CCBC booklist are compiled from books we have recommended in various editions of CCBC Choices. Most of these booklists are updated annually. You can also select books from one or more booklists to create a custom list, which can also include additional books from the CCBC-Recommended Book Search.
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Reasons We Break
CCBC Review:
Rajan has always had a soft spot for Simran, a kind and patient peer tutor who helped him with math in high school despite his rough-around-the-edges demeanor. Now, a year after graduation, the Punjabi Canadian teens’ lives again intersect. Released from juvie and clean, Rajan moves back home to Kelowna, British Columbia, hoping to stay out of the crosshairs of his former Vancouver gang, the Lion’s Share. Simran, a devout Sikh, is attending a local college, forgoing her dream school to stay near her mom, who has cancer. When the Lions find Rajan, demanding he work off his debt, Simran makes a deal with them behind his back: She’ll help decode the books of rival gang the Aces in exchange for Rajan’s freedom. The deciphering work is satisfying to Simran’s mathematical mind, and she’s good at it—so good that she quickly makes herself dangerously indispensable to the Lions and a target of the Aces. Leaving the Lions once Rajan’s debt is paid off is no longer an option. This taut, high-stakes contemporary thriller includes realistic scenes of violence and drug use. The third-person perspective alternates its focus between Simran and Rajan, whose believable, slow-burn romance will either ruin or rescue them. Despite their differing circumstances, the teens share commonalities as children of immigrants who experience certain pressures. With rich characterization and an engrossing plot, this novel delivers on every front. ©2026 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
CCBC Age Recommendation: Age 14 and older
Age Range:
Grades 9-12 (Age 14 and older)
Format:
Novel
Subjects:
Canadians and Canadian Americans
Crime
Drugs and Alcohol
Expectations
Love and Romance
Mysteries
Punjabi People
Violence
Diversity subject:
Asian
Other Religion
On CCBC Booklist:
Sophisticated and Substantial Books for Teens
Publishers:
Hyperion, Buena Vista
Publish Year: 2025
Pages: 406
ISBN: 9781368113748
CCBC Location: Fiction, Deo
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Please send questions or comments about CCBC booklists to ccbcinfo@education.wisc.edu.