Review: The Break-Up Artist by Philip Siegel

The Break-Up Artist

Philip Siegel

29th April 2014

YA, Contemporary

Summary from Goodreads

Some sixteen-year-olds babysit for extra cash.

Some work at the mall.

Becca Williamson breaks up couples.

Becca knows from experience the damage that love can do. After all, it was so-called love that turned Huxley from her childhood best friend into a social-world dictator, and love that left Becca's older sister devastated at the altar. Instead of sitting on the sidelines, Becca strikes back—for just one hundred dollars via PayPal, she will trick and manipulate any couple's relationship into smithereens. And with relationship zombies overrunning her school and treating single girls as if they're second-class citizens, business is unfortunately booming. Even Becca's best friend, Val, has resorted to outright lies to snag a boyfriend.

One night, Becca receives a mysterious offer to break up the most popular couple in school: Huxley and raw football team's star player, Steve. To succeed, she'll have to plan her most elaborate scheme to date—starting rumors, sabotaging cell phones, breaking into cars...not to mention sneaking back into Huxley's good graces. All while fending off the inappropriate feelings she may or may not be having for Val's new boyfriend.

No one said being the Break-Up Artist would be easy.

My Review

4/5

It's been a while since I read this so I don't remember much about how I felt while reading it but I do remember the story and the rating I was going to give it. I was torn between a 3 and 4 star review as I wasn't all that excited about the ending but at the same time I knew how honest it was and that raised the book in my opinion.

It is very rare that I will come across a book that will tell it like it is while still maintaining a good storyline with enough imagination to keep the reader hooked and continuing to read.

This book did just that. It contains all the elements of a soon-to-be romanticised tale of a girl who has a harsh view on romance and is about to experience her own epic love tail but this isn't the case.

Becca's experience with relationships is limited. She is more of a sidelines observer and in this she becomes cynical as she can see how dependent people become on their other halves and she has lost a friend to this terrible monster already. So she decides to help out those poor friends-in-need and break those ugly couples up. For a living.

It would seem that in any other novel Becca would be just on schedule to meet her own true love and become so enveloped in them that she learns her lesson and never breaks another couple up again, right? Wrong. Although she does find someone she want to be with Siegel does not turn Becca into the gag-worthy half of a couple that Becca sees the others as. Instead, her experiences aren't all that great but she still realises that what she is doing isn't the solution either.

I found this book to be refreshingly real with a hint of the imaginary.

It's bold and truth kept me reading to the end.

-Tia