Breathless

”You have to feel it. You have to feel it even if you think it's going to kill you.”

I realise that if I want to write out thoughtful reviews that I should take the time to gather my thoughts but I can't stop thinking about this book and I needed to write it all down immediately so this review will be a look into my brain. Beware, it is scrambled.

I absolutely loved All The Bright Places so I had high hopes going into this and I am so happy that I wasn't disappointed.

This was so refreshingly real. It was like reading a past self on paper.

This book was about life and the curveballs it throws at us. It's about growing up and the fears that come with it. It's about that first love and how earth shattering it can be.

This healed my heart and broke it over again.

I would like to believe that Claude and Miah are very happy together now after a few years have passed. Right person, wrong time.

Much like All The Bright Places, this book will be living in my head for a long time.

”When it's with the right person, you feel invincible and seen and at home, no matter where you are in the world.”

~

note: i definitely didn't mention all the things i needed to with this book but i am autism and have adhd so i needed to write this immediately otherwise my head was going to explode

What an emotional rollercoaster this book was! This was such a good read. It felt wholesome and I felt very connected to the main character while reading. Breathless is a YA novel about two teens who find themselves on the same island one summer. These characters both have had life events that brought them to the island, and they end up finding each other and start to make peace with their pasts. I loved the setting of this book. It's set on an island off the coast of Georgia, and I appreciated the nod to all things southern. Everything from the mossy live oak trees to the need for insect repellant to the noisy cicadas of summertime, it was all described beautifully. This was a coming of age story centered around our main female character, Claude- short for Claudine. At 18, she is discovering so much about herself, her friendship, her sexuality, and her family. There were moments where I could reminisce on my angsty teen years, especially in her relationship with her mother. This story touches on family trials, the importance of friendship, and first loves. I took off one star because I simply wanted more closure for the two main characters. I was so invested in their journeys, and I wanted so much more for them. As a reader I hope they both got what they were searching for, but I wanted to know for sure. There are some things that could be triggering so check the warnings or DM me if you can't find any. Amazon says 14+ but personally I feel like there were themes that were more mature so I'm going to say 16-18+. There was a lot of focus on sex and while it wasn't graphic or “on page,” I still feel like it would be a little too mature for 14.

3.5 rounding up. I think this book will definitely find its reader. A teenage coming-of-age romance that encompasses all the light and dark of firsts, featuring a MC that learns and grows in a realistic way.