A review by cortanasreadingnook
The Art of Breathing by Cali Melle

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 Thanks to Cali Melle and Valentine Literary’s team for sending me a complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review. It doesn’t affect my thoughts in any way. 

“Luna. You rule the goddamn universe. There is no one above you.” 

 Luna Truly is living on borrowed time. Being diagnosed with a rare genetic mutation as a baby means she’s spent most of her life in the hospital or in the confines of her childhood home, strapped to tubes and machines. But through it all, boy-next-door and her childhood bestfriend Oliver Hart has been by her side. And this is their last summer together before Ollie leaves for college. Will things change? Or will Luna’s fear hold her back from truly living her life to the fullest? 

I had no idea that this was the very book I needed right now. The Art of Breathing is a very intimate and angsty story between childhood bestfriends who have shared every single waking experience together as children, up to their teenage years and reminds me a of a less tearjerker version of A Walk to Remember but is just as beautiful. Trope wise, these stories have been on shelves countless times, yet I can’t help but appreciate how we got a book for the hopeless romantics. Luna and Oliver’s story is both very dear and bittersweet in some parts that one can’t help but just need more of them. Not only does this book help destigmatize guilt, trauma, and terminal illness, but it emphasizes the importance of our choices, letting people in, and how all of us are spending our lives on borrowed time. What an eye-opening read. 
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