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A review by inkstndfngrs
The Deepest Breath by Meg Grehan
3.0
First an acknowledgement to why I read this book to begin with. This, and 11 other titles were recently submitted to a local school district for reconsideration. As the local public library director, I'm serving on that reconsideration committee. Otherwise...frankly, this book would never have dropped into my hands. I don't read novels in verse. The only pro to forcing my way through this was that it was a 48 minute read (I skimmed some of the longer anxiety-riddled passages).
At it's heart, The Deepest Breath is more about a girl with anxiety who is trying to learn coping mechanisms. The crush on her fellow female classmate gets equal time in this quick read, but...really, the anxiety is never fully addressed and the focus shifts about half-way through to the crush and how scary it can be to realize you might have "like like" feelings for the same sex.
This isn't a bad book, in any way, shape, or form (being in verse aside...which is a personal preference, and I don't fault the author or the content for that choice). Stevie is a bit immature for 11, and her anxiety is never really properly addressed. Her Mom would likely resonate with a lot of parents, dealing with an anxious or autistic child.
But the real hero of this entire novel --the librarian, Susan. What a gem. I can only hope to aspire to be as kind and understanding a person as she was in this situation. Honestly, I probably would have burst out crying on this kid if I'd been in her shoes. And given her *all the books* that I have made sure are part of my collection because that *exact* scenario is exactly why I buy them.
So while I didn't *love* this book, I would still recommend it to questioning kids and parents.
At it's heart, The Deepest Breath is more about a girl with anxiety who is trying to learn coping mechanisms. The crush on her fellow female classmate gets equal time in this quick read, but...really, the anxiety is never fully addressed and the focus shifts about half-way through to the crush and how scary it can be to realize you might have "like like" feelings for the same sex.
This isn't a bad book, in any way, shape, or form (being in verse aside...which is a personal preference, and I don't fault the author or the content for that choice). Stevie is a bit immature for 11, and her anxiety is never really properly addressed. Her Mom would likely resonate with a lot of parents, dealing with an anxious or autistic child.
But the real hero of this entire novel --the librarian, Susan. What a gem. I can only hope to aspire to be as kind and understanding a person as she was in this situation. Honestly, I probably would have burst out crying on this kid if I'd been in her shoes. And given her *all the books* that I have made sure are part of my collection because that *exact* scenario is exactly why I buy them.
So while I didn't *love* this book, I would still recommend it to questioning kids and parents.