Reasons We Break
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- $2.99
Publisher Description
In this contemporary romantic drama for young adults, the high-stakes gang politics of Breaking Bad meets the star-crossed romance of Romeo & Juliet.To keep Rajan out of prison, Simran agrees to handle his former gang's books—but when a gang war erupts, they must decide how much they'll sacrifice for each other.As long as Simran has known Rajan, her immigrant community has warned her away. She knows what they call him, especially since he got out of juvie: an addict. A gangbanger. A killer.But Simran can't believe Rajan is beyond hope. She's seen his thoughtfulness firsthand: He's the only one who's noticed the pressure she's under to be perfect—and how close she is to breaking.So when Rajan's old gang tries to force him back in, Simran makes a desperate bargain: She'll become their bookkeeper to clear his debts and keep him out of prison.But Rajan won't leave her side while she works, and their forbidden attraction is becoming harder to ignore. Worse, there's a gang war brewing—and neither of them is likely to get through it unscathed . . . if they get through it at all.This high-stakes forbidden romance is perfect for fans of star-crossed love and the rich themes and singing prose of Sabaa Tahir and Angie Thomas.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Punjabi teens find love while navigating gang politics in this dazzling contemporary drama from Deo (TJ Powar Has Something to Prove). After his release from juvenile detention in Vancouver, 18-year-old Rajan Randhawa moves back home to Kelowna, hoping his former gang, the Vancouver-based Lion's Share, will let him be. The gang's godfathers won't do that until Rajan works off what he owes, however, and send Nick, the Lion who recruited Rajan, to Kelowna to deliver their message. When Rajan resists rejoining, Nick kidnaps and threatens Rajan's community service mentor and former math tutor, Simran, mistakenly assuming she's Rajan's girlfriend. To keep Rajan from breaching probation, Simran strikes a deal: she'll fill in for the Lions' incarcerated bookkeeper until they find a replacement if they'll forgive Rajan's debts. Exasperated but grateful, Rajan vows to protect Simran during her pseudo-employment, a feat that proves increasingly difficult as overachiever Simran makes herself indispensable. Deo weaves a multi-faceted, richly textured, high-stakes plot that explores Indo-Canadian gang culture and the pressures felt by children of immigrants. Rajan and Simran's alternating perspectives—rendered using close-third-person present-tense narration that counsels empathy—foster tension and urgency. The keenly wrought cast is intersectionally diverse. Ages 14–up.
