5 stars

Thank you Orbit Books for my copy! This was a great discovery and I have already pre-ordered volume 2 due to be published in June 2024!

From time to time, I will read a graphic novel and discover a little gem!

They said that before Heartstopper there was Breaks and I can easily believe it!
Breaks is edgier, somber than Heartstopper yet none the less heartbreaking, authentic and wonderful!
Be aware that this book has several triggers though.

Breaks follow Cortland Hunt, a teenager with lots of baggage and Ian Tanner who has sided with the school bully most of his life but that’s about to end. There is indeed a lot of school politics, pressure from bullies and personal demons to overcome.
What I loved in Breaks aside the beautiful art was that every emotion rang absolutely true. These teenagers are angry, confused, discovering who they are and who they want to be.
We guess that a lot happened to Cortland in the past but don’t already know everything by the end of the book. And Ian being absolutely baffled by his feelings for Cortland as he has a girlfriend but willing to confront them and see where that leads him was admirable.
There is also a lot of bullying and violence in that story, intermingled with friendship and a budding romance.
It truly is riveting and I want the sequel already! Maybe I should go to webtoon for more 😉. 

I’ve heard a lot of people say that this is a darker version of Heartstopper but I don’t see much of that comparison within Breaks. The main source of the grit comes from the characters themselves who were well written and fleshed out but I didn’t really find myself liking them all that much, with the exception of Cortland. I think sometimes the story also feels dark for the sake of being dark despite its strengths in how it looks at the themes. I think that this story is good but I think it wasn’t quite great and I’m not 100% sure if it’s a series I’ll continue but I’d be potentially willing to give it a shot.