Breakout
by Paul Fleischman
Buy book: $5.95

This National Book Award finalist is now in paperback. Growing up in foster care, Del pens a one-woman play about a Los Angeles traffic jam, providing readers with a backstage pass into a young playwright's psyche as her play parallels her own life.

I think this book sounds amazing I love the way the auther described the car. Del (Elena)seemes to be full of humor and spirit. she's a totally likable person from the start.

I dont think I'll read this one its kinda boring

Cool, I'm the first one to post a message!! Never had that happen before. That jump was really sudden. They went from in the car right to in a dressing room interview. That was a little confusing. It seems OK so far. What do you think?? that's all for now folks!! got to eat dinner

This book seems ok so far i will have to wait to read more... but i wonder what the play is about!!

Cool! I'm the first one to post a comment!! The book seems OK so far but that was a really abrupt transtion from the car to the dressing room. It was like you were zapped into the dressing room while your car was zooming down the highway. Is the dear reader people from jsut our library or is it from anywhere in the country. How do you get a chance to do that? It is library staff or something?? Just wondering.
Laura

i think its pretty fine so far. her attatude is like mine sorta. i dont think i will take it out tho.

I really don't like that the main character in a teen's book is a young single mom who deliberately chose to be that way. It's one thing to have a character who has made a mistake in the past, but through hard work has gotten back on her feet again. It is entirely another to have a character who pretty much endorses having a baby ouside of marriage in a teen's book. It's an adult's business what he or she does, but I don't think it's right to have that kind of material in a teen's book. What kind of a message does that send to us? Like we don't have enough negative influences around us already! Why can't literature for yong adults be positive, with characters who we can model ourselves after, and learn from?

Teens are more advanced than you are letting on too. They see the same things on television. isn't it better that they are actually reading?
Anyway, it is a reflection of life. Not everyone has a nuclear family, not everyone wants that, books are a reflection of society

I totally agree with rebecca.She said basically everything I had thought about this book.well put.

Sorry about my double print and I was the first one in here yesterday but I guess the don't post non member's messages first. anyway. maybe the author put the having a baby and stuff so that we could think about what it would be like and hear about it from another person and then decide if we really wanted that to happen to us. it could teach us to be more careful about the decisions we make and how they could effect our future. (Just read one of the Have A Nice life books)

the writer is aloud to write what they want. its very approprete because that is whats happening in the world. its just a story, no need to think of it that seriously. i dont think teens are going to go and have a baby because its in the book. it almost shows that you shouldent have one at a young age because she has a bad car and she is running away. we arnt sposed to model ourselfs to carictors in books! those carictors are just people that the writer made up. if you want to model yourself to someone you should atleast have a real role model that has lived! and people are aloud to have a child when there not married! its aloud! there is no law that says its not aloud, is there.

Yes there isnt a law against not having a child without marrying, but its not at all a very good idea and goes against my beliefs. I also dont think its fair that just becuase she wanted a child she gets together with some guy then like dumps him,thinking of no ones feelings but her own. This kid is one day gonna want to know who her dad is, where her dad is,and there will be no answers. But, after all its just a book, not real life, so whatever.

I dont think you are giving us enough credit. I am pretty sure that we are smart enough to tell the difference between a novel and our real life decisions. I would not list a character in a novel as a negative influence on teens.

I thought the interveiw was kinda boring

So far this book isn't really ging anywhere. It is slow progress and for me personally i can't see it leading anywhere intresting as of now. Although i'm hoping that it will imrove.

....that im going to get it out. nothing much is happening and its kinda confussing.

jasmine

p.s. to Anonymous/laura: well acually you probaly wernt the first person in here. it just takes them awhile to put the message in here. when i came in i saw that there was no posts too.

Sorry, I guess I forgot to type my name. I am totally with the side of the debate going on here that you don't really need to have do what charaters in books do. and this lady even screwed up her life so i don't really think people are going to go and have a baby. just my opinon.

First off, I love the setting; I lived in Los Angeles for ten years, was in the theatre scene, and I have friends who do stand-up and theatre in L.A. And now I live in Colorado, so I can relate to what's going on. I agree that the transition to the interview was abrupt, confusing at first. And I'm curious to see how this unfolds. As for the single mom story line, I have to agree with Jazzy, it is just a book after all, and a piece of fiction. If all characters in all books were morally perfect (whatever 'perfect' means to you), we'd have lots of dull stories with no point. Mr. Fleischman gives us characters we can think about, and debate with peers. I hardly think that reading about a lifestyle that you don't agree with will make you do things you don't want to do in the first place.

Didn't the book say the interview was taking place 8 years after the "Traffic Jam." That would mean she was an adult in her mid-20's. Hardly a pregnant teenager.

Ok elena is soooooooooo cool! She faked her own death to start a new life. Has she got style or what!

I'm not that much into this book but I think it's great that it has everyone talking to much. I agree with Jazzy too. Pretty boring if all the books were all the same.

I like this book the chracter is very different. I know she a single mom but if you know who you are you will not be
influenced by this book. And I love LA too.

it seems like pretty much everyone is agreeing with jazzy. and your right ann, i don't even think she had the baby when she was a teen but it is a good desuction. to bad it will stop tommorrow after everyone has read the end of the book. but that's the way it goes, we read a chapter and then wait for the next book to start. i don't think i will get this one though because it sounds a little confusing, with the trasitions and stuff so....

I find this book totally confusing. It jumps back and forth way too much.

I'll pass on this one.

I think the book is super confusing too, it does jump back and forth to much. Maybe it is different in the actual book? Maybe it was just the person who typed it was too lazy to add extra spaces in between jumps? (no offense to whoever types these, it is very much appreciated!!!!) I don't think I will get this one either, or maybe I will. Who know? Hey, they already have next week's book fourm out. COOL!! We can read the summery before they give it to us! It is sad that the debate will stop though. Oh well. If anyone even reads this, have a nice weekend!
laura

This book is way too weird!
It jumps and it is all about something it really isn't!

It's fake!

Melanie