REVIEW! In the Break.

In the Break
Jack Lopez


FROM THE COVER:

It's daunting to find out that the whole day's big-wave surfing was a warm-up, a passing of time, a pause for the real thing. And Jamie was in position to ride the real thing. Jamie was committed. I was scared, stuck halfway in, halfway out, in never-never land.

When Juan’s best friend, Jamie, has a violent fight with his stepfather, he decides to leave town until things settle down. Juan, Jamie, and Jamie’s sister, Amber, head south to Mexico. Along the way, they search for the perfect wave, finding romance, tragedy, and their own sense of peace among the waves.


My rating: 3 stars.


MY THOUGHTS:

I’m all for unhappy endings every now and then, but In the Break is one big unhappy ending. There’s substance and realistic characters, but at every opportunity presented for them to shine, the story takes a turn that reverts them back into lifeless states.

The writing itself shows promise, and at times is beautiful in its own depressing way. But it’s not quite enough to save the story as a whole. It’s a chain reaction: the plot drags, causing the characters to drag, causing the reader to drag.