Breakout by Kate Messner

A special book lingers long after you close the cover. I can't help thinking about Kate Messner's Breakout, and I finished it days ago. The main plot of the story involves two inmates who escape from a maximum-security prison. Everyone's life is impacted by the two week manhunt. The underlying theme, however, is racism and racial profiling. When Elidee's brother is incarcerated, she and her mother move to the small upper NY state community near the prison. They pride themselves on being a friendly town--yet we see many evidences that they are not as welcoming to a black family. Elidee's classmate, Nora, is a middle school journalist who uncovers more than a story in Messner's novel. In fact, at the conclusion, she may have more questions than answers.

Told in letters, poems, text messages, news stories, and comic—a series of documents Nora collects for the Wolf Creek Community Time Capsule Project—Breakout is a thrilling story that will leave readers thinking about who's really welcome in the places we call home.

Breakout begs for discussion following a reading. Perhaps you can use it in a book group. Kids may certainly self-examine themselves for their own blindness to color. We see Elidee struggle with lessons she's been taught about being with white people. We see Nora's slowly developing efforts to understand how Elidee feels. 

Messner includes a list of related books that you can also share with your readers. From picture books to YA, today's fiction raises questions that are certainly in need of answering. 

In my new job at TeachingBooks, I learned how to make a list and share it. I compiled a list of all of Messner's further reading suggestions. Simply scan the QR code on the left, and you'll find not only the list, but 752 resources to help you connect readers to these books and their authors.