Reviews

Breathless by Jessica Warman

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I want to rate this 3.5 stars because although I did enjoy the book and thought it was a good read, it was kind of strange and unrealistic in parts. For example, it was strange to me that a girl who gets high and drunk every weekend (sometimes during the week) and who smokes constantly was able to maintain good grades and break record after record in swimming. Also, the whole book was kind of pointless with no real direction or climax. I also disliked how Drew was portrayed as a Christian. So stereotypical and cliché. His whole character was annoying to me. All in all, good read but definitely had some serious flaws to me.

heather425's review against another edition

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3.0

I liked this book even though parts of it were painful for me to read. I grew up with a boy who turned out to be very much like the brother in this book. Mental illness is such a sad and isolating illness, not only for the person who has it, but for the people who love them. I do wish that other characters in the book had been developed more. I felt many of them were just highlights of stereotypes, making them one dimensional. Even though this was written for young adults I think the author could have made them a bit deeper.

Overall, I liked the book and would recommend it to others.

kricketa's review against another edition

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4.0

i liked this a lot. after her brother will's public suicide attempt and descent into schizophrenia, katie kittrell leaves for boarding school in west virginia. new friends, her boyfriend drew, and her talent for swimming help her forget about her family in pennsylvania, especially will. when her friends ask, it's easier to say will is dead.

what i loved most here were the characters- so complicated and realistic. estella: the popular bitch who can also be sweet and loving. katie's dad: a workaholic who, despite appearances, really is trying to keep his family together. and my absolute favorite, katie's roommate mazzie: where do i even start? highly recommended.

najazi's review against another edition

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3.0

I enjoyed this book - it had an interesting story line and I felt like the characters in the book represented some of the teenagers that you find in real life.
The story felt like it kept rushing through parts that it would have been better to go more indepth, and towards the end it just dropped off - I didn't feel like the epilogue really finished the story either.

The two story dimensions between Katie and Will didn't feel like they went together well either, but I saw how Warman tried to have the two interlinking stories.

As I said, I enjoyed the different dynamics and the overall story, but it could have gone deeper and not as rushed as it was.

valeriefm's review against another edition

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5.0

I love this book. This is the perfect coming of age novel.

tracemus's review

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2.0

This was an okay book. I was definitely left wanting more. I felt like there could have been a much better story, and felt misled by the description. There are certain parts of the story that I found ridiculous, and thought that the characters were unrealistic. It's definitely a different take on the family, and granted my family is nothing like this, I still wasn't believing all that happened.
Then when the book ended, there was so much left undone. There were loose ends that were cleaned up in an epilogue, which was fast and uneventful.
I'm glad I read it, but would never buy it.

allison's review

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4.0

I really enjoyed this book.

This is probably my last read for 2021 and I'm okay with that.

So, in Breathless, our protagonist is Katie Kitrell. Katie is a 15 year old girl whom is sent off to a boarding school after a horrible tragedy. There, she meets Estella, Lindsey, Drew, and Mazzie.
I loved Mazzie so much. She was definitely my favorite character. She was funny, serious, and just an overall good friend to Katie.
I did cry at the end so beware.
I loved watching Katie go through her first love, first heartbreak, and so much more.
As the book progresses, Katie is a sophomore, junior, and a senior. You watch as the people around her become her family.

I highly suggest this book for an amazing, never boring, read.