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 th...
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