Breakaway (Tr)

by Paul Yee

Book Overview

It is 1932. The only Chinese boy at his Vancouver school, 18-year-old Kwok-ken Wong is repeatedly stung by the racist remarks hurled his way by both classmates and teachers. Life at home isn't much... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0888992017
• ISBN13: 9780888992017
• Release Date: August 2000
• Publisher: Groundwood Books
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.18 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 4.4" x 7.1"
• Age Range: 10 to 14 years
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 9

Customer Reviews

The Real Deal

The book Breakaway, by Paul Yee, is a exciting, breathtaking book. Yee includes many detailed descriptions of the characters and many visual images. This book takes place during the 1930's in Vancouver, Canada, and is about a Chinese-Canadian boy named Kwok-Ken, who is a talented soccer player. Kwok lives just outside of Chinatown on a farm with his sister Ying, his mother, and his father. This story is about his encounters with prejudice people and how he overcomes them. In one encounter he goes to get on his soccer team's bus and he is kicked off because he is Chinese. Can he overcome this encounter? Find out by reading this enticing book. One reason I would recommend this book is that once you get into this book you can't stop reading. This is because in almost every chapter there is a cliff-hanger ending that makes you want to find out what happens and you read more. For instance another farmer wishes he had a son that would inherit the land and that maybe Kwok would take it but Kwok doesn't even want his own family's land. Kwok doesn't say that until the next chapter. So then you read on to find out what Kwok says. Another reason why I would recommend this book is that it really shows what the real world is like and what it is like to deal with prejudice. For instance Kwok was born in Canada but his ancestry comes from China so he looks Chinese. People judged him by his looks and not by who he really is. As the old metaphor goes "don't judge a book by its cover." This really hurts Kwok but can he get over the prejudice?One reason why someone might disagree with my opinion of this book is that Yee describes blood and gore whenever there is a chance. For instance Kwok and a boy in his class get into a fight. Kwok gets punched and starts bleeding unstoppably. However, this is not a good enough reason not to read the book because there are very few parts that deal with gore. Once again I highly recommend this book because it really shows the real world.

Kwok and Chinese-Canadian Soccer

Breakaway is a very complete book, which talks about many different aspects of life. It makes one think about how easy a life we lead. There is enough description so that one is interested but not so much so that one is bored. This book by Paul Yee, intertwines many hard to understand scenarios that American kids of the 21st century cannot always relate to. For a Chinatown boy living in Vancouver during the Depression, life can be rough; Kwok and his family live on a farm where he works all the time. Although his father thinks soccer is a waste of time, it is the only thing Kwok seems to really enjoy and excel at. Yee puts Kwok through a life one could almost call torture. Because of his race, he isn't allowed on a soccer team and people think they can take advantage of him just because he has chines blood. Breakaway brings you into a different world, Kwok's world, where uncertainty is your neighbor and soccer is your life. Kwok has to be always watching out for himself, never really knowing what is going to happen next; for all he knows his mother might run away and never return again. For example Kwok is sitting calmly in the soccer clubs hangout and a bunch of racists throw a large trunk through the window. It really shows a different perspective on life. Another reason I would recommend this book is because it has to do with soccer. Soccer is a very important part of my life, and the Chinese play very sophisticated style of soccer. If you are interested in soccer and different techniques this book will show you how the Chinese soccer players think before, during and after the game. This book is a fun read because it has a whole new side of life to anything from sports to racism. If you are the kind of person who does not like insecurity in a book or does not like offensive actions toward other cultures, this book might not be for you. The tension between Kwok and his father is a good part because it adds a lot to the plot. The offensive action toward the Chinese just shows you how life was for the Chinese and most any other peoples that are not indigenous to Vancouver. Without all of these things the book would have no meaning and Kwok would have a pleasant and boring life, which nobody want to read about.