The Break

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I did find this book to be well-written, and I really admire the skill it takes to convincingly wrap words together to form a story that wouldn't let me go. But I'm feeling a misery in the same way I felt it after reading Birdie. We can argue that the women in this book are strong and resilient, but I'm so sorry that they're put to the test at all, and I don't know what I can possibly do to help them, or share the wealth of fortune that's allowed me to land in a life very different from theirs. Katherena Vermette is a Canadian writer, who won the Governor General's Award for English-language poetry in 2013 for her collection North End Love Songs. Vermette is of Metis descent and from Winnipeg, Manitoba. She was a MFA student in creative writing at the University of British Columbia. This is the story of four generations of Metis women and their families. It explores their love for one another and bond through life’s daily struggles, stresses and horrors. It is a heart-breaking and haunting novel that will stay with me for quite a while. The Break is a place between two rows of houses. In the winter it is bleak and cold. A young woman named Stella lives on the Break with her husband and two young children. There she witnesses something horrible and extremely violent. No one believes her. Not the police or her husband.

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Thank you to Edelweiss, Ingram Publisher Services and Katherena Vermette for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.It's a powerful book and one I'm very glad to have read. My lone peeve, though, was the incessant use of the F-word.🤬 I'm sure the author wanted the dialogue to be a true reflection of the current lexicon, but I found it unnecessarily repetitive. I mean, it was used many hundreds of times— so often it became distracting! And it's just such an ugly, offensive word.😝 I know a reader—and I'm sure there are others—who abandoned the book as its continual use became just too annoying to continue. However, aside from the one minor complaint, I thought The Break was an excellent book, and soon I'll be reading the sequel: ( The Strangers). Overall, I give the book... A poetry book inspired by modern dating and heartbreak, poems within explore mental health, our relationship with our bodies, being our true selves, and lost love. Very good first zombie book from author Jorge Sánchez. Strong character development and especially appreciated the writing for Jenny's character. She is a super smart Veterinarian who is also a bad ass fighter and excellent shot. Joe the dog is also a phenomenal addition the plot, adding much humor and fun antics to the storyline. Hope to see more in the zombie genre from this author in the future. Hannah Moskowitz delivers a passionate debut about one boy struggle to make his world sane by being insane. It's a story that I'll never forget! There's no doubt the nature of the story made for a very difficult read, but it's possible for goodness and beauty to grow from pain and misery. In The Break, the goodness and beauty, without a doubt, is the family of the young victim. Members of this large, extended family, are no strangers to misfortune; they've had more than their share of drama over the years, but when they rally together to face their woes as one, past wounds begin to heal. Without a doubt, the unifying force in this family is the grandmother, or 'Kookum' as she's called—a wise elder who deeply loves each and every one of them and who, in return, is deeply loved by them. Although the crime is the focus of the story—along with the people involved and the investigation itself—the book is certainly not all doom and gloom. It is impossible not to feel the love that lives within this family. It's palpable!

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You’re so cruel!’ she says. ‘You try being a little girl’ (she means herself) ‘whose mum is in hospital for months on end with tuberculosis at a time when tuberculosis wasn’t even a thing, when it was years out of date. A little girl who has four younger brothers and sisters, who won’t stop crying, and a big, cold house, which is falling to bits, and a dad who can’t cope. Yes, I have an over-developed sense of responsibility but . . .’

When I first saw The Break at the bookstore it caught my interest but I decided against it as it had a trigger warning for violence. I can be sensitive to violence however knowing in advance it does take some of the sensitivity away. I saw it again at the library and knew then that I was going to have to read it. It was definitely a good read for me. I felt that Katherena Vermette handled the violence well and is so well written that I didn't feel sensitive towards it at all. This book opens up to a trigger warning to it’s readers but I felt that KATHERENA VERMETTE handled the violence very well and although some of the details was hard to read at times, was very sad and depressing it is an important piece of Canadian culture and I really appreciated the author giving a voice to these indigenous Manitoban women. A city-with-fancy-food sort of a break?’ Maura narrows her eyes. ‘Or a Rihanna sort of a break? Well?’ She presses her case. ‘Is it the city-with-fancy-food break?’ The "voice" in this book is exceptional. The pace of the story is fast and intense. One thing that I took away from this story was the devotion the brothers had for each other.