GREAT READS

Breaking Bad

Gilligan, Vince.

What makes a person "good"? Circumstances, innate personality, upbringing? If a good person "breaks bad" for good reasons, are they still noble? What if they turn out to be the wrong reasons?

Take Walt White, for example. He's a straight-laced family man, lovingly raising a son with cerebral palsy. He's a chemistry genius who turned down a very lucrative career, choosing instead the unglamorous life of a high school teacher.

But he's dying of inoperable cancer. And he fears that his treatment and death will create a financial burden that his family cannot overcome. But opportunity knocks... A former student, Jesse - a real underachiever, a screw-up, a slacker - is in the illegal drug trade, "cooking" and selling meth. When Walt witnesses Jesse fleeing a crime scene, he sees his way of quickly building that elusive nest egg. With Jesse's street smarts and Walt's intellect, the two can create a superior meth product. What his family doesn't know can't hurt them, right?

This show is INTENSE and is packed with moral quandaries. You'll bite your nails as Walt and Jesse find themselves in danger; you'll shout at the TV as Walt lies to the people he loves the most; you'll root for him, you'll root against him, and you'll question whether all is fair in love and war.

Breaking Bad is for mature audiences.

Recommended by Leah Youse