The Break-Up Artist

Becca doesn't have the usual part-time job. For just $100 Becca will break up any couple in high school. Using precautions to keep herself anonymous, Becca tailor makes her break-up strategies per couple and personalizes the break up experience.... It may seem harsh but Becca knows just how much relationships can hurt - and not just the couple in them. Friends, sisters and family are all in the crossfire when a good relationship goes bad and Becca see what she is doing as just hastening the inevitable break up before things get too serious. Some may see Becca as enterprising, others as a destroyer of young love. She's been burned by teen romances before despite not being involved directly in one. Her best friend, Huxley, was her closest companion until Huxley started dating Steve. Huxley went from being slightly plain and on the outskirts to being popular and stylish and had no need for Becca's friendship anymore. Becca just wants to save other girls from the same fate - to not throw their friendships away for a relationship which will probably only last five minutes. Becca's sisters Diane may be out of high school but she's also been burned by love. Now a shell of the person she used to be, the highlight of her day seems to be watching daytime TV and never having to get out of her pyjamas. Becca isn't a bad person. Breaking up people for money may seem diabolical to some but she really believes that she's doing the right thing in the long run. She doesn't just decide to get involved but people who are concerned, are upset (and are willing to pay) employ her for her services. This book relays the story of Becca's toughest challenge yet - breaking up the golden couple in school. There are moral complications when one of the people in the aforementioned couple happens to be Becca's former BFF, Huxley. Add to the drama, Becca's current best friend is now starting a relationship with a boy Becca may or may not be starting to form some inappropriate feelings for. It's a busy time and with a deadline being given for breaking up Huxley and Steve, Becca has to come up with more fiendish and clever ways for her job as the Break-Up Artist. I've wanted to read this book since I first learned of its existence. A YA contemporary novel which sounds like the anti-Hitch? Sounds like so much fun. And it was a fun read. I enjoyed getting to experience Becca's secret life as the Break-Up Artist, seeing just how she went about her job and meeting her friends and family. Becca is one of those characters that appeals to me because I found her relatable. She thinks she's immune from love and all its entrapments. However when a boy she is somewhat interested in pays her attention - she's susceptible. She makes mistakes and at times feels like the world is ending but she's smart and despite her role as the Break-Up Artist, does have good intentions when it comes down to it. There were a few times when she would make comments which felt out of character (a girl who eats chocolate bars in lieu of lunch then complaining that she can't eat cheesy carbs when she wants to) but overall Becca is believable. Becca may across as slightly unsympathetic but as the story developed and more details were given, it becomes more understandable why she feels how she does. The cast of characters did a great job at supporting Becca's story and were interesting in their own right. I would have liked to know more about Becca's sister, Diane and seen where everything went regarding her situation. Huxley and Val - Becca's girlfriends of sorts - helped bring some authentic high school aspects to the story and Ezra did his part too. The Break-Up Artist is an entertaining story about friendships, forgiveness, romance and family relationships. There's drama, excitement, and a cast of characters which deliver a fun story with a message.show more

The Break-Up Artist came on my radar when I saw it for review on Netgalley. I liked the premise, and even though I knew that the main character, Becca would probably undergo a crazy transformation on her views of dating and love. Sure enough, at first, Becca was very jaded. She scoffed at PDA, and she felt a solidarity with her other single friend Val. She'd lost her best friend from earlier in life when she dated a new guy quarterback and her popularity skyrocketed, and on top of that Becca's sister was left right before her wedding. So, she has seen the pain and the devastation that being in a relationship can bring, so she offers her services to break up couples, thinking she is saving them from pain later on. She gets pretty divisive in her goals to break up others, and gets a challenge she isn't sure that she can do. I guess some of my problems were that the characters seemed really immature at times and that there was maybe too much drama for me at times. I know that some of this is just the nature of the book and subject. It's about a girl who breaks up couples, so I should have predicted there would be fall out and then also the actions of Becca catching up to her. And they did, but I think that she first went downhill in her actions rather than a steady character growth and realization about the realities of life, love and relationships. I know that as a freshman in high school that you aren't going to have full understanding, but I think that she just saw things in a slanted light without the full stories on what she made her decisions made on. I like how things wrapped up though, and I wanted to know what would happen overall, so while I had the above issues, I also didn't want to stop reading and it kept my interest. I liked the friendship between her and Val , that they clicked and understood each other so well. I love when stories emphasize good friendships that can last through the excitement of new boyfriends or even when not-so-smart and harmful to other person decisions are made and there is forgiveness. I also like the closeness of Becca and her sister. Even though a lot of their time together is spent plotting the break-up artist stuff, they do have real conversations and I love how much Becca cared and pushed Diane to face some of the things that was wrong in her life and reconcile with some of her friends. Disclaimer: There is cheating, and while I hated every minute of it, I think that it taught that character a lot. It was hard to see it behind a best friend's back, but it was okay for me considering nature of the story as well as drama level. I still don't condone it, but understand that hormones can make us believe crazy stuff and make poor decisions. Bottom Line: Solid friendship and family relationships but as expected a lot of drama and people hurt, but also healed.show more