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readingwithtemperance's review against another edition
emotional
informative
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
As someone born and raised in Florida I really enjoyed this book! All of the references, Florida Man jokes, mermaids, and manatees made me so happy.
This book covered a wide range of topics such as: disability (hip dysplasia), bodily autonomy, and immigration. I think the author handled each of these with so much care. I actually learned so much about hip dysplasia!
There were a few things about this book that I hated. Those things being the copious amounts of ableism and slut shaming. People really need to mind their own business.
The author challenged both of these when they came up though which I thoroughly appreciated!
I thought that the Mermaid Cove aspect was so cool! I loved hearing about the performances and all of the training it takes to be a mermaid.
Verónica and her sister had such a realistic dynamic. I loved their bickering and the way they kept secrets for eachother. Strict parents create sneaky kids!
This book covered a wide range of topics such as: disability (hip dysplasia), bodily autonomy, and immigration. I think the author handled each of these with so much care. I actually learned so much about hip dysplasia!
There were a few things about this book that I hated. Those things being the copious amounts of ableism and slut shaming. People really need to mind their own business.
The author challenged both of these when they came up though which I thoroughly appreciated!
I thought that the Mermaid Cove aspect was so cool! I loved hearing about the performances and all of the training it takes to be a mermaid.
Verónica and her sister had such a realistic dynamic. I loved their bickering and the way they kept secrets for eachother. Strict parents create sneaky kids!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, and Medical content
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexism, and Sexual assault
Minor: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcohol
metaphorsandmisc's review against another edition
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Medical content
Moderate: Body shaming, Mental illness, and Sexual assault
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Alcohol
zombiezami's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Biphobia, Death, Racism, Sexual content, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, and War
internationalreads's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Sexual assault, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Mental illness and Sexual content
sarahkoreilly's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
slow-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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism and Mental illness
chasingpages1's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Mental illness, and Medical content
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Minor: Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, and Alcohol
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
4.25
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Medical content
Moderate: Body shaming and Mental illness
Minor: Racism and Sexual assault
piecesofamber's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
rickireadss's review against another edition
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
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Sexual assault, and Medical content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Racism, and Sexism
Minor: Mental illness and Suicidal thoughts
emily_mh's review against another edition
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
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Cursing, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, and Medical content
Minor: Child death, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation
NB: the graphic warning for sexual assault is not because the sexual assault occurs graphically on page, but because it is a prominent theme throughout the book. Minor: suicidal ideation, heternormativity, cisnormativity