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Breathless
When Katie Kitrell is shipped off to boarding school, it doesn't take her long to become part of the It Crowd. She's smart, she's cute, and she's a swimming prodigy. What her new friends, roommate, and boyfriend don't know is that Katie has kept a secret about her past―that her schizophrenic older brother, Will, is quickly descending deeper into insanity. As her lie constantly threatens to reveal itself, it's all Katie can do to keep her head above water.
336 pages, Paperback
First published August 18, 2009
103 people are currently reading
4146 people want to read
About the author
Jessica Warman
12 books395 followersJessica Warman is the author of Breathless, which received three starred reviews and was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, and Where the Truth Lies. The idea for Between came from an incident in her childhood, when a local boy went missing after a party on a yacht (he was eventually found, alive).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 480 reviews
August 19, 2012
Raw, realistic and subject matters out of the norm, from the jock christian boy refusing to have sex to the psychotically insane brother who kills cats without really thinking of the consequences.
Katie, the main character, is the flower that rose from the pot of dirt. Her family, once poor, is now well off, she's good looking, good at swimming and destined for an Ivy league school.
Breathless doesnt have a central plot to summarize with, but if i had to, I'd go with the fact that Katie gets sent to a boarding school after her brother attempts suicide in the streets of her own neighbourhood.
Her brother, Will, is no doubt crazy. Crazy in the fact that he thinks the world is out to get him... and to be honest I felt sorry for him. What's great about Will though, is that he's accurate. Jessica Warman has done a great job at detailing the downward spiral of mental illness and has perfectly portrayed the paranoia, the up and down mood spirals and the explanations which excuse their own behaviour.
Then there's the characters we're introduced to at the boarding school. Mazzie, of whom I especially Loved, a total intimadating Asian who obviously has no confidence in herself, and yet utterly crazy with her own problems at the same time. Then there's the flirty sports teacher (is it just me, or did every school have this?), the jocks, the outright it b*tch who everyone wants to be best friends with, the popular christian boy who refuses to have sex but is ready for err other things...
I think what struck me most about this book, is that it wasnt perfect, but everything made sense. I kinda dug how everything didnt work out with a silver lining, but at the end of the day life goes on, and no matter what happened it wasnt the end all or be all of life. If I had one thing to pick on, it'd be the epilogue. I loathe them, but on a scale of 1-10 it wasnt the worst.
Katie, the main character, is the flower that rose from the pot of dirt. Her family, once poor, is now well off, she's good looking, good at swimming and destined for an Ivy league school.
Breathless doesnt have a central plot to summarize with, but if i had to, I'd go with the fact that Katie gets sent to a boarding school after her brother attempts suicide in the streets of her own neighbourhood.
Her brother, Will, is no doubt crazy. Crazy in the fact that he thinks the world is out to get him... and to be honest I felt sorry for him. What's great about Will though, is that he's accurate. Jessica Warman has done a great job at detailing the downward spiral of mental illness and has perfectly portrayed the paranoia, the up and down mood spirals and the explanations which excuse their own behaviour.
Then there's the characters we're introduced to at the boarding school. Mazzie, of whom I especially Loved, a total intimadating Asian who obviously has no confidence in herself, and yet utterly crazy with her own problems at the same time. Then there's the flirty sports teacher (is it just me, or did every school have this?), the jocks, the outright it b*tch who everyone wants to be best friends with, the popular christian boy who refuses to have sex but is ready for err other things...
I think what struck me most about this book, is that it wasnt perfect, but everything made sense. I kinda dug how everything didnt work out with a silver lining, but at the end of the day life goes on, and no matter what happened it wasnt the end all or be all of life. If I had one thing to pick on, it'd be the epilogue. I loathe them, but on a scale of 1-10 it wasnt the worst.
August 12, 2013
This was an okay read, but it felt longer than what it was.
It was slightly boring in the beginning, and was quite confusing throughout.
The confusion was mainly due to the time changes. One minute Katie would be in the boarding school, and the next she was back at home. There wasn't any mention on how long had passed. The only dates that were mentioned was Christmas and Halloween.
There was a few parts that focused on schizophrenia, but the majority of it was more about Katie's life at boarding school.
Those parts were quite sad, and sometime shocking, but i think they would have been so much better if they were from Will's perspective.
I didn't really like Katie. Most of the stuff she did, either didn't make sense or was annoying.
I hated how she kept on nearly cheating on Drew. I just wish she told him it wouldn't work, and moved on, instead of moaning about him, and going off with other guys.
I didn't get why, after knowing her brothers schizophrenia was drug induced, she carried on getting high and smoking with him. I didn't see why she'd want to do it when it could affect her swimming either. Smoking isn't exactly going to help you control your breathing while swimming, is it?
I didn't get along with Drew at all. It's totally fine that you have your beliefs, and you want to wait until you're married to have sex.. but don't try forcing your beliefs on someone else.
Don't tell people they're going to hell because they're not christian, or try and force them to go to church with you. It's annoying.
The ending was good, and i liked how we get to see what their lives are like 10 years on, though i would have liked to know more about Mazzies mum.
I would have also liked to know why under the sink was so popular...
Overall, it was an okay book, but it was more focused on Katie's struggles with boarding school, than the struggles with her brothers schizophrenia.
It was slightly boring in the beginning, and was quite confusing throughout.
The confusion was mainly due to the time changes. One minute Katie would be in the boarding school, and the next she was back at home. There wasn't any mention on how long had passed. The only dates that were mentioned was Christmas and Halloween.
There was a few parts that focused on schizophrenia, but the majority of it was more about Katie's life at boarding school.
Those parts were quite sad, and sometime shocking, but i think they would have been so much better if they were from Will's perspective.
I didn't really like Katie. Most of the stuff she did, either didn't make sense or was annoying.
I hated how she kept on nearly cheating on Drew. I just wish she told him it wouldn't work, and moved on, instead of moaning about him, and going off with other guys.
I didn't get why, after knowing her brothers schizophrenia was drug induced, she carried on getting high and smoking with him. I didn't see why she'd want to do it when it could affect her swimming either. Smoking isn't exactly going to help you control your breathing while swimming, is it?
I didn't get along with Drew at all. It's totally fine that you have your beliefs, and you want to wait until you're married to have sex.. but don't try forcing your beliefs on someone else.
Don't tell people they're going to hell because they're not christian, or try and force them to go to church with you. It's annoying.
The ending was good, and i liked how we get to see what their lives are like 10 years on, though i would have liked to know more about Mazzies mum.
I would have also liked to know why under the sink was so popular...
Overall, it was an okay book, but it was more focused on Katie's struggles with boarding school, than the struggles with her brothers schizophrenia.
May 19, 2015
3 stars.
This book was surprisingly good! I'm not really sure what I was expecting, but this book is a raw and real portrait of mental illness and how that affects a whole family. It did not shy away from the consequences of the protagonist's brother's mental illness, which I appreciated. In many contemporary YAs (even adult books), authors shy away from exposing what real families go through when one of their own has a devastating mental illness. As Katie is shipped off to a boarding school, she also learns to navigate a world of privileged luxury and to find her space within that community. All in all, this was a book that I expected to be quite light, but was actually really hard-hitting. One element of the book I'd have to negatively note was the character of Drew - I couldn't believe Katie stayed with him for so long due to their (seeming) incompatibility! But other than that, well worth the read. I'm actually unsure if I'll reread this because of its hard hitting subject matter & emotions it elicits (a la the film "An Education" for me, I don't know if I could handle seeing that again just because of all the heartache that permeates the entire movie), but I'm glad I took a chance on it.
Oh and P.S. Would like to note that I love love LOVED the character of Mazzie. She was actually more fleshed out and interesting than Katie I'd say!
This book was surprisingly good! I'm not really sure what I was expecting, but this book is a raw and real portrait of mental illness and how that affects a whole family. It did not shy away from the consequences of the protagonist's brother's mental illness, which I appreciated. In many contemporary YAs (even adult books), authors shy away from exposing what real families go through when one of their own has a devastating mental illness. As Katie is shipped off to a boarding school, she also learns to navigate a world of privileged luxury and to find her space within that community. All in all, this was a book that I expected to be quite light, but was actually really hard-hitting. One element of the book I'd have to negatively note was the character of Drew - I couldn't believe Katie stayed with him for so long due to their (seeming) incompatibility! But other than that, well worth the read. I'm actually unsure if I'll reread this because of its hard hitting subject matter & emotions it elicits (a la the film "An Education" for me, I don't know if I could handle seeing that again just because of all the heartache that permeates the entire movie), but I'm glad I took a chance on it.
Oh and P.S. Would like to note that I love love LOVED the character of Mazzie. She was actually more fleshed out and interesting than Katie I'd say!
July 6, 2020
This book was different for me, but I liked it. The story was unique and I like some crazy when I read so it was good for me.
March 8, 2010
Throughout much of this book, I found myself to have mixed feelings about it. At times, I was bored and other times I was interested and other times I just wanted to smack several of the characters- but the last little bit of the book pulled everything together pretty nicely.
Will's part in this story was certainly the most emotional- the toll on his family because of his mental illness was hard to read, especially because of how young it all started for him. Watching how innocent he was despite it all made it even worse because he truly though he was protecting people and he honestly thought he was doing the right thing. This is a book that shows that while society would want to write him off- and Katie even tried to pretend he was dead while she was at boarding school for that reason- it is much harder for the family to do so, nor should they. I really felt bad for Will, particularly at the very end and everything that happened to him but I think his part of the storyline was beautifully done although Katie kept mentioning how she blamed the town for what became of her brother but apart from one incident, those reasons and events are never told which did bother me- she makes such a profound case but the evidence is never provided.
Katie was hot and cold for me- sometimes I sympathized with her and could understand her motives and other times I felt blindsided and confused. She jumped back and forth, particularly about Will- one thing happens and she still fights for him, then something else happens and she totally cuts him off. Enter another incident, and suddenly he's the only thing that matters to her. It drove me crazy and for awhile, I thought it was such a stereotypical, weak character but it isn't. Not really, at least, because I have plenty of friends who flip flop like that so much and so rapidly they could probably win an Olympic Gold. Katie is in high school, struggling to stay afloat in many areas of her life, with little support coming from home for it. By the end of the novel, I could see the profound change and development in her- the things she learned from all this and the ways she grew from it. Though some of the events seemed repetitive, cliche for these books, and even irritating, the effect it had on Katie was still clear.
Drew was a character that made me mad more than anything. Even at the end, I still thought he was really just a hypocrite, despite the good things he did. He devoted his life to God but still went overboard on trying to save everyone, having no qualms about condemning someone to Hell. It seemed like the part of the Bible about being humble missed him and I kind of feel like that particular facet of Drew was simply not done that well- his faith showed up at random times and disappeared at others.
The writing was good for the most part, though it seemed like every character licked their lips when they were either total horndogs or on the verge of telling some great piece of gossip to ruin their lives. It became very noticeable everytime a sentence was only 'He licked his lips.' It most definitely started to get to me and I would stop and just gawk at it towards the end when it kept happening, wondering why everyone seemed to have that habit but things like that always bother me in books. Warman had a few very great moments of explaining things that just made perfect sense, phrasing it on a way that was simplistic but fulfilling.
Overall, I give this one 4 stars because even though I did have some gripes about it, the ending was completely bittersweet and those always shine for me. Parts of the book did seem to drag but I do like that it covered 3 years and not just a semester or two. The changes and events that took place were not instant and rapid- they were spread out, fueled by the experience Katie earned just finishing out high school. That aspect most definitely made this story unique because she was definitely an immature idiot at the beginning of the book, starting her sophomore year, and became almost a new person by the time she graduated.
December 2, 2015
I got this book from Thriftbooks when they gave me a discount code for my birthday, I was like “hey they gave me a code I can’t miss this opportunity” and decided to buy 2 books-one of them was this one. I honestly wasn’t expecting to like it or anything and I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have started reading it but the books on my bookshelf kept falling down without this one so yeah.
Like I said, I didn’t have any high expectations or anything like that and when I started the book, I became very close to putting it down three or four times. The main character wasn’t a person you see everyday (or at least for me it was like that) and so were the people around her. I find it a bit uncomfortable at first to read about all these new people.
I didn’t put the book down though and I’m so glad I didn’t. I was able to see Katie grow up and change throughout the book and this is probably the most amazing character development I have ever seen. I don’t want to spoil anything so I’m not going to describe the whole thing but it was very realistic. She doesn’t change overnight or anything unbelievable like that.
We meet Katie when she’s 12 (if I’m not wrong) and the last time we see her, she is probably around her mid-twenties. 300 pages are normally not quite enough for us to see specific changes in a character but this one… No.
When we first learned that Drew was a very religious Christian and he often mentioned how people who are bad Christians/non-Christians were going to hell, I admit, I said “oh shoot”. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have anything against Christians or religious people, I just find it extremely hard to read a book where someone is being pressurised into doing/believing something-especially if it has to do with religion.
I also hated Estella. I know people like her and I know that you cannot escape from them no matter how hard you try because of their glorious and compelling selves. I know that it is hard to stand up for yourself when you are talking with them and I know pretty much everything else. These friendships, man, they are toxic and I don’t understand how Katie was able to handle her bitchy attitude all those years.
I loved the fact that the author didn’t forget about Katie’s family the whole time she was writing how Katie was always busy between friendship dramas and swimming practices.
“I’m not mean, I’m honest. Nobody is ever straightforward. But sometimes people need to hear the truth.”
Like I said, I didn’t have any high expectations or anything like that and when I started the book, I became very close to putting it down three or four times. The main character wasn’t a person you see everyday (or at least for me it was like that) and so were the people around her. I find it a bit uncomfortable at first to read about all these new people.
I didn’t put the book down though and I’m so glad I didn’t. I was able to see Katie grow up and change throughout the book and this is probably the most amazing character development I have ever seen. I don’t want to spoil anything so I’m not going to describe the whole thing but it was very realistic. She doesn’t change overnight or anything unbelievable like that.
We meet Katie when she’s 12 (if I’m not wrong) and the last time we see her, she is probably around her mid-twenties. 300 pages are normally not quite enough for us to see specific changes in a character but this one… No.
“Just because she isn’t timid or quiet and says what’s on her mind doesn’t make her a bitch.”
When we first learned that Drew was a very religious Christian and he often mentioned how people who are bad Christians/non-Christians were going to hell, I admit, I said “oh shoot”. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have anything against Christians or religious people, I just find it extremely hard to read a book where someone is being pressurised into doing/believing something-especially if it has to do with religion.
I also hated Estella. I know people like her and I know that you cannot escape from them no matter how hard you try because of their glorious and compelling selves. I know that it is hard to stand up for yourself when you are talking with them and I know pretty much everything else. These friendships, man, they are toxic and I don’t understand how Katie was able to handle her bitchy attitude all those years.
“It’s possible, isn’t it? That a boy could be interested in a girl for something other than sex?”
I loved the fact that the author didn’t forget about Katie’s family the whole time she was writing how Katie was always busy between friendship dramas and swimming practices.
“But I know he’ll call, no matter what shape he’s in. Even when I hate him, I love him. Even when he stops calling, I hear his voice. Will is my only brother. Without each other – without the invisible thread that binds us together, no matter how weak or frayed it becomes – we are simply drifting, all alone, without anything like a compass to know where we’re headed.”
March 19, 2015
Grade: B
Champion swimmer Katie is sent to boarding school after her older brother's latest schizophrenic episode. For the first time she's popular and has a boyfriend, Drew, though she's closest to roommate Mazzie.
Katie first person narration seemed authentic and I could read for hours at a time without a break. I like Jessica Warman's writing style. She mixes great dialogue, description and plot and BREATHLESS has great voice.
Katie was perfectly imperfect, with a good heart but not always the best judgment. She's kind, most of the time, and honest some of the time. I loved her complicated relationship with her brother as his mental health deteriorates. I adored Mazzie, my favorite character, secretive, sardonic and and loyal. The only character I truly loathed was Drew, a holy roller who thought Katie and Mazzie were going to hell for being agnostic and Buddhist respectively. He was subtly possessive and controlling, but that was never addressed. On the surface he treated Katie quite well. I kept hoping she'd kick him to the curb or he'd fall in love with another holy roller.
The entire book alluded to Mazzie's mother dying under either traumatic or mysterious circumstances, and I didn't like the way that was resolved. Aside from that, the book had closure and an epilogue, though they were somewhat weak.
An added bonus, there is some crossover of characters between BREATHLESS and Warman's WHERE THE TRUTH LIES, which takes place in another boarding school.
Themes: boarding school, mental illness, friendship, dating, partying, swimming, family
A fun read, but I doubt a memorable one.
Champion swimmer Katie is sent to boarding school after her older brother's latest schizophrenic episode. For the first time she's popular and has a boyfriend, Drew, though she's closest to roommate Mazzie.
Katie first person narration seemed authentic and I could read for hours at a time without a break. I like Jessica Warman's writing style. She mixes great dialogue, description and plot and BREATHLESS has great voice.
Katie was perfectly imperfect, with a good heart but not always the best judgment. She's kind, most of the time, and honest some of the time. I loved her complicated relationship with her brother as his mental health deteriorates. I adored Mazzie, my favorite character, secretive, sardonic and and loyal. The only character I truly loathed was Drew, a holy roller who thought Katie and Mazzie were going to hell for being agnostic and Buddhist respectively. He was subtly possessive and controlling, but that was never addressed. On the surface he treated Katie quite well. I kept hoping she'd kick him to the curb or he'd fall in love with another holy roller.
The entire book alluded to Mazzie's mother dying under either traumatic or mysterious circumstances, and I didn't like the way that was resolved. Aside from that, the book had closure and an epilogue, though they were somewhat weak.
An added bonus, there is some crossover of characters between BREATHLESS and Warman's WHERE THE TRUTH LIES, which takes place in another boarding school.
Themes: boarding school, mental illness, friendship, dating, partying, swimming, family
A fun read, but I doubt a memorable one.
February 28, 2011
This was a realistic story overall, and a good portrayal of a dysfunctional family. Katie's family is falling apart, especially her older brother. Her dad is a psychiatrist who works all the time, and her mother is an alcoholic. Her brother is diagnosed as schizophrenic, and as the story continues, his mental illness grows. Her parents send her to boarding school as a result, where she begins as a sophomore. In order to fit in, she tells everyone at the school "an untruth," and they conclude that her brother is dead. She doesn't correct them, and no one knows her secret except for her roommate Mazzie - not her boyfriend, Drew, or any of the girls in her close circle of friends. Katie is a talented swimmer, and she feels like the only place she can be herself and truly is breathe is when she is in the water. When she is a senior, things begin to fall apart and she has to deal with the consequences of her actions.
I enjoyed the book, but it felt a little long in places. I'm glad the author tried to demonstrate the results of teen actions and family dysfunction, without it feeling preachy, and I think the family connection throughout all the illness was well done. My favorite character was Mazzie, by far.
I enjoyed the book, but it felt a little long in places. I'm glad the author tried to demonstrate the results of teen actions and family dysfunction, without it feeling preachy, and I think the family connection throughout all the illness was well done. My favorite character was Mazzie, by far.
October 12, 2019
This book was hard to put down and very entertaining. The beginning is boring, like most books but when I made it past that part I loved it!
March 10, 2014
I really enjoyed this book, it contains a various amount of elements such as tone, imagery and conflict (internal and external). I really liked how the author used different types of tones for certain characters in oder to identify them. For example Katie's roommate Mazzie is very sarcastic, and because the other used that type of tone it was easy to imagine how Mazzie is or how she is talking. Tone was also part of the imagery element that the author used, because with the tone of the character it was easy for me to imagine how they are. The author also used very detailed descriptive word throughout the book, and it was easy for me to imagine the settings and the characters. Conflict another element, which all books have but the conflict of this book was interested to me because it kept me want to read more as well as the plot of this book. There was a lot of lies that Katie would tell not on purpose and I felt like I was reading a soap opera.
I recommend this book to people for like to read about teenage drama. It also has relationship things and to deal with certain things like death and having a mental brother. There somethings that we as teenagers can relate to this book. This book gives information to the reading and you have to keep it in mind because it comes throughout the book and there many lies that are told so the read knows more.
I recommend this book to people for like to read about teenage drama. It also has relationship things and to deal with certain things like death and having a mental brother. There somethings that we as teenagers can relate to this book. This book gives information to the reading and you have to keep it in mind because it comes throughout the book and there many lies that are told so the read knows more.
July 4, 2012
Waffled between bored, interested, outraged, then back again. Main character is screwed up because of her parent's poor parenting and her mental brother, but I had trouble sympathizing. Once she got into the boarding school, I started becoming more interested, until I got slapped in the face a couple of times by the author's ridiculous portrayal of virgin Christian guys. Not to say that what was portrayed in the book couldn't be true....but I've always found Christians to be either a lot more subtle or a lot more crazy in displaying their bigotry. Either way, a more nuanced approach would have been greatly appreciated since it's not like I ever really find many Christian characters in secular books.
Many of the characters had potential, but then turned flat. In the end, I simply didn't care for the main character's POV, and grew increasingly unsympathetic to her growing issues. Perhaps because her brother disappears for the majority of the story, I couldn't empathize with how messed up she got when he finally resurfaced. On the other hand, I finished the book. So...readable, but won't go back to it.
Many of the characters had potential, but then turned flat. In the end, I simply didn't care for the main character's POV, and grew increasingly unsympathetic to her growing issues. Perhaps because her brother disappears for the majority of the story, I couldn't empathize with how messed up she got when he finally resurfaced. On the other hand, I finished the book. So...readable, but won't go back to it.
December 10, 2009
This was such an uneven read for me. I didn't care for any of the characters and over the course of the entire story, never found sympathy for any of them. I thought that the time changes/years were very sporadic and made the reading sloppy for me. I felt like the book had a lot of build up for very little action, and what happens was just not exciting. I think this might be a hard sell because it requires being okay with a lot of ambiguity -- the scenes and people keep changing and there is not really a coherent story. I didn't feel like there was enough in literary merit to warrant so many subplot and ideas. For the praises I heard on this one, I was a little disappointed.
May 20, 2016
Hopelessly boring, maybe I should just quit reading YA novel set in snobbish boarding schools...
December 30, 2021
I really enjoyed this book.
This is probably my last read for 2021 and I'm okay with that.
So, in Breathless, our protagonist is Katie Kitrell. Katie is a 15 year old girl whom is sent off to a boarding school after a horrible tragedy. There, she meets Estella, Lindsey, Drew, and Mazzie.
I loved Mazzie so much. She was definitely my favorite character. She was funny, serious, and just an overall good friend to Katie.
I did cry at the end so beware.
I loved watching Katie go through her first love, first heartbreak, and so much more.
As the book progresses, Katie is a sophomore, junior, and a senior. You watch as the people around her become her family.
I highly suggest this book for an amazing, never boring, read.
This is probably my last read for 2021 and I'm okay with that.
So, in Breathless, our protagonist is Katie Kitrell. Katie is a 15 year old girl whom is sent off to a boarding school after a horrible tragedy. There, she meets Estella, Lindsey, Drew, and Mazzie.
I loved Mazzie so much. She was definitely my favorite character. She was funny, serious, and just an overall good friend to Katie.
I did cry at the end so beware.
I loved watching Katie go through her first love, first heartbreak, and so much more.
As the book progresses, Katie is a sophomore, junior, and a senior. You watch as the people around her become her family.
I highly suggest this book for an amazing, never boring, read.
September 25, 2017
This is excellent but I did cry.
August 13, 2013
(Source: Purchased on kindle from Amazon.co.uk)
15-year-old Katie hasn’t seen her brother (Will) in months, not since the beginning of his latest stint in a psych unit, but now that he’s home, they’re back to their old tricks; namely sitting on the roof of their house smoking.
Will has drug-induced schizophrenia, and every so often he comes off his meds and ends up back on the psych ward, not that this stops his from smoking weed all the time.
After Will attempts suicide, Katie’s parents decide that they should get her away from his drama, and enrol her at a boarding school where she can do what she loves most – swim.
Whilst at her new school Katie finds that she’s got other things to worry about other than Will, getting a scholarship, getting into Harvard, hanging out with her best friend Mazzie, and finding the right boy.
Will Will ever get better? Can Katie use her swimming to get somewhere in life? And is Drew the right boy for her?
This was an okay story, but I felt like the storylines didn’t mesh well together.
Katie was an interesting character who was obviously troubled by her brother and his actions. I personally found some of the things that Will did a bit disturbing, and I think Katie did too. I did feel that Katie liked to hide from her problems a lot of the time, and it seemed that things most often didn’t go her way.
As for the other characters; Will was quite disturbed, Drew liked to try and force his ideas on Katie, and Mazzie also had her problems. Every single character in this book was flawed in some way, which I guess made this more realistic.
There were three main storylines in this book – we had the storyline concerning Katie’s brother Will, the storyline of Katie at school, and also a romantic storyline. While each of these storylines was okay in its own right, I felt that they just didn’t fit together very well. We would have a chapter that focused mainly on Will, then another where Will was forgotten and Katie would go on about Drew, and then another chapter where both were forgotten in favour of something else. I’m not 100% sure why the book felt like this, but it really did feel a bit disjointed because of it.
I was also a little surprised that there wasn’t more about schizophrenia in this book. Admittedly Will’s schizophrenia was thought to be drug-induced, but schizophrenia does have genetic connotations also, and as Will had it, Katie was at risk of getting it too. That being said, if I was Katie, I would seriously not be smoking dope – you would think that she would have been told that she was at risk of getting schizophrenia too, and would have stayed away from drugs seeing as they were what triggered Will’s illness, but that point was never raised even once in this book! This was quite surprising for me, and I really think that the author dropped the ball on that front.
The ending to this one was okay, and I liked that some things were tied up, and we got a happily ever after of a kind. I did wish that the author would have told us how Mazzie’s mom died though! Very annoying to not find that out!
Overall; an okay, if disjointed YA contemporary romance novel.
6.5 out of 10.
15-year-old Katie hasn’t seen her brother (Will) in months, not since the beginning of his latest stint in a psych unit, but now that he’s home, they’re back to their old tricks; namely sitting on the roof of their house smoking.
Will has drug-induced schizophrenia, and every so often he comes off his meds and ends up back on the psych ward, not that this stops his from smoking weed all the time.
After Will attempts suicide, Katie’s parents decide that they should get her away from his drama, and enrol her at a boarding school where she can do what she loves most – swim.
Whilst at her new school Katie finds that she’s got other things to worry about other than Will, getting a scholarship, getting into Harvard, hanging out with her best friend Mazzie, and finding the right boy.
Will Will ever get better? Can Katie use her swimming to get somewhere in life? And is Drew the right boy for her?
This was an okay story, but I felt like the storylines didn’t mesh well together.
Katie was an interesting character who was obviously troubled by her brother and his actions. I personally found some of the things that Will did a bit disturbing, and I think Katie did too. I did feel that Katie liked to hide from her problems a lot of the time, and it seemed that things most often didn’t go her way.
As for the other characters; Will was quite disturbed, Drew liked to try and force his ideas on Katie, and Mazzie also had her problems. Every single character in this book was flawed in some way, which I guess made this more realistic.
There were three main storylines in this book – we had the storyline concerning Katie’s brother Will, the storyline of Katie at school, and also a romantic storyline. While each of these storylines was okay in its own right, I felt that they just didn’t fit together very well. We would have a chapter that focused mainly on Will, then another where Will was forgotten and Katie would go on about Drew, and then another chapter where both were forgotten in favour of something else. I’m not 100% sure why the book felt like this, but it really did feel a bit disjointed because of it.
I was also a little surprised that there wasn’t more about schizophrenia in this book. Admittedly Will’s schizophrenia was thought to be drug-induced, but schizophrenia does have genetic connotations also, and as Will had it, Katie was at risk of getting it too. That being said, if I was Katie, I would seriously not be smoking dope – you would think that she would have been told that she was at risk of getting schizophrenia too, and would have stayed away from drugs seeing as they were what triggered Will’s illness, but that point was never raised even once in this book! This was quite surprising for me, and I really think that the author dropped the ball on that front.
The ending to this one was okay, and I liked that some things were tied up, and we got a happily ever after of a kind. I did wish that the author would have told us how Mazzie’s mom died though! Very annoying to not find that out!
Overall; an okay, if disjointed YA contemporary romance novel.
6.5 out of 10.
August 29, 2009
Katie Kitrell's life is going down the tubes. Her brother has finally done something so bad that not even Katie can escape from it. The only thing her parents can think to do is to ship her off to some unheard of boarding school.
Once there, things don't seem to bad. Katie fits right in with the popular crowd and boy are there some cute guys there, especially Drew. Everything seems just great for Katie and how can she possible ruin that by telling them about her brother? So, she doesn't. Instead Katie decides to lie and tell everyone that he died. How hard could it be to keep that secret?
Life for Katie seems to be looking up. Cool friends, a new crush, and the only thing that's weird is her roommate. Mazzie is the weirdest person Katie has ever met but maybe there is a reason for that. Now all Katie has to do is figure out what it is.
Katie's life is perfect at boarding school but what happens when her real life intrudes? How can she continue to keep Will a secret when he has done something so unspeakably horrible it's bound to get out? And will Katie be able to salvage her new life when it does?
Breathless was a very good debut novel but nothing that really made me want to read it again. I felt like the summary was a little misleading because Katie wasn't just shipped off to boarding school for no reason, she was shipped off because Will had finally gone off the deep end. From the very beginning of the book I could just tell there was something seriously wrong with Will and I was very nervous to find out what he ended up doing that was so horrible. Well, he did many things.
Also, I didn't really like Katie much. She smoked, drank, and was very superficial. She lied about Will because she wanted people to like her and that was pretty much it. She wanted to be popular and that was all she cared about when she got to boarding school. Oh, and swimming but popularity and boys came first. I mean, at one point in the book she got so drunk that the next day she ended up puking in the gutter by the pool. That wasn't my idea of a good example that teens should read about in books.
Overall, Breathless did not leave me breathless. I have read some great reviews about it but I just didn't like it and don't think I ever will. I mean if you're looking for something to keep yourself occupied go ahead and give it a shot but it's not one that I will be rereading anytime soon.
Once there, things don't seem to bad. Katie fits right in with the popular crowd and boy are there some cute guys there, especially Drew. Everything seems just great for Katie and how can she possible ruin that by telling them about her brother? So, she doesn't. Instead Katie decides to lie and tell everyone that he died. How hard could it be to keep that secret?
Life for Katie seems to be looking up. Cool friends, a new crush, and the only thing that's weird is her roommate. Mazzie is the weirdest person Katie has ever met but maybe there is a reason for that. Now all Katie has to do is figure out what it is.
Katie's life is perfect at boarding school but what happens when her real life intrudes? How can she continue to keep Will a secret when he has done something so unspeakably horrible it's bound to get out? And will Katie be able to salvage her new life when it does?
Breathless was a very good debut novel but nothing that really made me want to read it again. I felt like the summary was a little misleading because Katie wasn't just shipped off to boarding school for no reason, she was shipped off because Will had finally gone off the deep end. From the very beginning of the book I could just tell there was something seriously wrong with Will and I was very nervous to find out what he ended up doing that was so horrible. Well, he did many things.
Also, I didn't really like Katie much. She smoked, drank, and was very superficial. She lied about Will because she wanted people to like her and that was pretty much it. She wanted to be popular and that was all she cared about when she got to boarding school. Oh, and swimming but popularity and boys came first. I mean, at one point in the book she got so drunk that the next day she ended up puking in the gutter by the pool. That wasn't my idea of a good example that teens should read about in books.
Overall, Breathless did not leave me breathless. I have read some great reviews about it but I just didn't like it and don't think I ever will. I mean if you're looking for something to keep yourself occupied go ahead and give it a shot but it's not one that I will be rereading anytime soon.
December 31, 2024
I absolutly loved this book, from the first page to the last. i started reading this book at eight pm, and i finished it at about 2 in the morning. I loved how the author made sure there weren't any unnecessary characters; everyone mentioned was there for a reason. My favorite character was Drew. Funny, beautiful Drew. He made the book soo much better with those comments of his like in his car when he declared, "Katie, I'm ready for you to start giving me blow jobs" or when Katie tried to reassure him that Eddie was just a friend and he said, "I can spot gays from a mile away". I died laughing. the author did a good job of making it so she doesn't get in to Yale and chooses to go to Harvard with Drew. Them staying friends even ten years later was the icing on the cake.
I loved the relationship Katie had with Mazzie. They could insult eachother for hours but it was all in good spirit. i wish we knew how her mother died though. I liked how Mazzie knew all of Katie's secrets, even though she claimed to hate her. she saw Will's antics for himslef, but still chose to not to judge. They were roomates the entire time and that made their bond stronger.
I liked how fast this book moved. most authors have to write two or three books to be able to describe high school, but this author did all four years(plus ten years later)in one book, with lots of detail.
Most of all, i loved Katie's relationship with Will. even though he was crazy the entire story it was never his fault. the drugs, the hateful teachers and neighbors, the drunk and barely there parents drove him over the edge. But Katie was always there, being his partner in crime. She never resented him, just wished he was better. with him being in and out of different youth facilities, she always had swimming to count on. 10 Stars!!!
I loved the relationship Katie had with Mazzie. They could insult eachother for hours but it was all in good spirit. i wish we knew how her mother died though. I liked how Mazzie knew all of Katie's secrets, even though she claimed to hate her. she saw Will's antics for himslef, but still chose to not to judge. They were roomates the entire time and that made their bond stronger.
I liked how fast this book moved. most authors have to write two or three books to be able to describe high school, but this author did all four years(plus ten years later)in one book, with lots of detail.
Most of all, i loved Katie's relationship with Will. even though he was crazy the entire story it was never his fault. the drugs, the hateful teachers and neighbors, the drunk and barely there parents drove him over the edge. But Katie was always there, being his partner in crime. She never resented him, just wished he was better. with him being in and out of different youth facilities, she always had swimming to count on. 10 Stars!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 10, 2009
This elegantly written story chronicles the high school years of Katie Kitrell, a swimming prodigy who is sent away to boarding school when her schizophrenic brother, Will, becomes violent. At first she resents her parents, but soon she is relieved to be a part of a world that doesn't know about Will and his outbursts. It's not long before she is telling people he is dead. Shedding her past and embracing new friends, and even a new boyfriend, Katie finds herself keeping up in the competitive reality that exists in the pool, the classroom, and the social scene. But Katie can't hide from who she is, and the choices she makes, whatever her reasons, have repercussions. Breathless is a beautiful novel, with so many delicate layers to sift through - it's the sort of book that stays on your mind.
April 3, 2012
In this story, a girl has a brother who is insane so her wealthy parents send her to a boarding school where she makes friends. The book is not really that much about her brother--It is more about the girl growing up and finding her place in life.
One thing: I think the author should have revealed Mazzie's big secret. It is a book so it is supposed to be full of twists and turns and suprises. I kept trying to guess what the big secret was and then I knew she was about to reveal it--what a letdown.
One thing: I think the author should have revealed Mazzie's big secret. It is a book so it is supposed to be full of twists and turns and suprises. I kept trying to guess what the big secret was and then I knew she was about to reveal it--what a letdown.
September 22, 2015
So at first I literally just pulled this book off the shelf at the library because I had nothing to read. I had no idea how much I would love it. As I was reading the book, i was so into it that without realizing it, I was comparing real people and events to those in the book. I admit, Breathless did have its flaws, but I would still rate it five stars without a doubt.
March 20, 2014
This book was kind of hard to comprehend in some spots, but otherwise it was very well written and the author did a very good job of picking and choosing what she all wanted to put in this book.
November 17, 2012
Well... um... I'm finished.
This book was beautiful. So beautiful. Not what I was expecting and not the type of book that I normally read but it was so real and powerful and honest and lovely. I don't really know any other way of describing it, and I don't even want to go over the plot like I usually do in my reviews. It doesn't matter what kind of books you normally read, you should read this.
So I'm not going to talk about the plot, but I can tell you that everything in it was perfect and nothing was disappointing unless it was meant to be. What I am going to do is show you some quotes of the passages that struck me the most. There are a lot.
Firstly, when Katie and Mazzie become friends (without saying it):
'Things aren't the same after I find Mazzie under the sink. A few days later, when I'm almost asleep, she says, "Tell me why you lied about your brother."
Most people would ask, instead of giving an order, but as I'm learning, Mazzie isn't most people.
So even though I know she could tell everyone, and probably ruin everything I have going for me at Woodsdale, I tell her. I tell her everything. When I'm finished, she says, "Oh. So you're a freak."
If it came from anybody else, I'd be offended by the label. But hearing Mazzie say it, along with the fact that she's finally willing to TALK [italics but goodreads won't let me do italics :(] to me, gives me a strange sense of relief and satisfaction. "Yeah."
"And a liar."
"Yeah, I guess I am. Mazzie, why were you under the sink?"
"You know," she continues, and I can HEAR her smiling above me, "I could tell there was something different about you, Katie. I've tried so hard to hate you.... You're really annoying, you know?"
"Thank you."
"You and Lindsey and Estella hanging around together all the time, talking about swimming and boys ans swimming and boys and everyone following the three of you around like your farts smell like hot fudge... it just makes me want to barf."
"What were you doing under the sink?"
"But I've been thinking that I should probably come out with you sometimes... I think I'm going to be stuck here, so I should probably make some friends. Okay?"
Can she hear me smiling now? "Mazzie, you'll have to come to parties. You'll have to talk about swimming and boys and you'll have to... you know, TALK to people."
"I know that. I'm not stupid." She pauses. "Now, Katie, when I talk to people, should I tell them your secret? Or is that just between us?"
"That's funny. I don't know, should I mention where you like to spend your study halls?"
"Hmmm." She pretends to think about it. "You know what? I changed my mind. I do hate you, Katie."
"I hate you too, Mazzie."
She sighs. "Good night, freak."
"Good night, loser." ' -pg. 91-92
I love all of the conversations between Katie and Marcie, SO MUCH SUBTEXT I CAN'T HANDLE THE MAGNIFICENCE. I love their whole relationship and how it develops; they are really like sisters.
The next quote might seem slightly random, but it spoke to me because I'm an agnostic too:
'The whole God situation with Drew makes me more than a little uncomfortable. He's just so GENUINE about the whole thing. I've been to church with him a couple of times, and it's starting to irritate me that Drew--who seems to have had an easy life with lots of friends and love and NOTHING to make him question whether or not there is a God--is so devout. Will always says that agnosticism is the only true religion, and most of the time I think he's right. After everything I've seen from this town and the people in it, after how they treated Will and our family, and what happened to Will because of them, I can't imagine feeling anything BUT doubt about something as big as God. It's a great idea, and I hope it's all true... but that's the best I can do for now.' -pg. 120-121
Next topic, when Mazzie's nightmares come up in conversation after Katie asks about her mom:
'She's quiet for a minute. Then she says, "Do you ever have nightmares?"
I shake my head. "I usually have dreams. About what things were like before we moved to Hillsburg."
"I have nightmares."
"I know you do." I pause. "You know--you aren't easy to live with sometimes, Mazzie."
She stares at me. For a second, I'm afraid she's going to reach out and punch me. "I'm not easy to live with? Katie... imagine how hard it is to live with me sometimes. Then imagine what it would be like if you could never get away from me. Imagine if you were stuck inside my head all the time, even when I'm sleeping at night and all I can think about is my mother. I KNOW I'm not easy to live with, Katie. I live with myself every second, every day." ' -pg. 135
After Katie's grandpa dies:
'Both my parents are only children. With Effie gone--my mom tells me he had an aneurysm that killed him instantly, as he lay on the beach--it's only the four of us now: my mom and the Ghost, Will and me. Even though I rarely saw my grandpa, knowing that he's gone makes me terrified in a way that goes beyond my FEELINGS for Effie. I FEEL like my family is connected now by a series of quickly disintegrating threads. I FEEL like it would take almost nothing for the whole thing to fall apart.' -pg. 156
And now we move on to one of the only parts in the book that made me tear up for real. After Will goes crazier and turns the gun on their father, this was the paragraph-ish that made me cry:
'Will gives up the loaded gun to the police, who put him in handcuffs so tight that he yelps. As they're taking him out of the house, I run past him toward my father and put my arms around my daddy and sob into his beating chest while he holds me, then my mother with her arms around both of us, holding on to each other, Will staring as all the neighbors venture onto their porches to watch...' -pg. 162
It seems to be something about the word "daddy" I think. For some reason. I know that every time I read "The Railway Children" by E. Nesbit I cry at the same part, when Bobbie is hugging their father near the end and screaming "my daddy, my daddy". But that is slightly irrelevant.
Now for more Mazzie, yay! When she and Katie returned to school from their horrific weekend at Katie's house, and Drew was mad at Katie for taking Mazzie instead of him:
' "I can't believe what a jerk you're being," Mazzie interrupts, staring at us both.
Drew stares at her. His jaws drops. "Are you talking about me?"
"No, I'm talking about your mother. Of course I'm talking about you. You're GIRLFRIEND has to pack up and leave without any notice because her grandpa died, and she has a weekend that, let me tell you, was not pleasant in any sense of the word. And you come climbing in the window like a big angry giant and yell at her because she didn't think to bring you instead of me. Maybe she didn't want to bring you, Drew. Maybe she didn't think her grandpa's funeral was the right time to play get-to-know-you with her boyfriend and her family." She whips "phylogeny" at him, nicking him on the forehead. "What would Jesus think of how you're acting, Drew?" ' pg. 167
Mazzie is my favourite character I love her so much.
Later, after a lot and a lot of stuff happens, and Katie is reflecting:
'Looking around the room--at Estella, Lindsey, Mazzie, Drew--what do we all have in common that brings us together? I don't know any of them, not entirely, and maybe even they can't tell me the whole truth about themselves. Even while I watch it happening, I know I'll remember these evenings forever--the chance to be a part of something that matters, not just in one room to a few people, but to everyone. We are the ones who matter. We are going places. I am part of them. Things are happening for us.' -pg. 285
And then Estella shows her full true colours as a horrible horrible person and I almost cried but really my chest just tightened like it did at many other points in the book.
The next one is from just before graduation, as Katie is looking around her and Mazzie's room at all of the stuff they have accumulated:
'You don't forget times like those, ever, I don't think--times when you mean everything. You have to remember them exactly as they happened, because they only last for a moment or an evening. Next year someone else will take my place. Somebody else will be the best swimmer in the school. Everything will change.' -pg. 291
AND NOW, FINALLY, for the last one, from the last page of the book (not counting the satisfying epilogue). It was SUCH a perfect ending and so beautiful and if you knew what they went through and everything you'd understand better probably:
' "Okay, then," she says, "let's go."
"Okay. Let's go."
We don't move.
"I love you," I say. "You're my best friend."
Mazzie's shoulders slump. She's trying not to cry. "Yeah," she says. "I know."
"Don't forget about me."
She nods.
We stand there looking at each other. I remember the first day I met her.
"Ill miss you, Madeline Moon," I tell her.
She moves toward the door. "You won't have to. You know where to find me." ' -pg. 304
ONE OF MY FAVOURITE BOOK ENDINGS FOR SURE.
So you may or may not know that I've been in shock for the past 36 hours or so and the grief isn't going to go away any time soon, but I am so grateful for books like this because it has helped me so much today. I got so wrapped up in the story that I was transported away from reality for chapters at a time, and it was a huge relief.
This was one of the most beautiful YA fiction-but-not-fantasy books I've ever read, and I think everyone should read it.
This book was beautiful. So beautiful. Not what I was expecting and not the type of book that I normally read but it was so real and powerful and honest and lovely. I don't really know any other way of describing it, and I don't even want to go over the plot like I usually do in my reviews. It doesn't matter what kind of books you normally read, you should read this.
So I'm not going to talk about the plot, but I can tell you that everything in it was perfect and nothing was disappointing unless it was meant to be. What I am going to do is show you some quotes of the passages that struck me the most. There are a lot.
Firstly, when Katie and Mazzie become friends (without saying it):
'Things aren't the same after I find Mazzie under the sink. A few days later, when I'm almost asleep, she says, "Tell me why you lied about your brother."
Most people would ask, instead of giving an order, but as I'm learning, Mazzie isn't most people.
So even though I know she could tell everyone, and probably ruin everything I have going for me at Woodsdale, I tell her. I tell her everything. When I'm finished, she says, "Oh. So you're a freak."
If it came from anybody else, I'd be offended by the label. But hearing Mazzie say it, along with the fact that she's finally willing to TALK [italics but goodreads won't let me do italics :(] to me, gives me a strange sense of relief and satisfaction. "Yeah."
"And a liar."
"Yeah, I guess I am. Mazzie, why were you under the sink?"
"You know," she continues, and I can HEAR her smiling above me, "I could tell there was something different about you, Katie. I've tried so hard to hate you.... You're really annoying, you know?"
"Thank you."
"You and Lindsey and Estella hanging around together all the time, talking about swimming and boys ans swimming and boys and everyone following the three of you around like your farts smell like hot fudge... it just makes me want to barf."
"What were you doing under the sink?"
"But I've been thinking that I should probably come out with you sometimes... I think I'm going to be stuck here, so I should probably make some friends. Okay?"
Can she hear me smiling now? "Mazzie, you'll have to come to parties. You'll have to talk about swimming and boys and you'll have to... you know, TALK to people."
"I know that. I'm not stupid." She pauses. "Now, Katie, when I talk to people, should I tell them your secret? Or is that just between us?"
"That's funny. I don't know, should I mention where you like to spend your study halls?"
"Hmmm." She pretends to think about it. "You know what? I changed my mind. I do hate you, Katie."
"I hate you too, Mazzie."
She sighs. "Good night, freak."
"Good night, loser." ' -pg. 91-92
I love all of the conversations between Katie and Marcie, SO MUCH SUBTEXT I CAN'T HANDLE THE MAGNIFICENCE. I love their whole relationship and how it develops; they are really like sisters.
The next quote might seem slightly random, but it spoke to me because I'm an agnostic too:
'The whole God situation with Drew makes me more than a little uncomfortable. He's just so GENUINE about the whole thing. I've been to church with him a couple of times, and it's starting to irritate me that Drew--who seems to have had an easy life with lots of friends and love and NOTHING to make him question whether or not there is a God--is so devout. Will always says that agnosticism is the only true religion, and most of the time I think he's right. After everything I've seen from this town and the people in it, after how they treated Will and our family, and what happened to Will because of them, I can't imagine feeling anything BUT doubt about something as big as God. It's a great idea, and I hope it's all true... but that's the best I can do for now.' -pg. 120-121
Next topic, when Mazzie's nightmares come up in conversation after Katie asks about her mom:
'She's quiet for a minute. Then she says, "Do you ever have nightmares?"
I shake my head. "I usually have dreams. About what things were like before we moved to Hillsburg."
"I have nightmares."
"I know you do." I pause. "You know--you aren't easy to live with sometimes, Mazzie."
She stares at me. For a second, I'm afraid she's going to reach out and punch me. "I'm not easy to live with? Katie... imagine how hard it is to live with me sometimes. Then imagine what it would be like if you could never get away from me. Imagine if you were stuck inside my head all the time, even when I'm sleeping at night and all I can think about is my mother. I KNOW I'm not easy to live with, Katie. I live with myself every second, every day." ' -pg. 135
After Katie's grandpa dies:
'Both my parents are only children. With Effie gone--my mom tells me he had an aneurysm that killed him instantly, as he lay on the beach--it's only the four of us now: my mom and the Ghost, Will and me. Even though I rarely saw my grandpa, knowing that he's gone makes me terrified in a way that goes beyond my FEELINGS for Effie. I FEEL like my family is connected now by a series of quickly disintegrating threads. I FEEL like it would take almost nothing for the whole thing to fall apart.' -pg. 156
And now we move on to one of the only parts in the book that made me tear up for real. After Will goes crazier and turns the gun on their father, this was the paragraph-ish that made me cry:
'Will gives up the loaded gun to the police, who put him in handcuffs so tight that he yelps. As they're taking him out of the house, I run past him toward my father and put my arms around my daddy and sob into his beating chest while he holds me, then my mother with her arms around both of us, holding on to each other, Will staring as all the neighbors venture onto their porches to watch...' -pg. 162
It seems to be something about the word "daddy" I think. For some reason. I know that every time I read "The Railway Children" by E. Nesbit I cry at the same part, when Bobbie is hugging their father near the end and screaming "my daddy, my daddy". But that is slightly irrelevant.
Now for more Mazzie, yay! When she and Katie returned to school from their horrific weekend at Katie's house, and Drew was mad at Katie for taking Mazzie instead of him:
' "I can't believe what a jerk you're being," Mazzie interrupts, staring at us both.
Drew stares at her. His jaws drops. "Are you talking about me?"
"No, I'm talking about your mother. Of course I'm talking about you. You're GIRLFRIEND has to pack up and leave without any notice because her grandpa died, and she has a weekend that, let me tell you, was not pleasant in any sense of the word. And you come climbing in the window like a big angry giant and yell at her because she didn't think to bring you instead of me. Maybe she didn't want to bring you, Drew. Maybe she didn't think her grandpa's funeral was the right time to play get-to-know-you with her boyfriend and her family." She whips "phylogeny" at him, nicking him on the forehead. "What would Jesus think of how you're acting, Drew?" ' pg. 167
Mazzie is my favourite character I love her so much.
Later, after a lot and a lot of stuff happens, and Katie is reflecting:
'Looking around the room--at Estella, Lindsey, Mazzie, Drew--what do we all have in common that brings us together? I don't know any of them, not entirely, and maybe even they can't tell me the whole truth about themselves. Even while I watch it happening, I know I'll remember these evenings forever--the chance to be a part of something that matters, not just in one room to a few people, but to everyone. We are the ones who matter. We are going places. I am part of them. Things are happening for us.' -pg. 285
And then Estella shows her full true colours as a horrible horrible person and I almost cried but really my chest just tightened like it did at many other points in the book.
The next one is from just before graduation, as Katie is looking around her and Mazzie's room at all of the stuff they have accumulated:
'You don't forget times like those, ever, I don't think--times when you mean everything. You have to remember them exactly as they happened, because they only last for a moment or an evening. Next year someone else will take my place. Somebody else will be the best swimmer in the school. Everything will change.' -pg. 291
AND NOW, FINALLY, for the last one, from the last page of the book (not counting the satisfying epilogue). It was SUCH a perfect ending and so beautiful and if you knew what they went through and everything you'd understand better probably:
' "Okay, then," she says, "let's go."
"Okay. Let's go."
We don't move.
"I love you," I say. "You're my best friend."
Mazzie's shoulders slump. She's trying not to cry. "Yeah," she says. "I know."
"Don't forget about me."
She nods.
We stand there looking at each other. I remember the first day I met her.
"Ill miss you, Madeline Moon," I tell her.
She moves toward the door. "You won't have to. You know where to find me." ' -pg. 304
ONE OF MY FAVOURITE BOOK ENDINGS FOR SURE.
So you may or may not know that I've been in shock for the past 36 hours or so and the grief isn't going to go away any time soon, but I am so grateful for books like this because it has helped me so much today. I got so wrapped up in the story that I was transported away from reality for chapters at a time, and it was a huge relief.
This was one of the most beautiful YA fiction-but-not-fantasy books I've ever read, and I think everyone should read it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 17, 2017
Jessica Warman's Breathless is a book about a girl named Katie Kitrell. She is an amazing swimmer, smart, pretty, and what every girl wants to be, but after her schizophrenic brother tries to kill himself, her parents send her off to boarding school where she tries to fit in with the other girls. There are many things that I both loved and what I wasn't exactly a fan of. Jessica Warman is a really good writer (I read her book Between) and she is really talented at using imagery to capture scenes. She is also really good at describing her family situation and how dysfunctional it is, but the way mental illness was portrayed wasn't my favorite. Another thing I didn't really like which made it a hard book to get into was that nothing happens in the book until 40 pages in (it was a hard 40 pages to get through). Overall, this book isn't bad, but it wasn't a memorable one.
May 8, 2023
“Without each other - without the invisible thread that binds us together, no matter how weak or frayed it becomes - we are simply drifting, all alone, without anything like a compass to know where we’re headed.”
“It’s okay. You can still love him.”
“For the rest of my life, no matter what becomes of us, he will always be my big brother.”
And then this from the author’s Q&A at the back of the book:
“I wanted to show the disintegration of a family that was not due to any lack of love or effort on anyone’s part but the facts of life and how they can wear people down, and how different people choose to respond to those pressures.”
“It’s okay. You can still love him.”
“For the rest of my life, no matter what becomes of us, he will always be my big brother.”
And then this from the author’s Q&A at the back of the book:
“I wanted to show the disintegration of a family that was not due to any lack of love or effort on anyone’s part but the facts of life and how they can wear people down, and how different people choose to respond to those pressures.”
January 17, 2018
This book took me a while to get into. Some parts were very boring. I enjoyed reading about the main character's experiences at her new school and how they clashed with her outside life. Family issues made it difficult to try and make friends/blend in. Overall, it was an okay book.
August 2, 2020
This book was amazing. It was more realistic than most books I read. I would recommend to people who like romance, a little mystery. Katie is showed as a teenager. Not some fake perfect life teenager. A teenager with struggles and fire. Loved it!
April 18, 2018
I liked this book because it was about a girl having her own personal problems and how she gets through it.
June 23, 2015
I almost added the similar-appearing Lurlene McDaniel book to Goodreads by mistake. Wonh.
What I liked most about this one was its upfront handling of feelings coming from a painful personal history, and how difficult it is to move on from. Having pain in where you come from is treated here like it is its own conflict, as you try to move on with your life. Katie's home life, and her bond with her mentally ill brother, is established in the beginning before she's sent to a boarding school, and we have a good sense of what's difficult for her here. I really liked that the plot didn't just whisk her away from her past and set her up with a new life. Katie has to go back and forth all the time, and deal with her real life on top of her school life, and figure out which is more truthful. It was all really relatable and a really strong backbone for the book. I dog-eared basically every page that draws some conclusion about these feelings.
Katie's friends at school are well-chosen characters. Estella the unlikable queen bee that you let be your friend anyway, since it's not like you want her to be your enemy. Her needy minion Lindsey, the yin to the yang of every popular girl. Most interesting is the friendship with Katie's roommate Mazzie, based entirely on helping each other cope privately with their families' tragedies. They develop a pretty charming and cranky bond with each other that allows them to help each other a lot, which is really satisfying. (The scene on top of the washing machine is amazing.) There's a lot of cool and honest observations made about these relationships.
And Katie's relationship with her boyfriend Drew explored some interesting territory. His choices and statements throughout are mostly based in his sturdy Christianity, and Katie's uncomfortable with that from the get go, but doesn't know how to assert herself on the subject or choose differently. I thought some of those conflicts between them were really unique: struggling with his "promise to God", and the frequently-stated reason he likes her being that she's so "innocent and lost". He's otherwise a little bit of a too-perfect YA love interest, but the things that made him different were really realistic.
The backstory of Katie's family comes out a leeeeetle melodramatic and could have been reined in to feel more realistic. (Why did her brother's schizophrenia have to be "drug-induced," so she can blame bullying, and set up their family as town outcasts? I guess that is a real thing, but it feels like the author spent too much time on Wikipedia one day and came up with a scenario to support it.) And her parents are kind of cliched in the first half of the book, but they both surprised me later. There's some brave things said about the darkness of families that can't hold together.
Every once in a while there was something that stuck out of the flow, particularly that the passage of time feels weird at several points and goes too fast. And there isn't a ton of atmosphere, either at school or at home. And Katie's passion for swimming doesn't have the impact I felt it would; I was disappointed that we only see her and Drew train and hang out at the pool together the one time. Speaking of atmosphere, I'd think that would be a big one.
I also admit a little disappointment that more didn't develop with the homosexuality suspicions between the girls. The potential for that in this setting is so huge, and it's there just enough that I expected something to happen. I guess that's just a conflict I'm already a fan of and would read the heck out of in a book like this, so I thought it would have more impact on the story. I suppose in this book it might have seemed like too much going on, as by the end there's already a couple different things brought down on Katie for her to deal with judgement from. But it was an interesting ingredient with these characters, and could have been more present too.
It was interesting seeing Katie operate like a real normal teenager a lot. She indulges in a lot of irresponsible habits and ungenerous behavior, and there isn't a ton of moralizing about it. Like I was a little surprised that the author never stepped in to correct Katie's bitter judgement of her teen mom friend from home, for instance, but also those things usually go uncorrected in life, so. I think sometimes YA protagonists are such handy achievers you side with unquestioningly, and Katie bucks that if only a little bit. And she still does a pretty great job.
What I liked most about this one was its upfront handling of feelings coming from a painful personal history, and how difficult it is to move on from. Having pain in where you come from is treated here like it is its own conflict, as you try to move on with your life. Katie's home life, and her bond with her mentally ill brother, is established in the beginning before she's sent to a boarding school, and we have a good sense of what's difficult for her here. I really liked that the plot didn't just whisk her away from her past and set her up with a new life. Katie has to go back and forth all the time, and deal with her real life on top of her school life, and figure out which is more truthful. It was all really relatable and a really strong backbone for the book. I dog-eared basically every page that draws some conclusion about these feelings.
Katie's friends at school are well-chosen characters. Estella the unlikable queen bee that you let be your friend anyway, since it's not like you want her to be your enemy. Her needy minion Lindsey, the yin to the yang of every popular girl. Most interesting is the friendship with Katie's roommate Mazzie, based entirely on helping each other cope privately with their families' tragedies. They develop a pretty charming and cranky bond with each other that allows them to help each other a lot, which is really satisfying. (The scene on top of the washing machine is amazing.) There's a lot of cool and honest observations made about these relationships.
And Katie's relationship with her boyfriend Drew explored some interesting territory. His choices and statements throughout are mostly based in his sturdy Christianity, and Katie's uncomfortable with that from the get go, but doesn't know how to assert herself on the subject or choose differently. I thought some of those conflicts between them were really unique: struggling with his "promise to God", and the frequently-stated reason he likes her being that she's so "innocent and lost". He's otherwise a little bit of a too-perfect YA love interest, but the things that made him different were really realistic.
The backstory of Katie's family comes out a leeeeetle melodramatic and could have been reined in to feel more realistic. (Why did her brother's schizophrenia have to be "drug-induced," so she can blame bullying, and set up their family as town outcasts? I guess that is a real thing, but it feels like the author spent too much time on Wikipedia one day and came up with a scenario to support it.) And her parents are kind of cliched in the first half of the book, but they both surprised me later. There's some brave things said about the darkness of families that can't hold together.
Every once in a while there was something that stuck out of the flow, particularly that the passage of time feels weird at several points and goes too fast. And there isn't a ton of atmosphere, either at school or at home. And Katie's passion for swimming doesn't have the impact I felt it would; I was disappointed that we only see her and Drew train and hang out at the pool together the one time. Speaking of atmosphere, I'd think that would be a big one.
I also admit a little disappointment that more didn't develop with the homosexuality suspicions between the girls. The potential for that in this setting is so huge, and it's there just enough that I expected something to happen. I guess that's just a conflict I'm already a fan of and would read the heck out of in a book like this, so I thought it would have more impact on the story. I suppose in this book it might have seemed like too much going on, as by the end there's already a couple different things brought down on Katie for her to deal with judgement from. But it was an interesting ingredient with these characters, and could have been more present too.
It was interesting seeing Katie operate like a real normal teenager a lot. She indulges in a lot of irresponsible habits and ungenerous behavior, and there isn't a ton of moralizing about it. Like I was a little surprised that the author never stepped in to correct Katie's bitter judgement of her teen mom friend from home, for instance, but also those things usually go uncorrected in life, so. I think sometimes YA protagonists are such handy achievers you side with unquestioningly, and Katie bucks that if only a little bit. And she still does a pretty great job.
August 21, 2013
To a certain extent, I honestly don't know how I feel about this book. Part of me loved the brutal reality and honesty and part of me was just intensely overwhelmed because while I understood the actions of the characters, they were put in situations I found I had a difficult time empathizing with. I would ask myself: If this were me and my brother was criminally insane, what would I do? What kind of strength or weakness would over-take me if I had to face what Kaite had?
Most of the time, my mind just blanked…I just couldn’t put myself there.
I would actually rather not rate it but if I had to rate it, I'd give it 2 STARS but only because I found the content sad and disheartening. It’s certainly not a light read.
The story wasn't bad and I absolutely can appreciate what the author was trying to represent a realistic tragedy in an essentially Middle American Family . The breakdown of a once happy home into something shattered, broken beyond repair. Only substances and avoidance seemed to be able to alleviate the suffering of the family for brief times (alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, over working, lying) but all those coping devices created even deeper issues. The issues in the book were so tragically sad that it was almost impossible to see any happiness or goodness.
In the end, even though it was noble for Katie to stand behind her brother regardless of his condition, it still felt so cumbersome as if she’d never truly have a life of her own. The epilogue was set ten years after her graduation but it was so short that I couldn’t really imagine much beyond the sadness of Katie’s life and how her final few weeks at the academy ended when everyone found out her secret. She obviously had a career, but no family of her own and she was still very much tied to her brother. She had some of her friends from high school but the relationships would have changed and the descriptions were a bit vague and short so I didn’t get a sense that her life had really improved much.
This book wasn’t about redemption. It was about growing up, acceptance and the things you can’t change. Sometimes, there really is no happy ending… This was one of those stories that held a conclusion with some attempts at a happy undertone but wasn’t really a happy ending. It was a kind of harsh, sad reality met with determined acceptance. I admit I was a little choked up toward the end. I wanted something truly good to happen, something genuine and I didn’t really get that which just left the depressing sadness.
Katie and Mazzie’s unique and quirky friendship was developed quite well and I really loved their dynamic. It was as if they were kindred spirits and while most people wouldn’t understand their relationship and bond, it was actually kind of amazing to read about such a close friendship that garnered so much loyalty. It was the one truly heartening element in this story. And, perhaps, the only reason a reader might be able to suffer through all the agony of the rest of it.
Katie and Drew’s relationship was important but it wasn’t real.
As much as they cared about each other, they were so different that their relationship never really appeared to be more than a kind of extremely sweet friendship despite the obvious pushes beyond friendship borders (they may not have had sex but that didn’t stop them from everything else in between). maybe, that was the author’s way to show a little bit of the light at the end of the tunnel after so much sadness.
The other relationships with Estella and Lindsey were all so superficial to begin with that there was no question those wouldn’t remain intact. And, really, who would want Estella for a friend. Definitely more of an enemy that you’d always have to watch out for.
At the conclusion of it all, there was just too much that still felt damning and while I appreciate the reality the author tried to create, it all just felt too devastating. While Kaite’s father may have given up smoking, what about her mother and her alcoholism? Her brother was still institutionalized and their world just seemed so fragile all the way to the end.
Most of the time, my mind just blanked…I just couldn’t put myself there.
I would actually rather not rate it but if I had to rate it, I'd give it 2 STARS but only because I found the content sad and disheartening. It’s certainly not a light read.
The story wasn't bad and I absolutely can appreciate what the author was trying to represent a realistic tragedy in an essentially Middle American Family . The breakdown of a once happy home into something shattered, broken beyond repair. Only substances and avoidance seemed to be able to alleviate the suffering of the family for brief times (alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, over working, lying) but all those coping devices created even deeper issues. The issues in the book were so tragically sad that it was almost impossible to see any happiness or goodness.
In the end, even though it was noble for Katie to stand behind her brother regardless of his condition, it still felt so cumbersome as if she’d never truly have a life of her own. The epilogue was set ten years after her graduation but it was so short that I couldn’t really imagine much beyond the sadness of Katie’s life and how her final few weeks at the academy ended when everyone found out her secret. She obviously had a career, but no family of her own and she was still very much tied to her brother. She had some of her friends from high school but the relationships would have changed and the descriptions were a bit vague and short so I didn’t get a sense that her life had really improved much.
This book wasn’t about redemption. It was about growing up, acceptance and the things you can’t change. Sometimes, there really is no happy ending… This was one of those stories that held a conclusion with some attempts at a happy undertone but wasn’t really a happy ending. It was a kind of harsh, sad reality met with determined acceptance. I admit I was a little choked up toward the end. I wanted something truly good to happen, something genuine and I didn’t really get that which just left the depressing sadness.
Katie and Mazzie’s unique and quirky friendship was developed quite well and I really loved their dynamic. It was as if they were kindred spirits and while most people wouldn’t understand their relationship and bond, it was actually kind of amazing to read about such a close friendship that garnered so much loyalty. It was the one truly heartening element in this story. And, perhaps, the only reason a reader might be able to suffer through all the agony of the rest of it.
Katie and Drew’s relationship was important but it wasn’t real.
As much as they cared about each other, they were so different that their relationship never really appeared to be more than a kind of extremely sweet friendship despite the obvious pushes beyond friendship borders (they may not have had sex but that didn’t stop them from everything else in between). maybe, that was the author’s way to show a little bit of the light at the end of the tunnel after so much sadness.
The other relationships with Estella and Lindsey were all so superficial to begin with that there was no question those wouldn’t remain intact. And, really, who would want Estella for a friend. Definitely more of an enemy that you’d always have to watch out for.
At the conclusion of it all, there was just too much that still felt damning and while I appreciate the reality the author tried to create, it all just felt too devastating. While Kaite’s father may have given up smoking, what about her mother and her alcoholism? Her brother was still institutionalized and their world just seemed so fragile all the way to the end.
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