Breaking Point

Bluford High #16

by Karyn Langhorne Folan, Paul Langan (Editor)

Vicky Fallon can't take it. Her father has lost his job. Her parents are constantly fighting, and her troubled little brother is out of control. Once an honor student, Vicky is quickly falling behind in her classes at Bluford High. Now her teachers, friends, and new boyfriend, Martin Luna, want answers. Pressured from all sides, Vicky knows something is about to snap. But the explosion that hits her home is worse than anything she could imagine.

Genres: Realistic Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction, School, Urban, Childrens, Family

150 pages, Paperback

First published December 10, 2010

About the author

Karyn Langhorne Folan graduated from Harvard Law School and after practicing and teaching law for several years, decided to pursue her dream of becoming a writer. She is the author of twenty-one books and counting, including three young adult titles for the popular Bluford High series, four romance novels, several works of nonfiction. She has also been the ghostwriter for personalities in the entertainment and music industries. She is married and has two daughters.

Reviews

[Javier G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personal response
I enjoyed the book because I could relate to some of the events that were happening in the book. What I did not like about the book was how in the end they lost their house, their dad walked out on them, and then they ended up living in an apartment. The book was just a cliffhanger at the end, and I don't know if there is a second book.


Plot
The events in the book is in the beginning Vicky and her best friend are arguing about her friend’s,Teresa’s, Quinceanera. Vickey is short on money and can't afford the dress. She is told to come straight home after school to help her grandfather move in her house but decides to help Martin with his hearing. Her dad is trying to help with the money problem by taking objects from the house and selling them to make money. Then Vicky's dad bets the money on sports but ends up losing it all and him leaving the family.


Recommendation
I recommend this book to people in middle school and up, because it is an easy read and a short story. Males and females should read this book. I also recomend this book for hispanic people because it has some Spanish words, and it talks about a hispanic culture called a Quincenera.

[BRANDON SCHEER]

I thought this book was a decent book. It was meant for a younger audience than a freshman. It doesn’t use any large vocabulary. It also did not have many words on a page.

This book was about a girl named Vicky. Her best friend was named Teresa. They had been best friends since kindergarten. Vicky was dating a boy named Martin Luna, who was going through hard times. He almost got expelled because he got into a fight and accidentally hit a teacher. When they were at the hearing that decided whether or not he got expelled, Vicky showed up to show support for him. Martin ended up not getting expelled. During this problem that Martin went through, Vicky had problems of her own. Her family was $20,000 in debt. Her dad had lost his job a while back and tried to gamble over sports games to win money back. He even stole things from the house to sell so he could gamble more. This gambling only added to their debt. The bank was to take the house from them and the father knew about it. He never told anyone about it though so when the bank came to take their house everyone was surprised. They only had 24 hours to take all of their belongings to a different house. They rented an apartment near Vicky’s boyfriend’s house. The dad left them because it was all his fault and he felt as though he should be out of their lives.

I would recommend this book to young female teenagers because it is about the life of a teenage girl that is going through hard times. It can help some people realize what they have compared to others.

[Matthew Gutierrez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This a good emotional book called breaking point. Vicky has been losing friends, parents fighting alot. And she can't handle her father lost his job which really doesn't help the house. And the story is said so real. Like the story can be based off real events.

[Louis Knecht · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought that the book “Breaking Point” was not that good of a book. I didn’t like it because it was a long story that was not exciting to me in anyway. Overall, I thought it was a boring book.

In the plot a lot of events happened. The main character Vicky had a bad life. Her dad lost his job and could not pay any of the bills. She had a good mom who did what she could with the money she made from being a nurse. She also had a brother named Danny. Her grandpa lived with her because he was very old and needed help. Vicky had a boyfriend named Martin Luna who got in a lot of trouble. Vicky's best friend, Teresa, did not like Martin at all. Vicky and Teresa got into a lot of fights about Martin, but eventually Teresa understood that Martin and Vicky truly liked each other so she understood. Towards the end of the book their dad left them because he could not afford any of their bills and gambled away the money they did have. Their house got foreclosed and they had to move. Luckily, Vicky's Grandpa had been saving money to send Vicky and Danny to college, so they had enough money to rent an apartment. Vicky and her family will never be the same.

I would recommend this book to 13-16 year old kids male or female who like to relate to people’s problems. I would recommend it to them, because the main character in this book has a lot of problems.

[Tami DiFulvio · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm finished with Breaking Point: Breaking Point from the Bluford High Series is about a girl named Vicky who lives with her mom dad and brother. Her grandfather isnt doing so well so he moves in with there family. Vickys parents argue alot and are struggling with paying the bills for their home. As the story foes on her family is falling apart and they lose there home. At school Vicky goes through problems with her bestfriend and her troubled crush. I liked this book alot because Vicky seemed to keep really strong with the way she approached things and she always looked out for people before herself.

[Amy Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recently I read the story Breaking Point by Karyn Langhorne Folan. This story is about a girl named Vicky and her family and friends. We get a look into her hard and difficult life. Her parents are separating. He dad unemployed started much of these new problems. We learn about her friend Teresa who she has been good friends with since kindergarten. Their friendship is falling apart. We learn about her growing relationship problems. Teresa doesn't even know the many problems Vicky is having at home. Nobody really does. Vicky is having problems with her father, her brother, mother, and grandfather. Vicky gets so stressed she almost stopped eating. She was always sleeping and ignoring everything. Even her teachers noticed this change. She went from smart, kind, and happy Vicky to something different. Less herself than she had ever been she was at a true breaking point. In this heartbreaking story Vicky will have to learn to save everyone. But will she succeed? Or will that breaking point finally break. Will the power of family succeed? Well the only way to find out is to read this story. So come along and join Vicky in this wonderful story!

[Emily Orozco · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book "Breaking Point" by Karyn Langhorne Folan and Paul Langan is a well written book. The main character Vicky has a pristine life, with good grades, and trustworthy friends, but soon leaves those behind when her father looses his job. Her parents are having constant fight over money that they simply don't have, grandpa moves in,and her little brother becomes unmanageable. All these problems get to Vicky's head and knows when she hits her breaking point, the corruption would be unimaginable. Vicky soon learns that life is unfair and that you have to be careful who you trust. She also learned that not all people tell the truth. I recommend this book to anyone who would like to learn about what is actually happening, in the world, but also human kindness(there was a noce ending) and self strength.

[Adolfo Lopez · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Breaking Point" by Karyn Langhorne Folan is a good turning point of events. The experience as Vicky Folan has to go through a lot of problems at school and home. For example, Vicky's parents have a lot of bills to pay, but they don't have the money. This book has a lot of turning point of events, and it made me want to read the book until the end. I would give this book four out of five stars because I was expecting more in the end. I recommend this book to people who like turning points and who like to think whats going to happen next.

[Shanon Simons · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book it has everything that you would want in any good book.It has the perfect amount of drama I remember reading it and I couldn't stop reading it had me at the edge of my seat it was the best book I have read bin a very long time.I think some people could relate to this book.I was proved wrong because I didn't wan't to read this book because of the cover but wow what lies inside of it is amazing.

[Miguel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book Breaking Point written by Karyn Langhorne is a very good book. It explains the way on how a girl who is tight on money and might lose her house to the bank. The girl's name is Vicky. She used to be the top of her class, but now her grades are dropping. Everyone wants to know why she is acting strange lately, her teachers, her best friend, and her new boyfriend, Martin. I recommend this book to people who like the Bluford series and like dramatic books.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very raw account of what it's like to get evicted. Especially as a teenager, when it's not even your fault and it shouldn't be your burden to bare. I was kind of annoyed with her friends and teacher at a certain point. Why do us good students have to always be perfect and get everything right, but meanwhile, the bad students can get things wrong all the time with no criticism? At any rate, it was otherwise a solid book.