Breaking Away

A newly illustrated edition with reader's notes for tricky words. Complete and unabridged.

At Parkville Institute, telling the truth can get you expelled. Fourteen-year-old Ernest Thornton knows what happened—but will anyone believe him when a rich classmate tells a different story?

Ernest Thornton steers his sailboat across Lake Adieno toward a school where fairness depends on who your family is. When a quarrel with wealthy Bill Poodles puts Ernest before the stern principal, Mr. Parasyte, his friends are ready to fight back—but Ernest isn’t sure a noisy rebellion will make things right. And at home, his silent uncle guards a secret about the mother Ernest can barely remember. With his place at school in danger and the past still hidden, what will Ernest choose to stand up for?

This complete and unabridged edition of Oliver Optic’s story includes reader’s notes to help young readers navigate tricky words.

At Wise Minds Press we believe the years between childhood and the teenage leap are a golden window: curiosity runs high, vocabulary explodes and a single page can spark a lifetime of possibility. We were those wide‑eyed readers once—hungry for challenge, eager to roam far‑flung worlds, and guided by parents and teachers who knew the right story could light the path ahead. Today we honor that legacy by bringing time‑tested classics to young readers complete and unabridged, with reader's notes for the tricky words, and original illustrations for Grades 4‑7 (Ages 9‑12).

Our mission is simple: to place in every young reader's hands a bridge to literature's greatest adventures, turning boundless imagination into confidence, empathy, and the readiness to write their own remarkable futures.