(This review will be up on my blog The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl in September).

If you've been following my blog/reviews, you will know that I love anything to do with beyond the grave! Ghosts are a sure fire way to make me pick up a book and read it instantly! Luckily, this book was a really interesting read and helped me keep my faith in those type of books.

The title is definitely an interesting one. It made me thing of a type of mystery book, which this is somewhat. Also, after reading the blurb, I thought maybe this would be about the main character having a break down.

I'm on the fence about the cover. On the one hand, I love the different images on the cover. They give me a sort of creepy feel. On the other hand, I wish the cover would've been an image from the book or gave us more insight to the book.

I love how the author draws you into Jeremy's world quite easily. I felt as if everything that was happening to Jeremy was happening to me. I could visualize the world quite easily. The only thing that kind of made me have a "hmm" moment was when The Book of the Dead disappears from Jeremy's room, but it just kind of turns up again in another chapter without any explanation. That's a totally minor thing, and all the other loose ends of the story are all tied up by the ending. The world building is just amazing!

Before I picked up this book, I felt as if it would start out slow at first and then pick up speed. How wrong I was! From the very first sentence, the pacing is spot on. Not once did I become bored with this book. I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next. I was hanging on every word, even at the ending! (And don't worry, there isn't any sort of cliff hanger ending. I just didn't want it to end).

I very much enjoyed the plot. I felt this was more of a whodunnit type plot. Jeremy is convinced someone murdered Susannah, so he's trying to solve the mystery as soon as possible all while feeling like he is being haunted by Susannah's ghost. There is some romantic elements, but it's not the main focus. Oh, and I loved the twists involving Susannah! There's even one about Ryan that I figured out with all the context clues before his secret was revealed.

The characters were written superbly! Jeremy Glass feels like an average angry teenager. Now when I say angry, I don't mean angsty or emo or immature. He's been through a lot including watching his mother die and dealing with his injury. Now he's convinced his best friend is missing. Jeremy's got a lot on his plate, and if I were him, I'd be angry too. I loved his sarcasm and wit even if it was to mask how he was feeling most of the time. We don't really get to see much of Susannah's character except when Jeremy believes he is seeing her ghost and what he finds out about her personality. The girl obviously had problems, but for a character whose presence is more ethereal, the author does a fantastic job of making her come alive (no pun intended). I would've loved to know more about Marisa especially her back story such as where she came from and why she moved to the United States. The book says she's an immigrant, but I would've just liked to know a bit more. I liked the character of Ryan. At first, I thought he was a bit of an idiot and really selfish, but as the story progresses, I came to see that Ryan had his reasons for acting the way he did. I really enjoyed Trudy's back story!

There is a lot of swearing in this book, but I don't believe it's over the top. Teenagers swear, and it's a part of life. The swearing in this book makes it more believable. I understand why a lot of young adult writers don't include swearing, but for this book, the swearing worked. Overall, the dialogue is easy to understand and very believable. There were some times where I felt that Jeremy was older then 17, but after all that he'd been through, I figured it was down to all he'd been through.

Overall, Breaking Glass is one of the most intriguing books that I've read. It's one of those books that makes you ponder whether or not the main character is going crazy or is he actually experiencing everything around him.

I'd recommend this book to those aged 16+ (due to language and themes) who like trying to solve mysteries and are looking for a book to wake up their brain.

I'd give Breaking Glass by Lisa Amowitz a 4.75 out of 5. ( )

Breaking Glass turned out to be a lot different book than I was expecting. It was more complex, both in terms of the plot, the characters and their relationships than the synopsis would lead one to expect. What I thought it was about was already enough, what it turned out to be was even better.

To give much more of the plot wouldn't be fair (or much fun) for anyone who's going to read it, so I won't. What I will say is this: when Jeremy ends up in the hospital, intoxicated and with a severely injured leg, he learns that his friend -- and crush -- Susannah has disappeared.

He thinks he knows what happened the night of his accident and who was there but soon, others' accounts have him second guessing himself.

Then, when Susannah starts requesting -- from, possibly, beyond the grave -- that he solve her disappearance or murder, Jeremy starts to question his sanity.

All of this happening while a bit of a soap opera is unfolding around Jeremy. Rockton is a small town with a lot of secrets; many of them surrounding Jeremy's family, friends and their past.

Even the things that seem simple grow much more complex as other characters put their spin on things. Or as tales -- or rumors -- from the past come to light.

Everything that happens to Jeremy is handled excellently. It isn't overdone, which could easily happen with everything that happens to him and/or he does to himself, no is it underdone. Despite his experiences that are so different from much of what most will experience, he's easy to relate to.

The character who was the closest to a second main character -- at least in the 'Now' sections -- didn't feel quite as developed. There were times when we learned more about her and it seemed something was coming, but it never quite got there. There may have just been too much plot involving Jeremy, the mystery and in the 'Then' sections for there to be that connection with her, also.

With such a deep, intense plot, Amowitz finds a great balance: keeping the plot creepy, the characters' melodrama unfolding, and having a possible new interest for Jeremy. All the while leaving readers guessing at just what will happen in the end - how the mystery will be solved and how everyone will fare. ( )

Jeremy Glass has been in love with his best friend's girlfriend since 9th grade. Rather than tell her how he feels, he puts on his mask, sucks it up, pretends it doesn't bother him. After all, it is completely wrong to go after your best friend's girlfriend, especially when your kind of a Geek and he's one of the most popular guys in school. He settles instead on being Susannah's friend. What really bothers him the most, is covering up for Ryan when he cheats on Susannah behind her back, which he has done quite a few times. Susannah shows up after a play Ryan is in one night, when she is supposedly out of town, and catches Ryan in the act, despite Jeremy's attempts to keep her from walking in on it. She takes off, Ryan follows, and Jeremy follows them. This is the night that everyone's life changes forever. Jeremy has been drinking, and when he pulls over after seeing Susannah and Ryan, he isn't sure what is going on. The next thing he knows he is waking up in the hospital with his leg held together by pins and rods after being hit by a truck, and no one knows where Susannah is. When days turn to weeks, and weeks turn to months, Jeremy is determined to find out what is going on, while trying to deal with the pain of his shattered leg and shattered dreams. His problems that he has hidden so well for so many years seem to come to the surface, forcing him to look at his past, as well as his present, and his future going forward. Secrets are revealed, friendships are tested, and when Susannah starts seemingly speaking to Jeremy from beyond the grave, things really get weird. Jeremy isn't sure if it is real or if he is losing his mind. Nevertheless, he is determined to push past his own problems and find out just what has happened to Susannah.

Breaking Glass is thrilling, mysterious, and somewhat dark. The book is told primarily from Jeremy's point of view, except for a few segments near the end. It is set up in a "then" and "now" perspective, which works really well, letting you see into the past, as well as the present. The plot is intense, creepy, and thrilling. I really liked Jeremy's character. He's goes through so much in this book, yet maintains his sense of humor despite all the horrible things that happen to him and are going on around him, and despite the fact that he is pretty messed up himself. As the mystery unfolds, Lisa Amowitz takes you on a journey with twists and turns along the way that you never see coming. Just when I thought I had something figured out, Lisa Amowitz would take things in a different direction. This made for quite an entertaining read. Small town secrets that go back for years are revealed, mysteries unravel, new friendships are formed, and then the paranormal element takes things to a whole new and kind of scary level. If you love a good suspenseful thriller with a paranormal aspect and a little romance, which is intriguing, mysterious, and keeps you turning the pages to see what happens next, then Breaking Glass is something I would recommend checking out. ( )

I liked this dark and twisty book and connected with Jeremy. He was a complicated character with a lot of problems, and only found more as the book went along. It was very realistic when dealing with the medical aspects though. He lost a leg and had a long battle to healing and recovery, and none of it was skimmed over.
Jeremy is such a joker on the outside, but underneath, he is dealing with a lot. He has issues with water, ptsd, drinking, and then he, the track star, lost his leg.
There are several players in this story, and I never knew what to think, what happened to Suzannah, or what other secrets were floating around. It was quite a journey as Jeremy tried to uncover truths, and struggled with himself whether he was insane, and I, as the reader, often wondered that as well since his mother had the history of mental illness.
For the most part it feels like a contemporary, but there are scenes with ghostly presences, and seeming messages and dreams from beyond the grave, so it mostly read like a mystery and thriller, and a good one at that.
I liked the ending, and though at a couple of parts it felt a bit rushed to tie up all of the ends, it definitely left me flipping through the pages needing to find the answers to the questions unearthed in the book. Everything was answered and although there were a few people that didn't quite get their hea, they still have the best possible for what the story threw at them.

Bottom Line: Dark mystery that left me flipping pages eager to know what happens.

I loved this book! the character of Jeremy Glass is heartbreaking and made me want to climb into the story and stand up for him time and time again. He is such a broken and sweet boy who has no clue what he is getting into and no one to look up to.

The Mystery: where is Susannah? is she really dead? is Jeremy going crazy just like his mother did? and if Susannah is dead who killed her? Jeremy is afried that time is running out for him to find her, because he just might be the next victim.

Susannah was a very complex character who you want to hate but you just end up feeling bad for because she had a horrible life. Susannah who has gone missing is starting to send Jeremy messages from the other side or maybe he is just going crazy, it is possible. His mother was crazy they say and she did drive herself off that bridge but then you can't always believe what people say in town for they are all under the thumb of one man, Patrick Morgan.

Patrick Morgan was the ultimate bad guy smooth as silk when it came to public appearances but behind the scenes was a right a-hole! there were about a hundred times I wanted to jump right into the book myself and strangle the man for his high handed ways. His son is the town Golden Boy who every girl wants to have, every boy wants to be and is Jeremy's Best friend and Susannah's boyfriend.

This book was amazing! I cried for Jeremy's heartache and pain. I savoured each and every word! Lisa Amowitz is a amazingly talented writer and I enjoyed myself immensely in her world of fiction. The Book does have a back and forth between the past and the present but without it the story couldn't be told properly. Lisa did an wonderful job on this book and I for one am now a huge fan! ( )