View all 81 comments. This book was way too sad and messed up! View all 6 comments. Jun 18, Jenny - TotallybookedBlog rated it it was amazing.
First off I started reading this book and literally could not put it down - I HAD to know how it ended, so I was up until 4am devouring every moment. It was a long book and I've read a couple of the deleted scenes and really wouldn't have minded if it was even longer.
We had a chance to really get to know the characters - minor and major characters - they all worked so well together. I really did feel as if I knew these characters and cared about them. My heart was pounding at some bits and I really rallied for Emma - sometimes I would get frustrated with her but I understood why she put up with what she did - she was selfless and her relationship with Evan was just wonderful.
The interaction between these two was just beautiful. The ending!!!!!! Say no more! I am eagerly awaiting the sequel and know it will be another allnighter when it is available. Rebecca if you're reading this I can't stand the wait. Why 4.
You really need to read this book! View all 23 comments. Dec 12, Alyssa rated it did not like it Shelves: high-school , abused. I have a hard time understanding why people enjoyed this book. The quality of the writing was very poor. It got a bit better later on, but especially in the sample and the first few chapters of the book, it was just really juvenile and seemed like it had never been edited. I have read so many non-published stories that were of much higher quality and it was a bit of a struggle to connect fully with the characters and what was happening because the writing style itself was so distracting.
Aside fr I have a hard time understanding why people enjoyed this book. Aside from the writing quality, the plot and development of both the characters and story was also lacking. There just didn't seem to be much direction, and the story was kind of all over the place.
Emma was being abused, and from there, there wasn't much other direction. The relationship between Evan and Emma is cute and is probably the only reason I stuck with the story, but that was pretty much all the story had going for it. I think the rave about this story is covers the topic of abuse, which is a touchy, emotional, and relatively still unexplored theme.
I can agree with this line of reasoning to some extent: the theme is intriguing. But the execution of it could have been so much better and I just feel like the story itself was hyped up merely because of the topic it addresses rather than the actual quality of the writing and the story itself. My other problem with the story is that a lot of it just didn't make sense. There wasn't much motive behind Carol's abuse.
There seemed to be way too much hatred between the two of them just for the inconvenience of having another mouth to feed. Things would have made a lot more sense if say Emma turned out to be George's illegitimate child, so Carol hates her.
I tried to like this story but I couldn't. I'm actually not sure why I bothered reading the entirety of it but I think it was because I was just in the mood for not an exceptionally great story. View all 25 comments. Mar 13, "That's All" Ash rated it really liked it Shelves: best-heroines , consuming , favorite-moments , holy-rusted-metal-batman , i-heart , amazing , insert-curse-word-here , intense , swoonworthy-characters , wow. Seven Disney movies later… Well. Well played, Rebecca Donovan… well played.
What a great heroine! And all Emma wants is to be unnoticed. I managed to stay under the radar, skating through school without anyone truly remembering I was here. I was easily forgettable. I loved Evan! Their story begins when he contradicts her in the classroom, and for some reason, this gets Emma SO angry.
And no one gets under her skin. And slowly but surely, as the story evolves… we see these two characters begin to fall in love with each other. View all 63 comments. Sep 25, Danielle rated it did not like it Shelves: reviewed , ya. The premise itself I had no problem with — a girl struggling with abuse and falling in love — but everyone was so one-dimensional!
The entire book focuses on her waffling around about 1-whether or not she should pursue the love interest and 2-if she should report her abusive family. Oh, and apparently all the guys love her for some reasons unexplained to me.
The best friend likes boys and dressing up the main character in pink sweaters, and gets marginally upset about the abuse once in a while. The story itself was too long and drawn out, especially for the pathetic non-ending, and honestly just started to bore me to death.
The only reason I kept reading was to see if she could eventually overcome the abuse and hopefully get her life in order. Everybody is rich and fabulous, the best friend has a three-story house and I apparently needed to know the amount of spiral staircases or whatever.
View all 18 comments. It was heart wrenching, gripping and I absolutely could not put it down! I'd been waiting to read this book for what felt like forever. This was actually one of the first series I heard about when I first started reading contemporary romance.
Everyone kept telling me how amazing they were and I had a feeling I'd love them but I also knew 4. Everyone kept telling me how amazing they were and I had a feeling I'd love them but I also knew about the brutal cliffhangers so I decided to tough it out and wait 'til I could read all three books back-to-back.
So, the moment the final book was released, I was all over it. I'd been warned to read this book with tissues and Xanax. I knew to expect painful.
I knew to expect intense. But wow, the sheer cruelty in this book was just gut wrenching. From the very beginning, you can feel how trapped Emma is. With her parents no longer in the picture, she was sent to live with her aunt, uncle and two little cousins. Her aunt was cold-hearted and brutally abusive in every way - physically, verbally, and emotionally. Emma's main goal was just to keep her head down, stay invisible, and get good marks in school while she counted down the days 'til she could escape to college - away from the hurt, abuse and brutality.
She was smart, kind-hearted, and hard working. You couldn't help but desperately with she could escape. Enter Evan Mathews. Confident, gorgeous and new at school - something about him managed to unravel her He had this way about him that was hard to ignore, he saw into her, was direct about his thoughts, and utterly determined to get to know her better. And, despite her better judgment, she carefully decided to let him in despite knowing the repercussions if they were ever found out.
What was with this guy? First I didn't notice him for almost a week, and now I could avoid him Why wasn't I invisible to him like I was to everyone else? I need to stress how much of a monster her aunt was.
She might actually be one of the most purely evil characters I have ever read. The horrible things she said and the horrific things she did just appalled and sickened me. And her uncle just stood by and willfully ignored it despite knowing what was going on. Between the two of them, they personified "the bully and the bystander". Equally bad, equally hurtful, equally cruel.. I think the worst part was how her aunt's cruelty was directed solely at her. She was a good mother to her own children and while Emma knew that all she had to do to end her suffering was make one phone call, or walk into the school's psych department and utter one sentence, she also knew it would rip apart that family and take away her little cousins' mother and she was too good of a person to do that so she bore the pain, cruelty and abuse and lived in hell so that they could continue a normal life.
I don't want to let her get to me. I'm not okay with this," I said pointing to my head, "but what choice do I have? I'll deal with it. So please don't cry.
It was literally just random acts of cruelty for no other reason that one woman's hatred of another human being. Pure evil. I think every person is different. I'm not sure I personally agreed with Emma's rationalization for why she stayed but at the same time I certainly could understand and sympathize with it. The truth is what she did was incredibly brave and selfless. Too brave, too selfless perhaps But please don't think this book is all pain and sadness.
Evan was just this wonderful ray of light in her life. There was no insta-love here, but rather a quiet, slow-building love that had me smiling despite how horrible her situation was. Evan was just perfect. A gorgeous, kind hearted, endearing guy who so clearly thought the world of Emma. I couldn't help but hope that they could find a way to be together. He knew I existed. He was determined to pull me out of the shadows, and I couldn't get away from him.
He wasn't deterred by my one word answers or abrupt responses. He wasn't supposed to be paying attention to me, and I was trying, without success, to ignore him. But he was getting to me, and I think he knew it. Emma was terrified to start anything with him because of her need to keep her home life a secret but he was just so completely into her and willing to not push her to reveal more than she was willing to.
He was patient, persistent, charming and into her enough to let her set the pace and rules for their relationship - almost as if he could sense that there was a reason for the distance she kept placing between them. But I'll respect that for now. My heart was so happy for the little moments of joy they found but at the same time it was filled with dread because I knew that it would inevitably get worse before it got better. We were friends walking a ledge, a very thin ledge - and I was too caught up in my heightened awareness of his existence to realize how close the ledge was to crumbling beneath my feet.
Why could she let him in but not Evan? I mean, I understood - she didn't care about him in the same way so it didn't matter but it still hurt. A lot. I hated him on principle and I hated seeing his name on the page. And when that whole issues was resolved, I just breathed this huge sigh of relief and was so happy to see how they actually talked through their issues so functionally.
It definitely made me forgive and forget the heartache. Everything about him I just really loved him. I do have to tell you that I can't ever sit in a hospital waiting room again. Without you or Sara telling me, I know. So, even if you can't tell me the truth, don't lie. Don't defend them like it's okay. Because it's not. I won't let them do that to you again.
My heart was in my throat!!! It was brutal. And I am so beyond grateful that I have the next two book sitting here ready to go because there is absolutely no way I'm stopping now. I need to know what happens next! You should also know that while some of the scenes are definitely not easy to read but you should know that they not overly graphic. It's not that kind of book. I love Rebecca Donovan's writing style. The descriptions and flow of the story just suck you right in.
Despite the book being over pages, I read it in one sitting and was unable to put it down. Tammara Webber's quote on the cover couldn't have said it better: "When hope is a fragile thread, love is a miracle.
View all 54 comments. Oct 25, Dd rated it it was ok. I swear I felt like killing her throughout the novel. And George Lord I have rarely seen such a weak,lily-livered person.
A swift kick would have done the job. I loved Sara ,that is how best friends are supposed to be. I also admired Emily's spirit of survival. View all 14 comments. I seriously felt like I took a punch in the gut. I was so emotionally absorbed in this story; I barely had enough time to catch my breath when it just abruptly ended. WTF just happened? I knew going into this, that this was not going to end well, but I decided to pick it up anyway. However, I did purposely wait for Barely Breathing Book 2 to come out before reading this.
This put me and my fragile emotions through the wringer. I love stories that evoke all your feelings. This story had my heart aching, had me crying and even had me feeling like I was on cloud nine. Everything that makes us feel alive, this had it. Does that make any sense? Emma, Emma, Emma. You are one brave girl. Everything that happened to you in this story, I felt it. I felt the fear, the anxiety, the pain, and the heartache.
You deserved everything good that came your way. You deserved having an awesome best friend in Sara, and you definitely deserve your happiness with the very sweet, loving, and extremely persistent, Evan.
Evan has now become one of my favorite book boyfriends. I freaking LOVE him. Even after Emma consistently tells him she just wants to be friends, he never gave up just being there for her. Ultimately, he wins the girl.
Thank God! It seemed like it took forever, but man, it made it a hundred times sweeter. This book deals with abuse and the author does not hold back any punches. It was insane. The story was achingly good and extremely well written. Highly recommend for those looking for an emotional read. View all 24 comments. May 07, Emily rated it did not like it Shelves: did-not-finish , high-school-stories.
This book sat in my recommendations for a long time, so I was looking forward to starting it. Emma, the main character, is obviously in a very abusive situation at home with her aunt. I don't have Emma's experience exactly, and I would never assume anything about anyone else, but I can't imagine letting an aunt that didn't raise me and I don't care about beat on me for no reason over and over again and just taking it, as a 17 This book sat in my recommendations for a long time, so I was looking forward to starting it.
I don't have Emma's experience exactly, and I would never assume anything about anyone else, but I can't imagine letting an aunt that didn't raise me and I don't care about beat on me for no reason over and over again and just taking it, as a 17 year old. I couldn't get past the fact that Emma never fights back. According to some of the other reviews I've read, I guess this is out of some effort to protect her cousins?
You are not protecting anyone by allowing them to live with a crazy person. Also, as many reviewers have noted, her rich, daughter-of-a-judge best friend never tells her parents? That's another part that doesn't make any sense to me. I try to think about my best friend revealing this to me as a junior in high school and what I would do I couldn't get past that those things, and I don't like to read sad books just for the sake of being sad, so I had to put it down.
View all 7 comments. Oct 11, Maria Espadinha rated it really liked it. A word from her to the right authorities, and her ruthless, vicious aunt Because human souls tend to be black and white, it happens that her brutally abusive aunty was also a devoting mother.
Emma had the whole package: she was a fine athlete, a magnificent student, and, on top of that She had all it takes for a long happy life and View all 4 comments. Nov 02, PhobicPrerogative rated it it was ok Shelves: sorta-read-dnf-skipped-to-the-end. Nevertheless, even with the tragic abuse theme in the story, I found Reason to Breathe completely ridiculous and a bit unrealistic. Here you have a girl who is 'invisible' and wants to blend in, and perhaps I'm turning her into a stereotype but she's too "well-rounded" for an abusee.
If Emma really was a loner, she shouldn't even have a best bud. The reaction people have to Emma whenever she speaks up or attends a friggin' party made me roll my eyes because I did not see any 'special' thing about this girl. Schoolmates gasped, gossiped and gaped when she did something as a-m-a-z-i-n-g as look up from her books I wouldn't have been surprised if they had given her a tiara for breaking wind in public.
Emma was also one of the most frustrating and annoying characters I've ever encountered. An abused girl whose only reason for taking abuse is to protect her abuser's image with her kids? I found that utterly stupid and shady considering the only child old enough to remember what the hell happened to Mommy is not completely clueless about what Mommy does to his cousin.
Plus, her abuser almost beat her to death on a regular basis. And for Emma's best friend to not report to the authorities, even when she proclaimed how much she cared about her friend to the point of shedding tears on her behalf? As her BFF, wouldn't you rather she hated you for getting her out of an abusive home rather than "supported" her claims of "I'm fine" when she harbored bruises almost daily?
Emma, had she gone forward sooner with her story, would have had options. One of her friends' father was a judge or something along those lines, and her best friend's parents liked her very much - I'm sure she wouldn't have been dropped off at a group home if she'd spoken up.
At some point, I was convinced that the abuse factor in the book was for exaggerated dramatic effect, for entertainment purposes, rather than to get a message across that domestic abuse is a problem. If this book was meant to give a real-life abusee hope of getting out of an abusive relationship, the book missed that thoroughly, abuse being tackled poorly and shittily by the author.
Emma was also I'm sorry for her but damn! I couldn't conjure up an image of this girl, or even create a personality for her Everyone else around her seemed to have some attributes but her? She was just vacant. Was it that the abuse had turned her into an empty shell of a person, so much so that I couldn't warm to her no matter how hard I tried?
I couldn't even understand why Evan was bothering so much with her when she was so snarky and mean all the time. I was just too unsympathetic to her cause, I suppose. I ended up skipping over the last half of the book, landing on the last page only to discover that Reason to Breathe is part of a series. I found myself breathless at certain points in this book finding my own feelings jumbled in a mass of pain held in my chest. Reason to Breathe is about a young girl named Emily Emma.
She is a good student at Weslyn High earning straight A's,she is the editor for the Weslyn school paper and plays soccer,basketball and runs track for her school as well.
Emma excels at soccer which she hopes to get a scholarship for. Her father is deceased and her mother gave her up because she is ill from the sickness we know as alcoholism. Emma has been living with her Uncle his wife and their 2 young kids for 4 yrs. She is counting down the day til she leaves knowing they are too.
Emma's Best friend is Sara a tall pretty red head. In school Emma keeps to herself and only talks to Sara, but a new boy Evan Matthews comes to school and in just one day everything changes. I do not want to give away the book so i advise you to read it. It's that good.
The only thing i will say is that Emma's home life is bad it is filled with hate. We should never have to understand it Hate is just wrong. Then come tell us about it on Goodreads! View all 40 comments. Nov 25, Syndi rated it liked it.
I want to love this book to 4 stars. At the end, I am confuse instead of impress. The story of Emma is heart breaking. Her confusion, abandon by her mother, her abuse by her aunt and her growing feeling toward Evan. Miss Donovan putting so much aspect into this book so the audio book is 14 hours long. However during that 14 hours long, so many aspect that is not necessary nor supporting the grow of the plot.
Sarah I want to love this book to 4 stars. Sarah a secondary character can hold so many power of how Emma character grows. Instead Sarah is hovering the background like someone not important. I was waiting for Emma to finally break or the climax is revealed. And I wait until I got little bored. Overall the story of the book is promising.
The execution involved so many things that not supporting the story. Nov 08, Eunice rated it really liked it Shelves: contemporary , tear-jerking , ya-romance , damn-gorgeous-males , realistic-fiction , death-tragedy-suicide , young-adult , struggled.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. There were parts that totally got me swooning and there were those that made me wanna throw up the book and curse.
So here, I'll just enumerate the things I love and hate about this book. Love: 1. The plot. It was interesting. With all the struggles, abuse and loss I was curious on how Emma would survive everything.
Emma's best friend. I so love her! Even though she's the most popular girl in school I saw how much she cares and loves Emma. They we 3. They were the opposites but she's been really kind to her and it was genuine. I love that she cried when she saw Emma's bruises, I love her when she dresses Emma and run a make-over, I love her that she's gave Emma a phone just so she could check her out if she's okay.
She's a lovely character. Of course I love him! Who would not? He's the kind of guy you would really want to date. The perfect one. Everything he did was so real and genuine. Absolutely swooning. And definitely Evan's mom. I love her because she loves and cares for Emma. The last part before the ending. It was one of the happiest parts. The story is effin' long.
And I think some parts were a little irrelevant. I just don't get why Emma doesn't want to report her aunt and that she needs to protect her cousins and that it would be worse if she did that. Well, at first I understand her. She knows what it feels to not to have a parent and she really love her cousins. But as the abuse grew I totally hate that she keeps on thinking like that.
I know she's scared but That was way too much. It was really frustrating. The Drew phase. I was so annoyed at this part, when Emma dated Drew. She dated Drew but before that she cannot date Evan? This phase was a bit long that I start to consider dropping the book. I sort of don't understand the essence. Hate and Love: 1. I adore her but sometimes she's just seriously frustrating and annoying. I love her for she cares so much for her love ones.
But I hate her for being so selfless. She was a wonderful character but sometimes I don't get her decisions. The ending.
It was heartwarming and heart breaking at the same time. I don't know really if I liked how it ended. What I love about the ending was that those few paragraphs of the epilogue was able to contain a great amount of emotion, and well, it was like a sucker punch.
I get a bit teary at that part. Those paragraphs was able to cover up what Emma had been feeling throughout the story. However it was still heart breaking and disappointing. If I haven't checked if there's a sequel I would really think Emma died in the ending. I figured out the author wanted the story to be open-ended, to make the reader make their own conclusion. But I think that kind of ending does not fit for a realistic kind of novel.
I've read books and watched movies which endings are open-ended, without definite conclusion, but most of it are mystery, paranormal or super naturals. Well, that's what I think. But its a relief to know that there would be a sequel.
Looking forward for the next book. View all 11 comments. Feb 01, Rag rated it it was amazing Shelves: high-school , abused. Emma's father died and her mother is an alcoholic who abandoned her so she has to live with her uncle, aunt, and two cousins. Her auntie I'm not even sure i should call her that is a devil. She's really abusive and she hates Emma, she made that pretty clear when she hits her with anything that's within reach.
In school Emma wants nothing but to be invisible. She is. They don't notice her and she doesn't want to be noticed. She walks in a haze. S 5 'Heartbreaking' Stars What an amazing book. She just blocks everything and everyone out. When Evan the new kid he's not really "new" he've been in that school for about a week but she didn't notice him before announces his topic for the newspaper Emma can't help but get pissed with him.
She doesn't like his topic idea and he's the first person ever to get under her skin. They become friends but you can tell that they both feel more for each other than just friendship.
We were friends walking along a ledge, a very thin ledge - and I was too caught up in my heightened awareness of his existence to realize how close the ledge was to crumbling beneath my feet. I think she's just jealous of Emma. I loved the part where Evan referred to her as the devil. She was there supporting her best friend through everything. That's true friendship, when they stick by your side through good and bad. She would also make me smile. His mother is practically gushing over you.
Forget about dating - are you having a wedding you forgot to invite me to? She found it and it saved her somehow. Reason to Breath is an amazing book that will make you cry and feel. It would take you on a roller coaster ride and let me tell you that It's one hell of a ride. View all 34 comments. I am at a loss about how to review this book The book left with such a cliff hanger, so glad the second one is out- because I need to find out what happens!
Must read! Oct 01, Kellie Maddox-Ward rated it it was amazing Shelves: ya-na. WOW What a heart wrenching, extremely emotional, beautifully written novel. Emma Thomas is the star scholar. The newspaper editor. The soccor star. It was just a space where I could hide — hide from the pain, the glares and the cutting words. Why was I here? I knew the answer. I lay on my bed, attempting to divert my attention to my homework. I winced as I reached for my Trigonometry book. The aching pain in my shoulder caused the images of the horrific exchange to flash through my head.
I felt the anger rising, making me clench my jaw and grit my teeth. I took a deep breath and allowed the dull wash of nothingness to envelop me. I needed to push it out of my head, so I forced myself to concentrate on my homework. I was awoken by a soft tap at my door. I propped myself up on my elbows and tried to focus in my dark room.
He knew way too much for his six years. He walked toward the voices in the other room. If anyone were to observe this routine, they would think this was the picture perfect American family sitting down to enjoy dinner together.
The picture changed when I crept out of my room. The air became thick with discord with the crushing reminder that I existed, a blemish to their portrait. I took another deep breath and tried to convince myself I could get through this. But that was the problem. I walked slowly down the hall and into the light of the dining room. My stomach turned as I crossed the threshold.
I kept my gaze down at my hands that I twisted in anticipation. I bent down, allowing her to jump into my arms. She gave me a tight embrace around my neck. I released a breathy grunt when the pain shot up my arm.
How could she? She was four, and to her I was the older cousin she idolized, while she was my sun in this dark house. I could never blame her for the added grief her fondness for me caused. The conversation picked up and I thankfully became invisible once again.
After waiting until everyone was served, I helped myself to the chicken, peas and potatoes. I could sense that my every move was being scrutinized, so I kept my focus on my plate while I ate. Her voice raked through me, making my stomach turn. George responded with a comforting remark, attempting to re-assure her as he always did. The only acknowledgement I received was when I asked to be excused. George looked across the table with his ambivalent eyes and dryly granted my request.
I began my nightly routine of scraping plates and placing them in the dishwasher, along with scrubbing the pots and pans George used to prepare the dinner.
I waited for the voices to move into the living room before I returned to the table to finish clearing. After washing the dishes, taking out the trash and sweeping the floor, I headed back to my room. I passed by the living room with the sounds of the TV and the kids laugher in the background. I slipped by unnoticed, as usual.
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