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The world has no air. If you want to survive, you pay to breathe. But what if you can't? And what if you think everything could be different? Three teens will leave everything they know behind in Sarah Crossan's gripping and original dystopian teen novel of danger, longing, and glimmering hope that will appeal to fans of Patrick Ness and Veronica Roth.
National Book Award Finalist Kathleen Duey called Breathe "An amazing story! Sit down. Inhale. Now, while you still can." Ever since the Switch, when the oxygen levels plummeted and most of humanity died, the survivors have been protected in glass domes full of manufactured air. Protected . . . or trapped? Or controlled? Alina's a revolutionary who believes we can save the environment. Quinn's a Premium who's never had to worry about having enough air. His best friend, Bea, is an Auxiliary who's never worried about anything but having enough air. When the three cross paths, they will change everything. Sarah Crossan's thrilling and provocative novel is about passion, about yearning for something better, and about breaking free for the very first time. The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books proclaims it an "action-packed dystopian series opener to watch out for."
“This joins the ranks of Roth’s Divergent and Wells’ Partials as a provocative, character-driven, and action-packed dystopian series opener to watch out for.”
The premise of Breathe, that population has gotten so out of control that we cut down all trees to use the land for farming to feed all those people, is an interesting one but essentially unworkable. Yes, there’s no doubt that we could be far more conservative of our natural resources but it really doesn’t make much sense that this scenario could come to pass with no indication that the worldwide scientific and health communities tried to find other ways to feed people. Also, why is it that a corporation that distributes air through scuba tanks is in total control when such tanks have been in use in today’s world for many years and come from many sources? And what on earth is “The Switch” that the author refers to so frequently? If the outer Zones of the pod contain people who are seemingly worthless to the authorities, why do they prevent them from leaving?
Clearly, much more worldbuilding information is needed but perhaps we’ll get it in the next book. In the meantime, let’s look at the characters. Bea, Alina and Quinn, along with Quinn’s father and Cain Knavery, the Pod Minister, are fairly well fleshed out—at this stage, I think Alina is my favorite because she’s by far the most interesting—but I felt very little connection to any of the secondary characters and, in truth, they don’t seem to be very important for the story. Perhaps the second book will make them more relevant and engaging.
There are ominous hints that the dreaded Love Triangle will occur but, in fact, it doesn’t really. There’s no Insta-Love either, thank heavens, since Quinn is oblivious for a long time to the feelings of one of the girls. I appreciate the author’s restraint in these relationship matters and the way she allows the boyfriend-girlfriend thing to develop without dwelling too much on all the teen angst so often prevalent in YA fiction. When you get right down to it, friendship takes precedence over weak romance and that’s quite all right with me.
The author does have a way with words and, despite what I felt were shortfalls, she managed to keep me reading. I liked the multiple points of view narration (although I really don’t like the present tense that the majority of YA authors insist on using) and there’s no question the premise, with all its flaws, is different and has a lot of potential. I hope Ms. Crossan will step up the pace and energize her characters in the second book because I will definitely be reading it.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.This was an advance reader copy of the book and I was so glad I had the chance to read over this book. Its set in the future in a very dystopian society that is having to live in large pods after Earth's inhabitants killed off first the oceans, then the trees and the oxygen levels plumeted so much that you cant exist outside the pods without air tanks. But three teenagers, Quinn; a Premium and part of the ruling class of people in the pod, Alina; part of the resistance group trying to show that life outside the pod is possible, and Bea; an auxiliary or second class citizen, who secretly is in love with Quinn, are all thrown together in a wild series of events that leave you stunned.
The locations are all unknown in the book, but the destruction and the desolation are mind blowing. Ms. Crossan left things blurry just enough that if you read this, you can almost make the pod locations anywhere you want them to be. But in doing so you also can imagine the way your area would look in this very different world. I found it chilling in its real possibilities. The chances of this being reality is so far from the truth, but after reading this book and the explanations given, you can see how it just might happen.
I have to say that this is a wonderful new series and I cant wait to see what happens next. If you like science fiction with a little romance and action, this will be a great book for you!!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.“Breathe” by, Sarah Crossan
In “Breathe” we are introduced to Alina, Quinn, and Bea who all live in a dome that protects the population from suffocating in the oxygen depleted outside world. When Bea and Quinn leave for a scheduled trip outside the dome they run into Alina who is trying to leave illegally. Quinn and Bea decide to help Alina but once outside the safety of the dome the three encounter dangers that none of them are prepared for.
I really liked this book. The idea of living in a world with little to no air is terrifying to me. Breathing is something that we don’t spend much time thinking about and I can’t imagine having to wear an oxygen tank all the time. I really felt for these three kids and I don’t know that I would have held up as well in the same situation.
“Breathe” had some great themes woven throughout it, like friendship, loyalty, and compassion. The friendship that turns to love between Quinn and Bea was really sweet to watch. I also really enjoyed seeing people who should hate each other learn to work together for the greater good. I felt like the characters were well written and I cared about what happened to them.
“Breathe” is Quinn, Bea, and Alina’s story but there are so many other characters to love in this world. Maude is a secondary character but she is one of my favorites. I found her fighting spirit and take no crap attitude extremely entertaining and I could have read much more about her. I also really loved old Watson.
I’m not sure if this book is the first in a series but I really hope to read more about what happens to everyone. I feel like all the characters in this book have many more adventures to share with us. I will happily read anything else that Sarah Crossan creates.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted May 8, 2013
Looking foward to the 2nd book
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted April 30, 2013
This book was extremely entertaining from start to finish. I found myself trying ti breath along with the charaters. Hope there will be a book 2.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted February 21, 2013
A fascinating premise by a promising author! I'm looking forward to the sequel to see what's happened with the characters and their world.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I’ve wanted to read Breathe by author Sarah Crossan since I saw the moment I saw the cover a few months back, the whole “city inside of a dome” image seemed pretty cool to me and since the terrain looked like something out of a certain World of Warcraft expansion, I knew that this novel was both a dystopia and a worthwhile read. After reading the synopsis, I could only think one thing: The Lorax. And not the children’s book, but the movie adaptation where everybody has to buy air and where there are no trees left on earth… you know the one (and if you don’t, Google it). Now while Breathe isn’t a colorful musical, it still was an entertaining read.
Breathe takes place after the Switch inside of the Pod which is basically one of the world’s last cities inside of a dome where it’s inhabitants are ruled by the Pod Minister and the rest of the Ministry. There are no trees outside the Pod, no chance of survival, no oxygen, nothing. Inside of the Pod, citizens must buy oxygen because without it (obviously) you die. After the Switch, citizens were basically broken up into two classes: the Auxiliary class and the Premium class. The first class is pretty much the poor, it’s the families who don’t have enough money to pay their air tax and are unable to participate in anything that will use up too much oxygen. The Premiums are the rich, they are able to do whatever they please with their air, in that they are able to do everything that the Auxiliary class cannot and live without much concern. If there are any citizens who are foolish enough to stand up to the Ministry they become a “terrorist” and are forced to live in the barren wasteland outside where they stand no chance of survival for a number of reasons.
It isn’t until main characters Quinn, Bea and Alina all meet the truth behind the Pod comes out. The three characters meet by chance, when Alina is trying to flee the city. Quinn and Bea come across her and help her escape into the wasteland beyond the Pod. There the three characters meet Maude Blue, a Drifter who after attacking them helps them in their search for the Grove; a safe haven where it is claimed to have free oxygen and is ruled by a rebellion. As they continue their adventure in this dystopian world, the characters find themselves facing dark truths about the Switch and the Pod.
Breathe starts with an action filled first chapter, I mean literally, it had me on the edge of my seat and definitely had me prepared for whatever awesomeness would lay ahead. However, the novel does lose its quick pacing (for a few chapters) and instead builds up the world of Breathe, I honestly preferred the world building as opposed to non-stop action and it is definitely worth while since in the novel, if you can’t imagine the world, you’re gonna have a bad time. While Crossan builds up the Breathe universe, she also gives us an idea of the character relationships and home lives. After maybe four chapters I was able to easily understand two of the three main characters’ lives.
In the novel, the three main characters do spend a lot of time together and I was able to see the contrasting of personalities done through dialogue. I could see which character was more willing to do what had to be done than the others and during the thought process, it was easy to see that Bea has a crush on Quinn and believes it isn’t reciprocated while in Quinn’s head it’s revealed that he totally likes her back. That’s some Gossip Girl type stuff going down in a dystopian future. My only real problem with Breathe was that it was hard to differentiate characters during the chapters that were in their point of views. I felt like every character had the same voice and would get confused and have to pause and think “wait! Whose POV is this?”
I would recommend Breathe to fans of thrilling sci-fi, the novel Renegade by J.A. Souders and readers who are dying for an interesting dystopian world that is highly original and fast paced.
Anonymous
Posted January 14, 2013
I enjoy dystopian books and this is one of my favorites!! I really enjoyed this book! I can wait for the sequel to come out!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Breathe isn't the best or worst dystopian I've ever read. The concept is interesting, and the plot is intriguing, but the characters are god awful. I also really did not like the ending. I realize this is going to be a series, but I felt very defeated after that ending. I was like, "wow, I just wasted how long reading this book for THAT ending?" Anyway, that being said, hardcore dystopian fans are sure to love this. As previously stated, the plot is enjoyable and the world-building is fantastic.
I'm not going to spend much time on the characters because it will just be a rant. None of the characters were very complex or interesting. None of them were well-developed. They had spontaneous growth spurts, and since it was first person POV with the three narrators listed above, feelings were told more than they were shown. Also, none of the characters were actually likable. Alina was rude and harsh, Quinn was ridiculously useless and flaky, and Bea whined constantly. Not my favorite cast.
The plot kept me reading, though, and I did enjoy it until the end. Even though I didn't like the characters, I still felt a sense of urgency with the plot. I also wanted to know what was going on with Abel, but I don't feel that was really tied up for me. No one's fate was sealed, and no questions were really answered. That bothered me. It was just a depressing ending. Yuck.
The world-building is fantastic, and I could clearly picture this world. I think that's what gave me the aforementioned sense of urgency. This world just seemed so real, it was hard not to care about the fate of it, even though I didn't care what happened to the characters. I'd say that the world-building and original idea were the two saving graces of this novel.
As I said, I would recommend this book for hardcore dystopian fans. A lot of people love it, and just because the characters bugged me doesn't mean they'll bug you. If you're unsure about it, check it out from the library. You may just find a book that you really love.
I wasn't sure what to think of this. It sounded like a different sort of dystopian world and I was afraid to have too high of hopes that this could be great. My fears weren't entirely accurate. I'm not sure if it will be the next big thing, but it's worth the read.
I think Alina was my least favorite character. She seems to make rash decisions with very little thought to the outcome. Her heart is in the right place though and I think that was made me like her at all. She truly believes in the cause. It's the details she doesn't care about.
Quinn was charming. He may have the top of the line thing going for him, but it doesn't define who he is. In fact, I think just the opposite is true. He strives to prove that he can stand on his own to feet. That it's not his father's money or position that will open doors for him. He may be slightly delusional with that thought, but it's pure. I also really loved that he is completely clueless to Bea's true feelings. I think it fits right in to the rest of his personality.
I think it's Bea who makes this story. Every girl who's liked a friend will identify with her feelings for Quinn. She struggles with them everyday while trying to remain the ever faithful friend. I love that she's in sync with what's going on around her. She knows her place in life and questions the system. It doesn't take much for her to see the truth and begin to see that what she's been taught is a lie. I think she's the driving force behind everyone's involvement.
I was impressed with background information on why there is no air and what the government is doing to keep it that way. It seems to often a story forgets to fill in the blanks. I want to know details and I got them here. I look forward to the squeal!
AngieH1
Posted November 30, 2012
A good storyline, but predictable at times.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.FuzzyCoffeeBooks
Posted November 27, 2012
3.5 Stars
What I Liked: 1) This seemed to be a new twist on the post-apocalyptic books that are out there. Since the trees and plants have been killed off, there isn't enough oxygen for people to breathe and survive outside of the pods that have been built. This was something completely new and unique to me, which always gives my imagination lots of room to run wild. 2) The Grove. The Grove is a place that you won't visit until late into the book, but it was fascinating. I am not going to tell you much about it because I want you to be able to experience it first hand like I did, but know that it is a fun place to explore, and you really get to spend time in a lot of different places. I hope that in future books we get to know more about how it was designed because it seems to be pretty ingenious. There are some puzzles to solve here, which were definitely intriguing. 3) The main characters. At first, I wasn't sure how I felt about any of them. They seemed a little flat. But as the story progressed, they opened up more and became much more interesting to me. I think because of the nature of the world they were living in, they were all so much more guarded about who they were and what they were thinking, Alina especially. But they form a neat little trio as they are traveling the Outlands.
What I Didn't Like: Hm...lets see if I can explain this in a way that makes sense outside the confines of my brain. This book reminded me of a black and white movie. Not like a classic black and white movie like Casablanca or It's A Wonderful Life that's just better in the original black and white. The kind of black and white where you genuinely feel like something is missing, where all the emotions that you want to jump off the screen feel dull. That was Breathe, for me anyway. I was desperately wanting to feel something more from the characters, and for their plight, but there was just something missing that was causing a lack of connection for me, and not just to the characters, but to the story itself.
Overall Thoughts: Pure curiosity drove this book for me. It wasn't a need to cheer on the characters, or even to see where we'd go next in the journey. But the scientific and political questions that are raised in this world stand out as the most intriguing parts of the story. Luckily, there was plenty of that to keep me interested, and have convinced me to check out the next book when it becomes available. I am hoping to see a little more relationship development between some of the characters, secondary included, because I like to know how their lives are being affected by the plot twists. But overall, Breathe has brought a new idea to the world of post-apocalyptic stories, and we'll surely see more questions than answers before the series ends.
Molli-OnceUponaPrologue
Posted November 24, 2012
"Fascinating premise, but the flat characters make caring about them difficult."
Breathe is the debut novel by author Sarah Crossan, and I have to say, I have extremely mixed emotions when it comes to the story within. This book is the first in a dystopian series or trilogy, and while ultimately, I will read the books to come, I'm still somewhat disappointed in some aspects of Breathe.
With a fascinating premise - a dying world, no air, and a domed civilization where any source of air that isn't controlled is illegal - I expected to dive right into Crossan's book. Instead, I struggled through the first half of Breathe. I think it's a lot to do with the flawed characters. Quinn is a sheltered, rich boy, and doesn't evolve beyond that for almost the entire book. Bea is, to be honest, a very weak character, the type I have trouble sympathizing with. Alina by far was my favorite character - she showed strength and determination, even in the most terrifying circumstances. I kept expecting more from these characters, but they never lived up to my hopes, and sadly, most of their actions and personalities felt like stereotypes.
However, the last third or so of Breathe is much better. The plot came together and various character's motivations became clearer, even as new questions and foundations were laid for the sequel. I wish the entire novel read as clearly as the final portion did! I'm excited enough to read the sequel, because I want to see what's in store for Alina (who again, I have to say, is my favorite), Quinn, and Bea. The latter two characters are still somewhat immature though, so I hope that they grow in the coming book/s.
Icecream18JA
Posted November 7, 2012
Ask yourself this question: what if oxygen had to be bought? Breathe by Sarah Crossan explores this question and tells a compelling story between three point of views. It also has a bit of a romance triangle, but it doesn’t drag. The guy is pretty oblivious to the girl who desperately loves him; the other girl couldn’t care less because she’s in love with another guy… so I guess it’s like a square? The story starts off with a rich privileged boy – Quinn – who is best friends with Bea, who is the girl who is in love with him. Bea has an opportunity because she is part of the elite, but doesn’t get in. Knowing she’s crushed, Quinn takes her out to go camping. They find a girl – Alina – who’s running away from the dome. Quinn and Bea decide they want to go with her because it’ll be an “adventure” and the plot begins to twist and turn from there.
I really liked this book! One thing that really got on my nerves was how confusing the point of views were. They were sometimes three pages each and I got confused after a while on who was saying what. It was hard to get to know each character individually, though the reader does receive glimpses into each characters’ thoughts. Another small point is how whiny some of the characters are. The good thing is it stops half way through the book so you’re not annoyed the whole adventure. The plot is overall terrific and the book is a fast-paced journey. This book is great for young adult/teen readers!
4 Stars
Anonymous
Posted May 12, 2013
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Posted October 23, 2012
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Posted February 8, 2013
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Posted March 11, 2013
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Overview
The world has no air. If you want to survive, you pay to breathe. But what if you can't? And what if you think everything could be different? Three teens will leave everything they know behind in Sarah Crossan's gripping and original dystopian teen novel of danger, longing, and glimmering hope that will appeal to fans of Patrick Ness and Veronica Roth.
National Book Award Finalist Kathleen Duey called Breathe "An amazing story! Sit down. Inhale. Now, while you still can." Ever ...