Reviews

Reason to Breathe by Rebecca Donovan

niholealbod's review against another edition

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dark hopeful tense

5.0

Uncovering of abuse by first love. 

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anyalillyb's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

josiewebster11's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced

4.5

kstouden's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

life_full_ofbooks's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This has been sitting on my TBR for about 12 years and I finally got around to listening to it. I’m still not sure what to think. It’s a very tough subject matter and one those matters in which you can say what you would do if in it, but you truly don’t know unless you actually experience it. 
Emma is a junior in high school and appears to lead a very quiet life. At school, she’s always trying to blend in to the background even though she’s a superior athlete (playing on three varsity teams), the editor of the school newspaper, and best friends with the most popular girl in school. Her life at home, where she lives with her aunt and uncle, is a very different story though and she’s trying to make it through to graduation without anyone knowing what goes on behind closed doors. 
This book was a page turner from the get go. I listened to it and couldn’t stop listening! There were quite a few things that didn’t sit well with me, though. I really hated the way Emma refused help from those who knew her situation; I felt her reasoning for not wanting help wasn’t justified. Additionally, while the ending had me on the edge of my seat and I immediately downloaded the next one in the trilogy, I wish it had a better closing. I listened to the first 5 minutes of the second to find out what happened after the ending and called it a day. 
I think Rebecca Donovan did a fabulous job at conveying emotion and tension. I wish she would have included how she did research for this book because the vast majority of it felt very cliche. 

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readfrenzy's review against another edition

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5.0

I loved everything about this book. It's a more sophisticated tale of friendship than many other young adults books I've read. It explores the boundaries of true friendship and takes the necessary time to build believable relationships between characters. With its unflinching details of domestic violence it can be difficult to read at times, but I believe that's the author's intent. I devoured this book, anxious to see how the story would end and then I was when it did. The ending leaves you hanging but that's what you'd expect in the first book of a trilogy. I feel the writing is so superb and the plot so important that I'm having my teenagers read it next. I'm looking forward to reading Book 2.

ameserole's review against another edition

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3.0

Reason to Breathe is the first book within the Breathing series. For some reason, this was never on my radar until recently. I was quite surprised when I saw so many of my GR friends read this years ago and I'm just now coming across it. A bit awkward to be so late to the book party, but at least I finally arrived. I think?

I'm just going to start this wonderful review off with this is a very emotional book. Or at least that's how I felt after I read the last page. Emotionally drained and needed some very important me time to recharge. It doesn't shy away from hard to talk about topics - like abuse. So, I felt my heart strings being yanked from the very beginning until the very last word.

As for the characters, let's just say I wasn't a fan of all of them. If I could wish for certain people to not be alive anymore then I would be happy to name some of them. What some of the characters go through felt like so much because I didn't want them to not be able to pick themselves back up again. I just kept hoping for things to get better and better.

In the end, I'm drained and have no idea if I'm mentally prepared for the next book in this series. Maybe one day.

imys's review against another edition

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5.0

this book left me an emotional mess. it was just so great because of all the topics it covers and at the same time had really cute parts. it just really made me think about other people experiencing what Emma has to, and that fact made me so sad. this book will stick with me for a long long time because of that.

carlenj's review against another edition

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5.0

Both Reason to Breathe and Barely breathing kept me enranced. I read both books in two days and im not exagerating. From the moment Inopened he book I was pulled into Emma's life. I loved the characters of Sara and Evan, beautifully written, intriguing, sad, and hearbreaking. I would recommend this book to anyone.

nicrae1216's review against another edition

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5.0

Amazing!