along the way, she meets new friends who introduce her to the world of drug making and she is roped in that group.
It should be said that these Anonymous series are pretty much formulaic (except for The Book of David which ends happily) and if you've read one book, then you know the outcome of what happens to them at the end. Breaking Bailey is no exception. It literally says on the goodreads page: this heart-wrenching story chronicles a girl’s fatal experience with testing her moral limits and the dangers of addiction. So yeah, keep that in mind.
CW: Drug abuse.
Breaking Bailey to me was an OK book. Out of all of them, The Book of David is my favorite because I could sympathize with the protagonist and his story was fairly consistent and flowed evenly from beginning to end. Breaking Bailey did have a sympathetic (kind of) character but her story was dragged on and the climax didn't happen until the last 100 pages out of a 364-page book.
I know I'm sounding like a broken record by saying this, but the story could've taken out maybe sixty pages and it could've been more enjoyable and the climax would be put in a place where it made sense. Most of the story was about Bailey's life at school, her making drugs, and eventually her addiction to OTC meds. That's great on paper, but it was poorly spread. And the unnecessary passages did not make it evenly paced. This will be a book some will have to force themselves to get through.
The story itself, while giving an insight into how easy it is to make drugs as well as how someone can become addicted to OTC meds, suffers on account of the uneven pacing. I found myself detached from the story and characters.
Bailey herself as a character was fine. I didn't have much of an attachment to her but there are moments in the story where her feelings about her school life, her friends, and even the death of her mother did make me sympathize for her.
Even if I do sound like I hated Breaking Bailey, I didn't. The same with Calling Maggie May, I did like it but compared to CMM, Breaking Bailey had a decent protagonist which was something lacking in CMM where I found the protagonist annoying. Bailey sounds naive and sometimes oblivious to what was going on around her. But looking back, I did see a girl who was lonely and dealing with her family issues being pulled into a group knowing they're up to no good but didn't want to be lonely.
Verdict
Breaking Bailey was an OK book. This and Calling Maggie May are the weakest of the books but I didn't dislike them. You will have to get through Breaking Bailey at times because of the poor pacing. Otherwise, it was an OK read.
Thanks for reading my review!
-Cesar
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January 23, 2020I really shouldn't be surprised that each book in this series is somehow worse than the last, but this...this one is the worst thing I've read since Ship It. (And y'all know how much I despised that book.) This was published in 2019 and I have no clue why these books are still a thing, especially when the final product is uninspired preachy trash like this.
I don't have to use quotation marks for the main character's name this time, because her name was actually Bailey. She had a last name, too, but I can't be bothered to remember what it was. She's at a new prestigious boarding school and almost immediately gets involved with a group of kids who make crystal meth and sell it in the neighborhoods surrounding the school. That's not an exaggeration, by the way. Not even 20 pages in and she's already found out about the Science Club's agenda. No build up, no suspense, because why have that when we can just pad this thing out needlessly?
This is the longest of the anonymous diaries, and it has no need to be. The others were at least mercifully shorter, never exceeding 280 pages. This was close to 400 and I have to ask why. What was the purpose of that? I didn't care about Bailey's problems because she was an idiot, failing her classes and screwing her life up just so she could have so-called "friends". I didn't care about anyone else because they were all jerks and too absorbed in their own success to realize that their meth was ruining lives. Warren especially was a terrible human being, because he was manipulative and a pathological liar and a hypocrite. "It's okay if I take all these addictive drugs, but I'm totally not like my dead addict brother. I'd never do heroin because I have standards!"
I realize Warren was supposed to be an abusive boyfriend, and he definitely was, but things like that are best left to people who actually know what they're talking about and can write that kind of thing with respect. Warren fell into the trap that so many white boy villains do in modern media, where he's woobified and made to look like a victim and his toxic behavior is made out to be okay because of his tragic past. I'm so tired of that narrative because it just excuses terrible people doing terrible things, when in reality that is far from okay. It also plays into the bad boy who needs to be fixed with "true love" trope that is also disgusting, because of course Bailey's only concern besides cooking meth is to make sure Warren's feelings aren't hurt and that he knows how much she loves him. No thank you.
The only part of this book I was invested in was Bailey's home life. Her grief over losing her mother felt like the only genuine thing in the book, especially with the different ways her family dealt with grief. It wasn't focused on enough to make it a saving grace, but I didn't want to throw the book across the room when reading those scenes, so I suppose that's about as good as it gets.
NITPICK CORNER
-How did Bailey not realize Emily was doing meth? She was exhibiting some pretty obvious withdrawal symptoms, some of which are similar to ones Bailey had when she hadn't taken her illegal meds. But no, Bailey's too wrapped up in her own sad stupid life and too busy whining about Warren to give anything else two seconds of thought.
-The collateral video was such a let down. From the way Bailey talked about it, I was expecting her to have been filmed naked or something. But no, collateral is just a boring old "I'm the mastermind behind all this meth business and I made everyone do my bidding" video. I was kind of annoyed that I didn't know what it was at first, but now I think I wish it would have been kept a secret. That's pretty weak blackmail considering the kind of meth these kids are dealing out.
-The Science Club has been around for a few years...somehow? How has no one found out that there are students selling meth? They've bribed one cop, but somehow that cop makes sure no one ever finds out? This whole book banks on the fantasy that no one would ever figure it out so easily, but with the rising meth use in the area, wouldn't there be a bigger investigation?
-Bailey wanting out meant she had to stay behind at school while the other three idiots went off to the Cayman Islands, and she had to make a new batch of meth to prove she wasn't going to narc. What a stupid plan. She's all by herself and the three geniuses behind this whole operation are miles away without any way to know what she's up to. For all they know, she could have ratted them out. Why wouldn't one of them stay behind to babysit her? I know they were expecting Bailey to be too much of a wuss to do anything like that - and they were right - but I would have thought that they wouldn't be that careless when they're so "concerned" she's going to ruin everything. Yes, let's just leave the potential snitch by herself with access to our lab while we go away on vacation! What a brilliant idea.
-WHY WAS SPRING BREAK AT THE END OF APRIL?????
It may only be January, but I don't think I'm going to read worse than this in 2020. There's no possible way that's going to happen. And Simon Pulse, if you're considering publishing any more of this garbage, just don't. Please, for the love of God, don't kill any more trees and waste valuable resources making more awful stories like this one.
I don't have to use quotation marks for the main character's name this time, because her name was actually Bailey. She had a last name, too, but I can't be bothered to remember what it was. She's at a new prestigious boarding school and almost immediately gets involved with a group of kids who make crystal meth and sell it in the neighborhoods surrounding the school. That's not an exaggeration, by the way. Not even 20 pages in and she's already found out about the Science Club's agenda. No build up, no suspense, because why have that when we can just pad this thing out needlessly?
This is the longest of the anonymous diaries, and it has no need to be. The others were at least mercifully shorter, never exceeding 280 pages. This was close to 400 and I have to ask why. What was the purpose of that? I didn't care about Bailey's problems because she was an idiot, failing her classes and screwing her life up just so she could have so-called "friends". I didn't care about anyone else because they were all jerks and too absorbed in their own success to realize that their meth was ruining lives. Warren especially was a terrible human being, because he was manipulative and a pathological liar and a hypocrite. "It's okay if I take all these addictive drugs, but I'm totally not like my dead addict brother. I'd never do heroin because I have standards!"
I realize Warren was supposed to be an abusive boyfriend, and he definitely was, but things like that are best left to people who actually know what they're talking about and can write that kind of thing with respect. Warren fell into the trap that so many white boy villains do in modern media, where he's woobified and made to look like a victim and his toxic behavior is made out to be okay because of his tragic past. I'm so tired of that narrative because it just excuses terrible people doing terrible things, when in reality that is far from okay. It also plays into the bad boy who needs to be fixed with "true love" trope that is also disgusting, because of course Bailey's only concern besides cooking meth is to make sure Warren's feelings aren't hurt and that he knows how much she loves him. No thank you.
The only part of this book I was invested in was Bailey's home life. Her grief over losing her mother felt like the only genuine thing in the book, especially with the different ways her family dealt with grief. It wasn't focused on enough to make it a saving grace, but I didn't want to throw the book across the room when reading those scenes, so I suppose that's about as good as it gets.
NITPICK CORNER
-How did Bailey not realize Emily was doing meth? She was exhibiting some pretty obvious withdrawal symptoms, some of which are similar to ones Bailey had when she hadn't taken her illegal meds. But no, Bailey's too wrapped up in her own sad stupid life and too busy whining about Warren to give anything else two seconds of thought.
-The collateral video was such a let down. From the way Bailey talked about it, I was expecting her to have been filmed naked or something. But no, collateral is just a boring old "I'm the mastermind behind all this meth business and I made everyone do my bidding" video. I was kind of annoyed that I didn't know what it was at first, but now I think I wish it would have been kept a secret. That's pretty weak blackmail considering the kind of meth these kids are dealing out.
-The Science Club has been around for a few years...somehow? How has no one found out that there are students selling meth? They've bribed one cop, but somehow that cop makes sure no one ever finds out? This whole book banks on the fantasy that no one would ever figure it out so easily, but with the rising meth use in the area, wouldn't there be a bigger investigation?
-Bailey wanting out meant she had to stay behind at school while the other three idiots went off to the Cayman Islands, and she had to make a new batch of meth to prove she wasn't going to narc. What a stupid plan. She's all by herself and the three geniuses behind this whole operation are miles away without any way to know what she's up to. For all they know, she could have ratted them out. Why wouldn't one of them stay behind to babysit her? I know they were expecting Bailey to be too much of a wuss to do anything like that - and they were right - but I would have thought that they wouldn't be that careless when they're so "concerned" she's going to ruin everything. Yes, let's just leave the potential snitch by herself with access to our lab while we go away on vacation! What a brilliant idea.
-WHY WAS SPRING BREAK AT THE END OF APRIL?????
It may only be January, but I don't think I'm going to read worse than this in 2020. There's no possible way that's going to happen. And Simon Pulse, if you're considering publishing any more of this garbage, just don't. Please, for the love of God, don't kill any more trees and waste valuable resources making more awful stories like this one.
February 15, 2019
Fans of Go Ask Alice will like this book. It’s like a slow motion train wreck that you can’t take your eyes off of. It completely sucks you in.
November 3, 2019
I enjoyed this book. It was definitely a heavy topic, but it was handled well, I feel like Bailey being so naive drove home the point of how serious the problem really was.
March 30, 2022
mid @assiyya if i wanted to read about shitty drug dealing i would watch breaking bad which is better L book 😡
February 12, 2020
full review is up now on my blog! https://readbycourt.wordpress.com/202...
December 1, 2024
this was not good at all - "go ask Alice" was my shit in high school and i read this out of pure curiosity and it did not hold up. rip
October 26, 2019
I have a newfound appreciation for this series.
I started reading the Anonymous Collection books when I was a teenager and it was a gateway for me to start learning about addiction, abuse, prostitution, and other terrible things that some teens go through. It blew my mind as a teen that other kids my age were actually going through things like this. I was skeptical about this one because the last one I read just left me feeling like I had my run with the collection. But this one renewed my love of them because I can see the downfall as it's happening and understand that raw feeling that leaves teens feeling helpless and alone.
Breaking Bailey deals with addiction, specifically Meth, Adderall, and Percocets.
We meet Bailey who is grieving the loss of her mother and living away from home for the first time ever, at a prestigious boarding school. She has a love of chemistry and is hoping to get into Harvard. So when a group of teens ask her to join their Science Club she jumps at the chance. Just a little thing she didn't know though....the Science Club is actually a rundown building with a lab in the basement, a lab where they cook meth. Each teen has their own job in the Club and Bailey quickly becomes a "chemist." Obviously those raw teen emotions come out and she starts dating Warren, her meth cooking partner. Soon she becomes hooked on Adderall and eventually Percocets.
This book focuses on a few things. Bailey quickly got hooked because she didn't like the crash after taking the pills. She physically needed them to get through the day because her body craved the chemicals that her brain could no longer produce on its own. Her downfall happens pretty quickly. Everything starts becoming clearer for her when she realizes the horrors of meth addiction and how it can tear families apart. She wants out.
In true Go Ask Alice fashion, I'm sure you can guess how it ends.
This review and reviews for the rest of the Anonymous Collection can be found at A Reader's Diary!
I started reading the Anonymous Collection books when I was a teenager and it was a gateway for me to start learning about addiction, abuse, prostitution, and other terrible things that some teens go through. It blew my mind as a teen that other kids my age were actually going through things like this. I was skeptical about this one because the last one I read just left me feeling like I had my run with the collection. But this one renewed my love of them because I can see the downfall as it's happening and understand that raw feeling that leaves teens feeling helpless and alone.
Breaking Bailey deals with addiction, specifically Meth, Adderall, and Percocets.
We meet Bailey who is grieving the loss of her mother and living away from home for the first time ever, at a prestigious boarding school. She has a love of chemistry and is hoping to get into Harvard. So when a group of teens ask her to join their Science Club she jumps at the chance. Just a little thing she didn't know though....the Science Club is actually a rundown building with a lab in the basement, a lab where they cook meth. Each teen has their own job in the Club and Bailey quickly becomes a "chemist." Obviously those raw teen emotions come out and she starts dating Warren, her meth cooking partner. Soon she becomes hooked on Adderall and eventually Percocets.
This book focuses on a few things. Bailey quickly got hooked because she didn't like the crash after taking the pills. She physically needed them to get through the day because her body craved the chemicals that her brain could no longer produce on its own. Her downfall happens pretty quickly. Everything starts becoming clearer for her when she realizes the horrors of meth addiction and how it can tear families apart. She wants out.
In true Go Ask Alice fashion, I'm sure you can guess how it ends.
This review and reviews for the rest of the Anonymous Collection can be found at A Reader's Diary!
December 5, 2022
Rich kids... making drugs..
September 7, 2019
This book was not what I expected, but in a good way. The book had a really good story line and the diary style of writing fit this book really well. I feel like Emily could've have been incorporated a bit more in the story. She was a good character that had a lot of potential that I felt was wasted. Ending was great, total page turner.
Great book. I learned a lot about drugs... I don't think I really needed to but now I do.
Great book. I learned a lot about drugs... I don't think I really needed to but now I do.
July 13, 2019
Good book kept me not wanting to put it down.
August 20, 2019
Part of a YA series...like Go Ask Alice...cautionary tales of drug abuse, etc... Linear plot, somewhat predictable, mild sexual references...good for teens. I can see them devouring these.
April 23, 2021
Completely implausible but decent-ish story? Maybe? The boarding school element was interesting.
April 7, 2024
I really couldn't get into it.
July 14, 2019
Meh. I picked this up because I was a fan of Go Ask Alice and Letting Ana Go which are written in the same style. While better written than I expected, I just didn't find myself engaged with the characters or story. It was easy to figure out what was happening and what would happen.
I'm a little put out by the ending of the book as well. I shouldn't have been surprised but I felt the author was setting it up for a more hopeful ending until the last couple of pages. How silly of me.
I feel like I wasted my time reading this book. Not worth it. It's nothing special and nothing new.
I'm a little put out by the ending of the book as well. I shouldn't have been surprised but I felt the author was setting it up for a more hopeful ending until the last couple of pages. How silly of me.
I feel like I wasted my time reading this book. Not worth it. It's nothing special and nothing new.
June 26, 2019
This book was not my favorite of the series but it was still worth reading. I felt it ended very suddenly. Once things started going downhill for Bailey things went FAST.
June 17, 2019
3.75
The ending to these books always make me feel a certain kind of way.
The ending to these books always make me feel a certain kind of way.
June 21, 2019
It felt as though I was reading in circles the entire time. It was actual insanity. The main character, Bailey, would do the same thing over and over, expecting a different result. As one could assume, the "different result" didn't occur. The ending was also quite cheesy, as well as a cop-out in my opinion. All that being said, it was a easy, quick read that kept me entertained and turning the pages, surprisingly. Granted, this is a book for young adults and I'm in my 20's, so I'm probably not quite the demographic intended for this book, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.
August 7, 2025
Of the ones I’ve read so far, this one is by far my favorite followed closely by Letting Ana Go. The only part that was hard to hold my disbelief from was how quickly she agreed to joint the “science club”. Other then that, I loved the story
November 23, 2022
This read like a bad after-school special from the 1990s. Badly written, no character development. Clearly generalizing how lonely teenagers can feel because apparently going down a dark path is super easy (*insert sarcasm*
June 6, 2019
Wow what a LAZY ASS ending. Why do they all have to have the same ending? Come on
August 25, 2019
It took me too long to finish this. Maybe it was me trying to prolong what I knew the outcome would be.
Breaking Bailey is equal to Go Ask Alice, but instead of falling down the rabbit hole of using drugs as Alice did Bailey becomes caught in the other part of the drug world: making meth. She becomes part of the Science Club with Katy, Drew, and Warren. What she thought would be a dream with friends who stuck by her, a boyfriend who loved her, and a cash flow she never had before turns into a nightmare.
Through this fictional diary Bailey writes the events of attending Prescott, a prestigious high school for kids who want to go to Ivy League unis, and how her feeling of abandonment from her dad because he quickly remarried to Isa and no longer appears to mourn her mom who has barely been gone a year and a half. There is a bit of angst mixed in with the nervousness of fitting into a place where everyone has had money all their lives. She writes it best when she says these kids don’t worry about how they’re getting a car but more of when. Yet like any teenager she’s desperate to connect with people and she does with her roommate, Emily. They did it off wonderfully. Yet it doesn’t take long for a certain group to take notice Bailey has a talent for science, especially Chemistry.
Thus it begins her trip in the darker bits of the world. She’s tempted with friendship, love, and money. She wants to fit in. She wants to feel like someone. She wants to be seen. Really she’s going through what every teenager does.
Then it slowly falls apart.
Bailey has to question is the club worth it? Is her boyfriend worth it? Is any of it worth it? Sure, she has what she wants, but what has making meth truly cost her? So Bailey has to figure out what to do. Is she in or is she going to be a scape goat?
Breaking Bailey is equal to Go Ask Alice, but instead of falling down the rabbit hole of using drugs as Alice did Bailey becomes caught in the other part of the drug world: making meth. She becomes part of the Science Club with Katy, Drew, and Warren. What she thought would be a dream with friends who stuck by her, a boyfriend who loved her, and a cash flow she never had before turns into a nightmare.
Through this fictional diary Bailey writes the events of attending Prescott, a prestigious high school for kids who want to go to Ivy League unis, and how her feeling of abandonment from her dad because he quickly remarried to Isa and no longer appears to mourn her mom who has barely been gone a year and a half. There is a bit of angst mixed in with the nervousness of fitting into a place where everyone has had money all their lives. She writes it best when she says these kids don’t worry about how they’re getting a car but more of when. Yet like any teenager she’s desperate to connect with people and she does with her roommate, Emily. They did it off wonderfully. Yet it doesn’t take long for a certain group to take notice Bailey has a talent for science, especially Chemistry.
Thus it begins her trip in the darker bits of the world. She’s tempted with friendship, love, and money. She wants to fit in. She wants to feel like someone. She wants to be seen. Really she’s going through what every teenager does.
Then it slowly falls apart.
Bailey has to question is the club worth it? Is her boyfriend worth it? Is any of it worth it? Sure, she has what she wants, but what has making meth truly cost her? So Bailey has to figure out what to do. Is she in or is she going to be a scape goat?
December 11, 2020
Breaking Bailey is a fictional novel about a girl named Bailey who recently lost her mom, and is now being transferred to a prestigious boarding school, in hopes of increasing her chances of attending an ivy league school, to pursue her dream of working as a chemist. Bailey is a genius when it comes to chemistry, and she quickly joins the Science Club because she was in need of friends. What she did not know is what being a part of the Science Club was entailed to be.
The book was written in a diary format, which focuses on the voice of Bailey. This made the story easier to read and understand exactly what Bailey was thinking about. The novel is also eye-opening to a topic that some people may not have a lot of knowledge about. It shows how someone who feels lonely can be attracted to the wrong crowd, just so they can feel accepted. Bailey also shows us how the choices we think are minimal, can really affect the overall outcome of our lives.
I believe that the story could have been shortened, it seemed as if the story was being dragged on. The book was basically going in a circle and I felt as if I was reading the same paragraphs over and over again. Also, the ending of the book was not the best, the author was setting up a more positive ending throughout the end of the story, until the last few pages.
Overall, it is a good read, but it does drag along, so expect a repetitive storyline.
The book was written in a diary format, which focuses on the voice of Bailey. This made the story easier to read and understand exactly what Bailey was thinking about. The novel is also eye-opening to a topic that some people may not have a lot of knowledge about. It shows how someone who feels lonely can be attracted to the wrong crowd, just so they can feel accepted. Bailey also shows us how the choices we think are minimal, can really affect the overall outcome of our lives.
I believe that the story could have been shortened, it seemed as if the story was being dragged on. The book was basically going in a circle and I felt as if I was reading the same paragraphs over and over again. Also, the ending of the book was not the best, the author was setting up a more positive ending throughout the end of the story, until the last few pages.
Overall, it is a good read, but it does drag along, so expect a repetitive storyline.
August 1, 2019
Rating: 3.5/5
Trigger Warnings: drug use, addiction, grief
As the title suggests, Breaking Bailey is a low-key YA Breaking Bad spin-off. Just not as good. It follows Bailey, dealing with grief as she enters a new and prestigious school. Soon, she meets a well liked group of kids who offer her friendship and money in exchange to cook meth with them (without telling anyone, of course).
Now, you may be thinking, Emma, what the heck? You just spoiled it. Nope. Everything I described happened in the first 60ish pages. So what happens in the remaining 300 pages? Well the last 30 pages are pretty interesting... and there’s approximately four things that happen through the rest of the book (Bailey doesn’t like her roommate, Bailey gets manipulated, Bailey’s not doing well at school, Bailey cooks meth).
This book really had good potential. The main character wasn’t too bad. I didn’t like her but I pitied her, which was the point. The concept is interesting- not usually what I’m in to but if it had been better executed I’d enjoy it. I think my main issue was the pacing. There was just so many unnecessary pieces. I know we needed to watch the downfall of the side characters and the manipulation but... nothing happened. When I’m reading a book about meth, I expect something interesting to happen besides JUST the meth.
Trigger Warnings: drug use, addiction, grief
As the title suggests, Breaking Bailey is a low-key YA Breaking Bad spin-off. Just not as good. It follows Bailey, dealing with grief as she enters a new and prestigious school. Soon, she meets a well liked group of kids who offer her friendship and money in exchange to cook meth with them (without telling anyone, of course).
Now, you may be thinking, Emma, what the heck? You just spoiled it. Nope. Everything I described happened in the first 60ish pages. So what happens in the remaining 300 pages? Well the last 30 pages are pretty interesting... and there’s approximately four things that happen through the rest of the book (Bailey doesn’t like her roommate, Bailey gets manipulated, Bailey’s not doing well at school, Bailey cooks meth).
This book really had good potential. The main character wasn’t too bad. I didn’t like her but I pitied her, which was the point. The concept is interesting- not usually what I’m in to but if it had been better executed I’d enjoy it. I think my main issue was the pacing. There was just so many unnecessary pieces. I know we needed to watch the downfall of the side characters and the manipulation but... nothing happened. When I’m reading a book about meth, I expect something interesting to happen besides JUST the meth.
April 13, 2019
Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for an ARC of this book!
I actually never read Go Ask Alice even though I’ve heard all about it and this book soundedery similar except in a different setting. I had always thought that even though Go Ask Alice was written anonymously, it was a true story. I’m not sure why I thought that, but this book made me realize maybe they aren’t real stories. I mean, yes, these stories probably happened in some capacity to someone somewhere, but they aren’t necessarily perfectly accurate. There’s no way this book was a real diary of a girl in private school. Even though they definitely got some aspects right: the pressure and stress, copious amounts of homework, etc. but it just didn’t seem quite realistic enough to me. It only bothered me a little bit to realize that this couldn’t be a real diary,
I think the book could have been a lot shorter, it became very repetitive at times. I liked Bailey okay, but she wasn’t very insightful or special. She didn’t have a unique personality or perspective. The only thing that made her interesting at all was her mother’s death. The ending was disappointing and honestly kind of lazy. It was a quick read, though, and I did enjoy it. Fans of Go Ask Alice will probably also enjoy this one.
I actually never read Go Ask Alice even though I’ve heard all about it and this book soundedery similar except in a different setting. I had always thought that even though Go Ask Alice was written anonymously, it was a true story. I’m not sure why I thought that, but this book made me realize maybe they aren’t real stories. I mean, yes, these stories probably happened in some capacity to someone somewhere, but they aren’t necessarily perfectly accurate. There’s no way this book was a real diary of a girl in private school. Even though they definitely got some aspects right: the pressure and stress, copious amounts of homework, etc. but it just didn’t seem quite realistic enough to me. It only bothered me a little bit to realize that this couldn’t be a real diary,
I think the book could have been a lot shorter, it became very repetitive at times. I liked Bailey okay, but she wasn’t very insightful or special. She didn’t have a unique personality or perspective. The only thing that made her interesting at all was her mother’s death. The ending was disappointing and honestly kind of lazy. It was a quick read, though, and I did enjoy it. Fans of Go Ask Alice will probably also enjoy this one.
May 19, 2019
Bailey is trying to keep her mind off her mother’s death as she begins her life at a new school. Her dad has moved on and even has a new wife to go with his new life. She knew this boarding school would be hard, but she did not expect to be taken in by a group of students calling themselves the “Science Club.” Although they are very smart students, they don’t study when they are together. They are using their brains to make drugs and sell them in the local community. Now Bailey has money and a boyfriend, but it seems her academics cannot keep up with this highly demanding extracurricular activity. Will Bailey follow the crowd in order to stay accepted? Is there a line that Bailey is not willing to cross?
Breaking Bailey is a stand-alone novel about the slippery slope that comes with drugs. Whether the person is a drug manufacturer, drug seller or drug user … there are issues that get murkier as time continues on. Readers who enjoyed Go Ask Alice will be drawn to this title, yet the story in these pages is not as heart gripping as the other story. I haven’t read too many books about the people who actually make the drugs, so that was different, but overall it was just a good read. Many readers will enjoy it, but it won’t be as popular as Go Ask Alice.
Breaking Bailey is a stand-alone novel about the slippery slope that comes with drugs. Whether the person is a drug manufacturer, drug seller or drug user … there are issues that get murkier as time continues on. Readers who enjoyed Go Ask Alice will be drawn to this title, yet the story in these pages is not as heart gripping as the other story. I haven’t read too many books about the people who actually make the drugs, so that was different, but overall it was just a good read. Many readers will enjoy it, but it won’t be as popular as Go Ask Alice.
October 28, 2020
First off, I love reading this style of books aka the Go Ask Alice companions. I really enjoy how the books are written in a diary form. It makes them easier to read and understand. They also talk about subjects that are not seen in my every day life.
This particular one was okay but I feel like nothing really happened until the end of the book. I really expected to relate to it more because the main character was suffering the loss of her mother, but it really didn’t make that the main subject.
I like the main character and I even liked her relationship at first. To be honest, I even liked the whole club at first. As things started to go on, I realized I actually didn’t like Warren. He kind of sucked. I think the way the main character handled things however was smart. She felt a moral obligation to do the right thing. And I completely understand all the stress she was under from her life changing so drastically in such a short amount of time. The other characters were okay, but nobody really stood out.
I didn’t expect that ending however! I think I expected something that served more justice, but maybe in that world, the diary did serve justice in the end.
This particular one was okay but I feel like nothing really happened until the end of the book. I really expected to relate to it more because the main character was suffering the loss of her mother, but it really didn’t make that the main subject.
I like the main character and I even liked her relationship at first. To be honest, I even liked the whole club at first. As things started to go on, I realized I actually didn’t like Warren. He kind of sucked. I think the way the main character handled things however was smart. She felt a moral obligation to do the right thing. And I completely understand all the stress she was under from her life changing so drastically in such a short amount of time. The other characters were okay, but nobody really stood out.
I didn’t expect that ending however! I think I expected something that served more justice, but maybe in that world, the diary did serve justice in the end.
May 5, 2020
After re-reading “Go Ask Alice” a couple of weeks ago, Goodreads helpfully informed me that there was a whole new batch of these “anonymous diaries” published in the last few years. So, naturally, I was immediately intrigued. This is the only one I could get as an ebook, but I’m hoping to eventually read the other ones, too.
Honestly, I thought this was pretty good. The writing is so much better than Beatrice Sparks’ books, and Bailey actually sounded more like a real teenager. Sure, there were definitely ridiculous parts that made me roll my eyes (such as how easily she accepted what the Science Club really was), but I felt her spiral into addiction was gradual and fairly realistic. (As in, she didn’t accidentally ingest LSD once at a party and become addicted, like our protagonist in “Go Ask Alice”.)
Even though I was kinda expecting it, the ending was definitely tough to read. I wish there had been an epilogue or something that gave the fate of the Science Club members, because I’m definitely curious what happened to them in the future.
Honestly, I thought this was pretty good. The writing is so much better than Beatrice Sparks’ books, and Bailey actually sounded more like a real teenager. Sure, there were definitely ridiculous parts that made me roll my eyes (such as how easily she accepted what the Science Club really was), but I felt her spiral into addiction was gradual and fairly realistic. (As in, she didn’t accidentally ingest LSD once at a party and become addicted, like our protagonist in “Go Ask Alice”.)
Even though I was kinda expecting it, the ending was definitely tough to read. I wish there had been an epilogue or something that gave the fate of the Science Club members, because I’m definitely curious what happened to them in the future.
September 17, 2019
As Bailey starts her first year at a new school she finds it hard to fit in with anybody. When Katie finds out about her interest in chemistry she comes to her to see if she wants to join the science club at the school and makes some new friends. Bailey finds it hard to resist and joins the club only to find out that the three person group was only a cover for what was really going on at Prescott. Still trying to let go of painful memories from her past she will take any friends she can get, no matter the consequences.
The reason I enjoyed reading the book is because something new happens in every chapter. It makes it hard to put the book down. I was disappointed at the end of the book because I found it extremely predictable and I thought it was a let down.
My overall opinion is that I enjoyed reading the book but I would not recommend it to another person. While I did find the book had many surprising factors in it, the book overall is slow paced.
The reason I enjoyed reading the book is because something new happens in every chapter. It makes it hard to put the book down. I was disappointed at the end of the book because I found it extremely predictable and I thought it was a let down.
My overall opinion is that I enjoyed reading the book but I would not recommend it to another person. While I did find the book had many surprising factors in it, the book overall is slow paced.
July 20, 2019
It was an okay anonymous book but I almost couldn’t finish it. The protagonist was infuriating at best. You wanted to feel for her but she was so freaking irritating. She had no spine, no self worth, seemed to have NO clue of the drug addiction boiling around her even though someone could tell by like the 100th page that’s what was happening it just seemed kinda far fetched. Even the most naive person isn’t completely blind to what drug addiction is. And it wasn’t like she grew up with a poor home life so it seemed unrealistic that this girl would have such low self worth. The story itself was a good story overall. It trailed a little off and on but did highlight how easy drugs can be manufactured. It was a true Go Ask Alice style book that flowed exactly as you would expect it to if you’ve ever read these style of books
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