Don’t Breath a Word
Author: Holly Cupala
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publication Date: Jan. 3, 2011
Pages: 320
Source: ARC received for Teen Book Scene blog tour
About the Book: 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 dangerous Asher, who is smothering her from the inside out.
Joy can take his 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 hurt of bullying, the meaning of family, and how far a girl will go to discover her own strength.
My Thoughts: I have to admit… I was kind of confused at the beginning of this book. I kept thinking, “What’s going on? What happened? Who?” Once I got a bit further in everything made more sense and I was able to get past the confusion and get in to this amazing story.
Holly’s choices and struggles really got me thinking. It’s a very gritty story. Holly is not in a good place (physically or mentally.) She mentions that as long as she is angry she doesn’t have to be afraid. The fact that those were the only two options she felt were available to her made me so sad. When she left her life behind for the streets I had to wonder… homelessness is preferable to _____________? What? What would be so bad that I would rather live on the streets? I could not even imagine how trapped Holly must have felt to go that far.
Don’t Breathe a Word highlights the fact that abuse and hurt are not just physical. It is a story of running and of growing, of learning and of becoming stronger. I may not have agreed with all of Holly’s choices but I admire the courage that she found and the strength that kept her hanging on.
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