A Breakthrough Scientifically and Socially

By Sahil M.

Breakthrough is a nonfictional narrative that follows the story of Jack Andraka, a teenager who made important discoveries in the identification of pancreatic cancer. This book is much more than just his scientific accomplishments. It chronicles all aspects of his life, including his friends, school, hiding his sexuality, the death of his uncle, and depression. This book shows a breakthrough for Jack not just in detecting early stages of pancreatic cancer, but also a breakthrough in discovering and accepting himself.

Jack was always a geeky kid with a scientific mind. He began performing scientific experiments in his basement at a young age, experimenting with things like capacitors and rivers. He was also interested in whitewater rafting, the only sport his mom forced him to do that he didn't hate. After realizing public school was not challenging enough for Jack, his parents sent him to a public charter school. This school was hypercompetitive full of kids like Jack with an aptitude for science and math. At the beginning of school, he was thrilled and fit in with his peers. He even managed to win first at his science fair. However, as time went on, things took a turn for worse. Jack began to question his sexuality and his only close friends move away. He started being bullied in school and entered a wave of depression. To top it off, his uncle recently died from pancreatic cancer. He manages to get through his depression and accepts who he is. Using all this negative energy, he began investigating the cause of the death of his uncle, pancreatic cancer. This begins his journey in inventing a method to detect early stages of pancreatic cancer while discovering and accepting who he is along the way.

Breakthrough is a well written and effectively chronicles the social and scientific story of Jack Andraka. He manages to accurately and intriguingly depict the events leading to his breakthrough, including all his struggles and successes, not just in the scientific field. Although some parts of the story may feel unrelated and unimportant, they still tie together to create an interesting backstory that enhances the later parts of the story and give the reader a better background on who Jack Andraka is. The story is serious where necessary, but lighthearted at other times.

This narrative is great for a wide range of audiences. Originally, I was only interested in the scientific aspects of his breakthrough, but the social side of his story pulled me in for an overall great experience. The narrative of a teenager boy struggling through high school while making scientific breakthroughs applies to a variety of people, however, it may be more targeted at younger, teenager or young adult audiences. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about the life of a teenage innovator that changed the world.