“I feel awful. In this moment, I miss him more than ever. But I also feel relief, a kind of deep satisfaction now that I’ve managed to complete the lie I’ve been trying to tell for weeks. I feel, for the first time since I watched Will being driven away in the ambulance, like I can breathe on dry land again.” (p. 66)
Warman, Jessica. Breathless. New York: Walker & Company. 2009.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Review:
Katie Kitrell feels that the only thing that she is truly good at is swimming. Her talent even helps her make friends at her new boarding school. But none of her new friends really know her and they don’t know about the secret that she’s keeping—or the lie that she’s told them. They don’t know about her family…about her brother. She told them a lie--an awful, terrible lie to explain why she had suddenly got sent away to boarding school. She couldn’t imagine what they would think if they knew the truth. She soon becomes part of the elite crowd, but that makes it even harder to keep her secret especially when her brother does something she had never thought him capable of…
This semiautobiographical novel is truly remarkable. The subject matter (i.e. dealing with a relative with a mental illness) is dealt with expressively, realistically, and sympathetically. The writing style is excellent and the main character relatable. A fantastic read from start to finish. This was one of the best books I’ve read this semester.