Thursday, September 28, 2006

In the Break by Jack Lopez

Jamie and Juan are best friends and dedicated surfers. When Jamie injures his stepfather, F, during a fight, he needs to get away--and Juan's going with him. So is Jamie's older sister and Juan's unattainable crush, Amber. The three of them are heading South, going down the coast to Mexico and stopping to surf; there are some great waves along the way. They're running from the law, but they're having the time of their lives at the same time...At least while they're in the water and able to forget about what they're running from, and what they might be runing towards.

In The Break is a fantastic story, once you get caught up enough in it not to take so much notice of all the slightly tedious talk about surfing (though that's probably not a problem for people who know something about surfing). The fact that Jamie, Juan, and Amber are surfers is a big part of the story, but it's a great story even for those of us who know nothing about surfing! It's definitely a page-turner, with very believable characters. The characters, and their relationships with each other, are very real, but real life doesn't always have the neatly tied-up happy endings that a lot of movies or books do. The ending of In The Break is very realistic, which isn't a bad thing, but be warned--if you like tidy, happy endings, this isn't the book for you. It is, however, an awesome story!

Content:Some sexual situations & violence.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 8
Reviewer Age: 15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Asheville, NC USA