Don't Breathe a Word by Holly Cupala
299 Pages (Paperback)
HarperTeen
January 3, 2012
Source: ARC from author
Joy Delamere is suffocating...
From asthma, which has nearly claimed her life. From her parents, who will do anything to keep that from happening. From delectably dangerous Asher, who is smothering her from the inside out.
Joy can take his words - tender words, cruel words - until the night they go too far.
Now, Joy will leave everything behind to find the one who has offered his help, a homeless boy called Creed. She will become someone else. She will learn to survive. She will breathe... if only she can get to Creed before it’s too late.
Set against the gritty backdrop of Seattle’s streets and a cast of characters with secrets of their own, Holly Cupala’s powerful new novel explores the subtleties of abuse, the meaning of love, and how far a girl will go to discover her own strength.
This novel is not only wonderfully written and a great story, but it surrounds a serious issue. Amazing and wonderful are not adjectives that fully fit this story. I enjoyed reading it and I could hardly put it down, but the books is too heartbreaking, suffocating, scary and real to be amazing or wonderful. I'm going to say something big here: Don't Breathe a Word deserves to be sitting one your self right next to Thirteen Reasons Why and Speak.
Joy is suffocating, both figuratively and literally, by her current life. While asthma threatens the livability of her life, her overprotective family takes away remaining freedom while her abusive boyfriend takes away all that's left. She needed to escape. She finds herself in the streets of Seattle, learning to survive by making friendships, staying invisible and doing whatever is necessary to do her part and stay safe. But the longer she is on the streets, the more trying situations she faces, the question comes to mind, are the streets and better than home? How far is too far?
One of my favorite things about this novel is that when it opens, Joy is already running away. The reason why she left and everything leading up to it are told through flashbacks as she tries to find her way on the streets. Bits and pieces are given until the whole picture is complete, drawing out interest and explaining why Joy feels the way she does or acts the way she does.
I feel bad even saying this, but my only complaint is that I felt the novel ended too well. I'm not on the dark side or anything and wishing doom upon everyone, but to go from such an impossible situation to everything getting better didn't come off as hopeful for me, but rather making the previous parts of the novel seem fake. Yes, it is fiction, but it all seemed so real up until that point.
But that is tiny in the scope of this novel. I definitely recommend it.
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Giveaway!
If you are not already excited for this title, which you should be, I am excited to host a great giveaway! Holly Cupala gave me a few things for you lovely people, but I have also acquired finished copy, so the ARC is going to you! Check out the rules before entering the Rafflecopter below :)
Rules:
- Must be 13 years or older to enter
- US ONLY (sorry)
- Comments are appreciated, but the form must be filled out to be entered
- Contest ends 2/3/12 at midnight EST
