The Breakaways
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
Quiet, sensitive Faith starts middle school already worrying about how she will fit in. To her surprise, Amanda, a popular eighth grader, convinces her to join the school soccer team, the Bloodhounds. Having never played soccer in her life, Faith ends up on the C team, a ragtag group that’s way better at drama than at teamwork. Although they are awful at soccer, Faith and her teammates soon form a bond both on and off the soccer field that challenges their notions of loyalty, identity, friendship, and unity.
The Breakaways from Cathy G. Johnson is a raw, and beautifully honest graphic novel that looks into the lives of a diverse and defiantly independent group of kids learning to make room for themselves in the world.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Tricked into joining the soccer team on her first day in middle school, Faith, a loner who is looking for somewhere to fit in, stumbles through practice and lands on the C team. Her teammates are other misfits who are more preoccupied with personal struggles than with soccer, and Faith gradually wins over many of them as friends. Faith also finds escape in her own inner life, which Johnson represents as a series of dreams with a warrior named Mathilda, with whom Faith visits a king and prepares to build a castle. Johnson (Jeremiah) presents an eclectic group of middle schoolers who are exploring issues of gender identity, sexuality, ethnicity, mental health, and more. Using minimal detail, the artwork realistically portrays the characters' relatable emotions and wide-ranging reactions. Her young people also represent a diverse array of sizes, shapes, colors, and notions of attractiveness. Johnson's graphic novel will resonate with readers who are figuring out who they are and where they belong. Ages 8 11.
