by Lizzy Hermosilla ‘23

Jennifer Niven is no stranger to young adult literature and coming-of-age novels. She wrote a fantastic romance in her 2015 publication of “All the Bright Places,” and her newest book “Breathless” is not one to miss. College-bound Claudine Llewelyn Henry’s life turns upside down when her stable home of three is disturbed with the separation of her parents. In her small Ohio town, people talk, so she can not tell anyone, even her best friend. With this separation, her mother decides to whisk Claude away from Mary Grove, Ohio, and take a five-week vacation on a tiny island off the coast of Georgia. With her dad back in Ohio and Claude stuck on an island without cell service, she is entirely alone living on an island with the ghosts of her family.

Niven might not have outdone her best seller, “All the Bright Places,” but “Breathless” is a really good quick read that all hopeless romantics would enjoy. The plot moves fast, and it is almost impossible to put the book down. Niven does a beautiful job making the characters feel like real people with problems many people face. Many teens today understand the pain of experiencing their parent’s divorce, and how it shifts their entire life around. For Claude that pain is no different, but she is able to mature through her situation and become a better person in spite of her situation. Even when her life is up-turned once again because she finally learns the real reason for her parent’s divorce, she continues her growth through this challenge.

This book also has an interesting sub-plot that focuses on Claude’s family history that centers around the island. It is intriguing to see a history of aristocrats unfold in front of the reader’s eyes. A suicide, a fire, and other events have unraveled on that tiny island in Georgia. In no way is this book a mystery, but the tiny instance of history and an interesting family past adds even more depth to not only Claude’s character, but also Claude’s mother’s character, aswell.

This book is not only a romance about a girl who is lost in life and a boy with a past, but it also is a book about female empowerment. Claude takes control of her body, and what she wants for herself and if that means cutting her hair or losing her virginity it means just that. This book is a cliché romance, and much of the romantic plot is predictable, but still the theme of claiming one’s body shines through. The idea of an 18-year-old girl who had her life planned out and in front of her eyes everything changes with a single conversation on a tiny twin bed is not some outlandish thing that would never happen. That conversation has happened to thousands and thousands of kids in real life, too. 

Grade: B-