The Breakaways is a sweet graphic novel about middle schooler Faith and how she navigates friendship and soccer. The middle school struggles are totally relatable—it can actually be a little sad at times but it’s ultimately uplifting. (Think somewhere along the lines of the movie Eighth Grade—as far as the vibe, not the actual story). Faith is a sweet, shy, kinda lonely fifth grader who’s just trying to make friends, and I felt for her.

I really like that this is a middle grade book with girls who play sports! This is always something I love, although the soccer team in this book is actually terrible, so…

Anyway, there’s also lots of diversity in The Breakaways. There are a bunch of POC characters (including the main character). The protagonist is questioning her sexuality, and there are other LGBTQ+ characters as well, including non-straight characters and a boy who comes out as trans.

The main aspect of The Breakaways that I disliked is that it felt too short. Everything happened so fast, and especially as the book is a graphic novel with a large cast of characters, I felt like some more length would do the book some good. I also didn’t understand the interspersed fantasy storyline. Every now and again, there are a few pages of this fantastical subplot that I guess is Faith’s imagination, and it didn’t quite make sense to me.

All in all, this book is a really sweet and wholesome graphic novel. Aside from the points mentioned above (and the fact that I wasn’t super into the art style, though I didn’t hate it or anything), I enjoyed The Breakaways. It’s sure to appeal to middle school kids who are going through similar struggles as Faith.

3.5 stars

I'd certainly recommend this to middle grade graphic novel readers. It's a fun story, if a little disjointed at times, and has great representation.

A group of misfits thrust on to the girls soccer C team struggle with middle school and figuring out who they are. Eventually they embrace their dislike of soccer and discover that what they have actually found is each other. Diverse cast of girls with a great message of acceptance of self and each other.

I didn't really connect with this book or the characters. It felt a little all over the place and I couldn't figure out what the point was.

I really loved The Breakaways by Cathy G. Johnson. I read it all in one sitting. It's a fast-paced, fun read. It did take me some time to get a feel for the separate characters, and the art made some characters appear androgynous when I don't believe they were intended to appear that way. That's really my only tiny complaint with this book, and that's only because it distracted me from the story.

Faith has daydreams that mingle throughout the story and give perspective into the process of building her own identity. This is a story of friendship. This is a story of accepting differences and realizing what makes us who we are. It's absolutely lovely and so refreshing to see characters not be ridiculed or teased for coming out as who they are, even if that's not 100% realistic. The hope this book inspires is worth the loss of a little realism.

This was one of the cutest middle grade graphic novels ever. It was so fluffy, and had so many heartwarming moments, and an incredibly diverse cast of characters! It follows this young girl, Faith, who's been convinced to join her school's soccer team by a popular girl she wants to impress. The team is broken up into a few cliques, and there are some characters who seem to fit certain stereotypes (like the hot girly girls, or the punk band girls, etc.), but we're given tiny windows into their lives to see what makes them the way they are, or the battles they're quietly fighting (like the glimpse into the "mean girl"'s average morning that showcases loud, emotionally neglectful parents).

On top of how lovely the story line is and how well it reminds the reader to not judge based on appearances and to give everyone a fair chance, it also has so much rep it's incredible. There are characters of all sizes and skin colors (including a few fat girls and a hijabi, 2 reps we don't see much of in GNs!), and there's a ton of queer rep—Faith is questioning, a few girls are openly queer, and one character even comes out as trans during the events unfolding.

The whole book was absolutely precious and lovable, and I know this is one I'll be recommending for a long time to come.

Thank you so much to First Second for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is a great middle school read about inclusion and acceptance. It discusses many aspects of friendship from picking on each other, to moving away, and then coming together when it matters.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

Read for potential aquisition and it’s just not right for my elementary library. On the content side, it’s not too racy for a middle school library (there is one kiss in a bed), but too advanced for my readers. On the critical side, I really didn’t think the drawings in this graphic novel were compelling and there were way too many characters for any kind of plot.

Fun and inclusive book about finding where you fit in and working together. Something to offer the sporty and non alike. I wish there had been more books like this it’s focus on embracing who you are when I was young.

This was so much fun! Thanks to the publisher, author, and Netgalley for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for an honest review. I loved this one. It was hilarious, relatable, sincere, and had such a great cast of characters. Our main character, Faith, loves to draw, has a loving and supportive dad, and decides to join the school soccer team because a popular girl promises they’ll get to hang out... It turns out that little 5th grader Faith is on the C team and the popular girl is on the A team.

Faith finds herself with a crew of girls who have ups and downs in their lives, navigating their identities, and maneuvering how much they do (or mostly don’t) care about soccer.. it was fun to get peeks into different player’s lives and see what other personal exploration was going on for them. You don’t get supreme depth here, it is a pretty short graphic novel.. that being said, the characters were decently fleshed out and still did feel real to me. I also liked the flashbacks in and out of Faith’s own art/ graphic novel that she is creating.. even if I didn’t always understand what was going on ( I feel like that is art/ trying out art:). I really liked this one, appreciated the representation, and the story line of an eclectic girls team is the best... I’ll always go for that. 4.5!

** one note there were a 2 frames that made me say “awww” aloud for the ways in which one person hugs another person who needs a hug in the right way. I love when a graphic novel can show you/model a beautiful moment like that**

A nice story if you are currently in middle school - so, for the target audience - but with out quite so much of the crossover impact that other middle grade graphic novels (Real Friends etc) has on an adult reader.

This was a short and sweet slice of life about the trials and tribulations of being a kid on the school's worst soccer theme. It gives lip service to some themes of diversity and definitely celebrates the uniqueness of girls, but it fails to really achieve any depth which I found quite disappointing. The characters all started interesting arcs, but none of them really felt fleshed out. This feels like a good beginning to a story, but too much was left unresolved for me to feel satisfied.

A really sweet middle-grade graphic novel about finding friends (even if you all suck at team sports). The ensemble cast is diverse in both racial and socio-economic status, and includes a trans boy who is just starting to come out -- his scenes are all very sweet and affirming, they're probably my favorite in the book -- and two girls who are starting to realize that they're attracted to other girls. I think fans of Smile and Drama will be delighted with The Breakaways.

The story is sweet and simple but with intense and important undertones.
The story is all about a group of girls coming together as a 'team' of friends when they realize they need to stop being what others want them to be and simply be themselves.
It's a coming of age, growing up story that incorporates adult issues.

Fifth grader Faith joins her school's soccer team after the most popular girl in school convinces her. Thinking she will spend time with Amanda, Faith is excited to play soccer and become friends. Unfortunately, Amanda lied. There are 3 different soccer teams based on skill and Faith is on the C Team.

Over the course of practices and games, we get glimpses into each girl's life. This was a short, quick graphic novel but it features a diverse cast - both in ethnicities and sexualities. The girls are flawed and real. Some are unlikable at times, but them Johnson shows what is going on in their personal or home life and you feel for them.

I would recommend this to readers who enjoyed Lumberjanes but wants something more on the realism side.

** I received an eARC from Netgalley. **

Faith is convinced by popular eight grader Amanda to join the soccer team, but when she shows up she realizes that she's been duped and Amanda was only looking for warm bodies to get their C team off the ground. The C team is a mess, with many characters who don't care at all about the team. Over the course of the story, they realize that it's not so much about the soccer (at which they are very, very bad), but the friendship that they're forming. A good additional purchase for graphic collections.

This book is very well done, with wonderful illustrations, powerful lessons, and plenty to relate to whether it's friend drama, boy drama, middle school drama, growing up drama. Lots of drama.

To say that these girls are not the best at soccer is a huge understatement. The MC, Faith, doesn't even know the rules but couldn't say no to the popular older girl doing the recruiting. Their goalie is afraid of the ball, but rocks out in the music room. These girls are all a big huge mess, but, by the end of it their a huge mess together, bonding and having fun in ways that don't involve soccer.

While I did like the great amount of diversity represented in this book, the story, and the look into the lives of each of the girls, there's some things that I felt distracted from the story or made it hard to keep up. One page is entirely in Spanish that my high school and college Spanish classes combined were useless with no translation within. (Great for native Spanish speakers, though, due to the rarity, and comics/graphic novels are a wonderful way for learning English as a second language). I wished that the Latina, Spanish speaking character in question, V, was able to stay through the whole story, because--especially with her one spotlight page being entirely in Spanish--I felt like I didn't get to know her at all.

Nadia, a hijab wearing girl, was also awesome but bringing her in halfway through the story seemed more like checking off a list and also lost a lot of time to develop her character for the audience, not to mention even less time to form a real bond with the rest of the team.

Also, the story within the story--Faith's dream/art world--was okay and did serve a purpose, but, again, felt like it distracted from the main story and hindered getting to know the characters better.

A last thing to mention is that finding books with girls in sports is hard to come by, especially books that focus on girls playing sports and not as an aside 'Oh, she does gymnastics/ballet/cheer/softball/track/soccer/etc.' thing. None of these girls--except Nadia--really, actually cared about the game or actively wanted to improve. As a girl who played soccer from kindergarten through senior year of high school, I would have loved a graphic novel about a bunch of soccer playing and loving girls when I was in middle school because they were so hard to come by. So as a grown woman I appreciate the diversity, the friendships, the strong female characters in this story... but would have appreciated a little more love for the Beautiful Game from the characters.

In short, this is a good story with good lessons and cute art and a wonderful array of female characters, and I know a lot of late-elementary/early middle school girls will love this graphic novel.

A fun and fast read and a very cute book! I was a little baffled in the beginning regarding why anyone was staying on this team (or really the need for anyone to join) but the narrative grew and drew me in! I appreciate the inclusion of a diversity of characters without much commentary on it. If you have a elementary kid to teenager I'd highly recommend this as a great place to start on general open arm acceptance of people, but this comic is a sweet little read for all ages!

This Bad News Bears of Soccer story stars Faith, a child of color who joins her school team at the urging of Amanda, one of the school's popular girls. Thinking it's a great way to make new friends, Faith signs up, only to discover that there are different soccer teams, and she's been put on the Bloodhounds, which is made of up the lousiest players in the school. They may be horrible at soccer, but the group gradually comes together to form a tight friendship unit, and that's the heart of the story.

There's a fantastic diversity among the group. There are queer characters, including one who's transitioning, and characters of color. The storyline is moved forward by each character's quest for identity and acceptance within their families and the group, making for some deeply heartfelt moments. It's a book about friendship, self-awareness, and acceptance, set in a middle school - often a battleground for kids who want to stand out without being "different".

This one's a must-add to your shelves. Talk this one up to your Lumberjanes fans.

The Mary Sue has a great write-up and preview of The Breakaways, and you can visit author/illustrator Cathy G. Johnson's website for more info.

While I didn't completely fall in love with The Breakaways, I certainly think that the tweens in my library will. The cast is diverse and fun (though certain characters do not start off very pleasing) and the idea of being friends trumps winning is a great theme for tweens to be exposed to, so I will definitely be purchasing this title for my library.