Jawbreaker

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product Jawbreaker through Raincoast Books. Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so, and it is so much appreciated. 🙂

Braces, bullying, and reporting.  This fair sums up the themes of Jawbreaker by Christina Wyman. Max is a typical teenager in so many ways.  She wears braces, and tries to figure out life.  Hanging out with friends and managing school.  It would all be so much easier without the bullies!   How will Max find her way through?  I’d tell you but that would destroy the fun of reading her story! 

The Basic Details of Jawbreaker

Title: Jawbreaker
Author: Christina Wyman
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
Pages: 320
Intended Audience: 8-12 Years
Genre:  bullying, friendship, middle school, siblings, family, braces, dental work, 
Available formats: Kindle, Hardcover, Audio, paperback
Received: ARC Paperback
Reviewed for: Raincoast Books

About the Author and the Story

Author Christina Wyman takes a moment of her life, her middle school years dealing with dental issues, and turns it into a story of courageous determination to become better. She doesn’t mitigate the pain of dealing with the bullying and family situations, but at the same time shows a light of hope.  This Michigan teacher has shed her tiny bedroom as a child for a home with hubby, rescue cats, and various wandering wildlife.  She wants more rescue cats and chocolate as she continues her dream of being an author. 

Her story Jawbreaker walks us into the first person experience of seventh-grader Max.  Living with her sister and parents on a paycheck to paycheck basis.  She deals with family dysfunction, bullying, teachers who just don’t understand, and a desire to be something more!  She loves reporting the news and writing opinion pieces.  Will her life ruin her love of reporting? 

Digging Deeper into Jawbreaker

One thing you’ll notice in this ARC version I received is the art work is not complete.   You’ll find placeholders for each chapter.  This did not detract from the story for me, but rather helped me to not pay attention to the non-essentials in pursuit of a solidly good read. 

Max is a solidly real person, battling the angst of friendship, school, and family.   It’s not easy to be the one being bullied over something you can’t fix.  Only time is the answer, but that’s hard to see when you are in middle school you know?  Wyman does an excellent job of drawing us into the lives and actions of Max, her family, and her friends. 

This is a very readable, and relatable story.  My sister grew up having to wear braces, and a head piece, and she had to be so careful about what she ate. So Jawbreaker gave me a bit more of a glance into her life.  Being part of a family of six she came into her own amount of teasing, but then, so did I with wearing glasses.  We weren’t downright mean to each other though, so spared that! 

Jawbreaker would make an excellent story for any child (braces or no) experiencing bullying.  Not everything comes out excellent in the end, but it does come out better.  Through Max and her family, perhaps some reader will feel some hope, or at least some kinship, and know in the end, it will come out better.