Brief Summary: At the beginning of the summer before College, Claudine (Claude) Henry discovers that her parents are getting divorced and that she will be spending the summer with her Mother on a remote island off the coast of Georgia. Shortly after arriving on the island, Claude meets Jeremiah (Miah) Crew; a handsome young trail guide with a troubled past and an interest in photography. Claude and Miah quickly dive into a whirlwind relationship full of midnight adventures, ghost stories, new experiences, and secret-telling. Since they both leave at the end of the summer, Claude and Miah are not going to fall in love... Jennifer Niven is one of my favourite young adult authors. Niven is best known for her award-winning novel All the Bright Places; recently adapted into a Netflix film starring Elle Fanning and Justice Smith. Breathless is loosely based off the real-life love story between Niven and her husband Justin Conway. My Thoughts on the Book: Breathless deals with a wide array of themes including love and loss, family, heartbreak, isolation and loneliness, escape, and identity. Even though Breathless is loosely based on real-life people and events, it is considered a work of fiction. Breathless falls into the teen/ young adult, bildungsroman (a story of growing up), and romance genres. I thought that this book was slow to start because, in the beginning, Claude is dealing with a new family dynamic, a new setting, and lots of new people. I thought that the book became quite addicting around the half-way point; when Claude and Miah's feelings for each other grow stronger. Since this story is based off real-life events, it felt realistic in comparison to other young adult love stories that are purely fiction. I also thought that Claude was a likeable character and her experiences were easy to relate to; for example, struggling with divorce and other big changes, managing new and old relationships, growing up, and experiencing "firsts". I loved the picturesque setting where the majority of Breathless takes place (described as a remote yet beautiful island off the coast of Georgia); it had me wanting to head to the beach asap. Niven provides lovely descriptions of the island in Breathless because it is based on the real-life island where she met her now husband (Justin Conway). The plot tackled relevant but challenging topics including loss, self-worth, suicide, and mental health. But, even though the plot deals with such somber topics, Claude is constantly trying to regain her footings and find peace amid her negative situation by writing and sharing her feelings with her family and friends. Without spoiling anything, I didn't really agree with how the book ended. It would have been nice to at least have an epilogue describing Claude and Miah's life/ lives a few years into the future. I was also hoping for an epilogue relating Claude and Miah's fictional story to the story of their real-life counterparts (Jennifer Niven and her husband Justin Conway). Summing Up: Overall, I enjoyed reading Breathless by Jennifer Niven and would definitely recommend it to other readers. Even though I don't think that Breathless is as good as All the Bright Places, I still think that it is a fun summer read ideal for teens or young adults who enjoy romance novels. Rating: 8/ 10 Q&A with Author Jennifer Niven:I got to do a Breathless Q&A with Jennifer Niven for The Nerd Daily! This is the first Q&A that I have ever done; I am so excited that it was with one of my favourite authors.
Click here to go to Q&A or paste the following URL into your browser: https://www.thenerddaily.com/jennifer-niven-author-interview/
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February 2024
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