Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - Breathe and Count Back from Ten

Veronica, the protagonist in Breathe and Count Back From Ten, has hip dysplasia, as does the author. The impact of this on Veronica’s life comes through in many ways - pain, people reacting to her surgical scars, her parents being overprotective, loss of bodily autonomy, loss of “regular”life, the impact on her relationship with her sister, the hassle of regular medical appointments and the fear of further surgeries interfering with her life. Yet this wonderful YA novel is not solely about disability. Much of the plot revolves around Veronica wanting to pursue her dream of performing in a mermaid show, despite her parents’ opposition. The impact of immigration on this Peruvian-American family was another key theme as was their cultural heritage. There is also a sweet romance, a mental health storyline, another looking at sexual assault and issues of consent, plus an LGBTIQA+ storyline. This sounds like a lot but it never felt forced, nor did the story feel overstuffed since not all the themes and storylines are explored in depth. Veronica was a likeable protagonist. As a reader I wanted to cheer her on as she slowly negotiated, asserted and gained agency in her own life in a way that was sensible, safe and did not disrespect or disregard her parents. As a word nerd I found the dictionary entries at the start of each chapter a fun little bonus.

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amberinpieces's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

3.75

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rickireadss's review against another edition

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4.5

this was so freaking good!! i loved verónica SO MUCH and i felt myself relating to her a bunch. this books does a great job at exploring disability, immigration, and bodily autonomy. i think natalia does a great job at showing how people, who say they love you and want what's best for you, will treat you when you're disabled with ableism. the discussion around verónica's parents and how they treat/view her hurt my soul, but i think it was an important part of her story because it's something many disabled people face and experience.

i also think natalia did a great job with her discussions around bodily autonomy in regards to medical procedures and having control over what is happening to your body. i think many times, disabled and neurodivergent teens are overruled by their parents who "know best", but in reality, those parents are NOT the ones living in their teenagers' bodies - and i think that natalia including this in the story was very powerful.

overall, i had the BEST time with this book. i liked the whole mermaid obsession verónica has and the mermaid show was SO cool!! (i want to see one now!) i liked the little romance subplot between verónica and her new neighbor, alex. i do with it had been a little more fleshed out - i feel like they had minimal on-page interactions and those that were there seemed very deep. i wanted just a little more cute moments sprinkled in throughout. regardless, this book was PHENOMENAL, and i cannot wait to have a physical copy.

disability rep: hip dysplasia (fmc), clinical depression/depressive episodes (love interest)

⚠️: ableism, medical content, body shaming, sexual assault, sexism, emotional abuse, racism, mental illness (depression), suicidal thoughts

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emily_mh's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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? No

4.0

I have never highlighted a book like I have this one! The disability rep here spoke to me on another level. The story perfectly captured the relationship I have to my body; the disconnect, and how simultaneously my body is hugely familiar AND unfamiliar to me. I also appreciated how the book showed that ableism comes in part from disabled people “making” abled people uncomfortable, as we are “uncomfortable” reminders that humans are not meant to be “perfect”, are not designed to be, and that ALL bodies have needs. Furthermore, I loved how the story poked holes in how abled people want to “fix” us. This quote in particular spoke to that:

“And why should it matter, anyway, when so many things in nature - rivers and trees and shorelines and mountains - are free to be imperfect? No one calls a flower chueca as it bends its way toward the sky.”

There’s so much more glowing praise I could lavish on the disability rep here! It was so spot on, and I’ll be looking at the annotations I’ve made for years to come.

The key theme of the book is bodily autonomy, and how Verónica is trying to find and assert this as a disabled immigrant Latina girl. Each of her intersecting identities impact this challenge, and it is in her search that she develops so much as a character. I really loved this part of the story.

I also really liked the summery feel this novel had. It is brought out by the pools and sunbathing, sunshine and, of course, mermaids. We got so much detail regarding how being a mermaid performer works and I loved it! It gave me a whole new appreciation for that profession.

I did struggle with two things. The first is the romance between Verónica and Alex. I didn’t get their chemistry, especially as everything within their relationship seemed to move so quickly. On top of this, I just don’t think having a romance was necessary for this book. The same themes could have been explored without it, and it took time and space away from the development of these themes. The second thing I didn’t like was that Sylvester never really properly addressed Verónica’s belief that her younger sister Dani didn’t have problems, or that the ones that she did have were insignificant. I didn’t like this invalidation of Dani’s experience especially as, aside from being disabled, she would have been going through similar struggles to Verónica. I will say that I DID appreciate how Sylvester handled the glass-child narrative within this relationship, though!

Rep: Peruvian-American MC with hip dysplasia, Mexican-American LI with depression, Peruvian-American SCs, sapphic SC, Black sapphic SC, Japanese-American SC, Native American genderqueer SC

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chronicacademia's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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elyssam's review

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hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

What a joyous book about having choice in your own life and in your own body. I had this really odd feeling of wanting to cry but also being incredibly happy while reading Verónica’s story. Every character felt honest and the honesty was sometimes hard to read, but I loved it. I liked the art and the layers and the storytelling. It was all great.

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caseythereader's review

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emotional funny hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Thanks to Books Forward PR for the free copy of this book.

- BREATHE AND COUNT BACK FROM TEN is a gorgeous book. It tackles so many topics, from immigration to ableism, and never feels overstuffed.
- This book really digs in to how disabled people are often treated as if they are not the experts on their own bodies. Verónica spends so much time telling adults what she is capable of, and they continue to try to make decisions about her body without her.

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betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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

4.0

There is so much to love about this book. The characters are complex, there are a lot of great discussions about ableism and mental health, and it's really just a book about learning to be true to yourself. Learning to get the courage to stand up for what you want. Verónica's journey is definitely an emotional one, but I loved seeing her find her voice and finally stand up for herself. All of that was so well done.

Outside of Verónica's journey, I wish that her relationship with Alex would have been a little more developed. It felt a little insta-lovey, which isn't always my favorite. And while they did have a few deep conversations, I didn't feel like it got developed much outside of that.

But the whole mermaid thing was cool and awesome and I would totally read more stories about that. Definitely would recommend this book for anyone looking for a complex, emotional summer read!

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