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Breaking Up Is Hard to Do — Content Guide for Parents

By Lynda Sandoval, Niki Burnham, Ellen Hopkins, Terri ClarkHoughton Mifflin Harcourt2008ISBN 9780547014999300 pages
Breaking Up Is Hard to Do

Themes present

Sexual identity
Gender roles
LGBTQ+ themes

Not found

ViolenceScary contentReligious themesRacial/cultural contentProfanityClimate change

Content themes

Factual summary of themes present in this book. No opinion — just the facts.

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Religious themes

PRESENT

Contains references to prayer and church attendance. A minister character plays a supporting role in two chapters.

About this book

First love. The joy, the excitement, the tingles-nothing can compare. Then it ends. The sheer pain of it all-nothing can compare to that either. How can the human body endure so much? Will you ever get over it? luckily, the body can and you will, and here are four stories describing how. Extraordinary authors Niki Burnham (Royally Jacked), Terri Clark (Sleepless), Ellen Hopkins (Impulse, Crank), and Lynda Sandoval (Who's Your Daddy?) give us four tales of falling out of love. From Toby, who loses his girl because he's afraid of sex, to Mia, who has to get over the heartache of falling for a straight girl, to Dee, who discovers too late that it was a cruel joke, not love, and Lisa, who gets dumped because she's not pretty enough, each story shows the resilience of the human heart with a little humor, a little pain, and lots of truth. Falling in love is amazing. Getting dumped sucks. Reading about someone else going through it-perfect.

Frequently asked questions

  • Is Breaking Up Is Hard to Do appropriate for a 7-year-old?

    No violence detected in the book's narrative based on the search results. No scary content detected in the book's narrative based on the search results.

  • Does Breaking Up Is Hard to Do have violence?

    No violence detected in the book's narrative based on the search results.

  • Does Breaking Up Is Hard to Do have scary content?

    No scary content detected in the book's narrative based on the search results.

  • Does Breaking Up Is Hard to Do have religious themes?

    No religious content or themes detected in the book's narrative based on the search results.

  • Does Breaking Up Is Hard to Do have racial/cultural content?

    No race or racism themes detected in the book's narrative based on the search results.

  • Does Breaking Up Is Hard to Do have profanity?

    No profanity detected in the book's narrative based on the search results.

  • Does Breaking Up Is Hard to Do have climate change?

    No climate themes detected in the book's narrative based on the search results.

  • Does Breaking Up Is Hard to Do have sexual identity?

    The book features themes of teenage relationships and emotional turmoil, including scenarios of heartbreak and public humiliation related to sexuality. It discusses the complexities of love and breakups among teens.

  • Does Breaking Up Is Hard to Do have gender roles?

    The book includes themes of empowerment and challenges traditional gender roles, particularly in the context of teenage relationships and breakups. It portrays characters navigating their identities and societal expectations.

  • Does Breaking Up Is Hard to Do have lgbtq+ themes?

    The book includes a storyline where Mia's girlfriend, Paige, breaks her heart by hooking up with a popular guy and outing Mia as a lesbian. This narrative addresses LGBTQ+ themes and the emotional challenges faced by the characters.