Breathing Underwater

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Overview

To his friends, popular and handsome sixteen-year-old Nick Andreas has led a charmed life. But the guys in Nick's anger management class know differently. So does his ex-girlfriend Caitlin. Now it looks like the only person who doesn't realize how far from perfect Nick's life has become is Nick himself.

Sent to counseling for hitting his girlfriend, Caitlin, and ordered to keep a journal, sixteen-year-old Nick recounts his relationship with Caitlin, examines his controlling behavior and anger, and describes living with his abusive father.

Editorial Reviews

AudioFile

Jon Cryer brilliantly captures the surly, sullen tone of 16-year-old Nick Andreas's first-person narration, which begins the day he arrives at court, charged with physical violence against his girlfriend. Ordered to attend Mario Ortega's Family Violence class and to keep a journal, Nick resists the former, but finds increasing solace -- and a vehicle for telling his backstory -- in his journal. Anger burns beneath the surface of Nick's memories, his daily life, his relationship with his brutal father, and his longing for love. Cryer's pacing is spot-on as he rides the roller coaster of Nick's fury, passion, lust, and yearning. He is equally successful with the voices of the mixed ethnic/racial group in Mario's class and with Mr. Andreas's Greek accent. Flinn's popular YA novel gains added depth and power through this superb audio production.

Publishers Weekly

Ever feel like you're breathing underwater, and you have to stop because you're gulping in too much fluid?" For 16-year-old Nick Andreas, these words from his violence counselor ring true. While his classmates think of him as rich, popular and perfect, they don't know the truth about his turbulent home life with an abusive father. As Flinn's first novel opens, Nick finds himself in court, facing a restraining order by his girlfriend, Caitlin. He is sentenced to six months of counseling and to write 500 words per week in a journal, explaining what happened from the day he met Caitlin to the present. Set in Miami and told in a split narrative, the novel juxtaposes Nick's journal entries about his past relationship with Caitlin alongside the current challenges of going back to school with his friends turned against him, his counseling sessions and life with his father. Gradually, he begins to recognize his own responsibility in how events played out ("Somehow, when I see it on paper, it becomes more real than when it's just in my head"). The correlation between Nick's controlling behavior and his father's abuse is subtle but effective. Caitlin's insecurity, borne of self-image problems due to a previous weight problem and her beautiful mother's badgering, is also credibly rendered. The ending scene with Nick's best friend rings a bit hollow, but as Nick's past comes to light, both the circumstances and his owning up to his actions carry heavy emotional weight in this gripping tale. Ages 13-up.

More Reviews (6) Fewer Reviews

Publishers Weekly

In what PW called "a gripping tale," a 16-year-old, who is considered perfect by his classmates, suffers a turbulent home life with an abusive father, and he himself follows the pattern of violence. Ages 13-up. (Oct.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Children's Literature

This finely crafted first novel is a realistic and poignant portrayal of a young man seemingly destined to perpetuate the cycle of domestic violence. To the outside world, Nick Andreas is a sixteen-year-old rich kid. An athlete as well as honor student, Nick is one of the coolest guys in school. And he has a one-in-million girlfriend in Caitlin. One would never think that he is a victim of his father's violent attacks. When Nick's controlling behavior causes him to slap Caitlin, Nick finds himself ostracized by his fellow students, and he has a restraining order against him. As part of his sentence, Nick is required to attend counseling and to keep a personal journal. Between the counseling sessions, the reflective journal entries and the narrative, Ms. Finn comes as close to getting inside her character's head as novelists of greater experience can hope to achieve. She pulls no punches here; the ugliness and brutality of domestic violence, as well as the sheer mountainous task of breaking the cycle, are depicted with unusual candor. In the end, Nick's self-examination provides some reason for hope, but refreshingly, there is no sugarcoated happy ending. 2001, HarperCollins, $15.95 and $15.89. Ages 13 up. Reviewer: Christopher Moning

KLIATT

The eye-catching cover of this outstanding first novel offers a helpful clue to its contents: a grotesque, rage-filled face is scrawled over the features of a handsome young man, with words scribbled on the side; the word "anger" is prominent. We first meet Nick, 16-year-old "rich kid, honor student, coolest guy around," at a Florida courthouse where he is accused of hitting his girlfriend. The judge decides on a restraining order, counseling, and classes on dealing with violence and anger. She also requires Nick to write a journal, explaining what happened between him and Caitlin. The novel consists of this journal detailing the history of their relationship, interspersed with Nick's narration of life in the present. We learn how he met his "dream girl" and gradually grew more controlling, jealous, and abusive; how his father always puts him down and uses him as a punching bag, and how his mother ran away when he was little; and how he envies his friend Tom and his happy family. We also learn about what happens in the classes on violence and anger management, and see Nick's realistically difficult journey to understanding and controlling his behavior. He finally comes to accept that he can't have Caitlin back, and that he must come to grips with his loneliness, his insecurity, and the hard-won recognition that being a man means taking responsibility for his actions. Flinn, a lawyer, based this powerful and convincing story on her experience trying domestic violence cases at the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office, according to the jacket flap. It's beautifully told, with believable and well-rounded characters, and it manages to make us feel for Nick without sympathizing with hisreprehensible actions. An important book for both young men and young women to read. Some profanities. KLIATT Codes: JS*—Exceptional book, recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2001, HarperCollins, 264p. 00-044933., $15.95. Ages 13 to 18. Reviewer: Paula Rohrlick; KLIATT , July 2001 (Vol. 35, No. 4)

VOYA

Sixteen-year-old Nick Andreas—handsome, popular, athletic—is in big trouble and deep denial. Barely sidestepping jail time, Nick is sentenced by a tough, wise judge to anger-management classes and to keeping a journal to force him to face the consequences of his violent behavior toward his lovely girlfriend, Caitlin. Nick's life is a recipe for disaster. Abandoned by his mother at five, raised by his shockingly cruel and physically punishing wealthy father, Nick thinks his luck is changing when the formerly obese, now slim Caitlin responds to his love. Their sweet romance gradually unravels, however, as Nick, threatened by Caitlin's beauty and interest in singing and in her friends, employs increasingly savage tactics to control and isolate her, all in the name of his great love for her. Flinn spares nothing in this wrenchingly realistic account of the devastating cause-and-effect, downward spiral of knee-jerk patterns learned at the fist of a brutal father, behaviors that surface despite Nick's resolve to the contrary. Caitlin's own response, born of poor body image, is to try harder to "do better" so Nick will love her. The cycle plays out to its awful conclusion when he beats her bloody. Enter the anger-management therapy sessions, run by a gifted counselor who has "been there" himself, and the growing self-knowledge that ever so slowly is revealed in Nick's journal. Thus the seeds of healing are formed. The messages in this unsparing novel of teenage love turned dangerous are powerful, on target, and almost too painful to read—exactly why this highly recommended book should be required reading for all teenagers. It is a road map to warning signs, consequences, and thevery real hope of redemption if the cycle of abuse is to be caught and treated in time. PLB . VOYA CODES: 5Q 4P J S (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Broad general YA appeal; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2001, HarperCollins, 272p, . Ages 13 to 18. Reviewer: Beth E. Andersen SOURCE: VOYA, June 2001 (Vol. 24, No. 2)

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-Nick, an upper-income, popular, straight-A high school student, not only copes with his father's verbal and physical abuse, but his own abusive behavior toward his girlfriend, Caitlin, in this novel by Alex Flinn (HarperCollins, 2001). After a court appearance, he must regularly attend group therapy sessions with members across the social strata, and keep a daily journal in order to stay out of jail. Through these experiences, his barriers and prejudices break down and he is able to begin his road to recovery on many levels. Narrator Jon Cryer brings Nick to life with his restrained anger, pain, and confusion. Listeners begin to understand the insidious logic Nick uses to justify the "slap" Caitlin "deserves," and how easily it can spiral out of control. Cryer's subtle vocal inflections with sarcasm and sense of timing, especially pauses, are superb; he allows us to hear the cruelty in a simple statement by virtue of its tone. Trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and one of the Hughes Brat Pack (Pretty in Pink), his acting skills span a wide range of roles. The voices of other characters, while integral to the story, are not memorable. This may have to do more with the story itself than the narrator's abilities to perform this task. The story never lets up; anger permeates it from beginning to end. Suitable for high school students, this could be a powerful tool when integrated with the curriculum.-Tina Hudak, St. Bernard's School, Riverdale, MD Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Nick Andreas—16, rich, smart, popular—seems to have a perfect life, and when beautiful, talented Caitlin becomes his girlfriend, it looks to outsiders as though it can't get any better. After beating up Caitlin, however, Nick receives a restraining order to stay away from her and is sentenced to complete a family violence program, as well as to keep a journal that describes his relationship with her. First-novelist Flinn combines Nick's present-day life—attempts to win back his former girlfriend, anger-management meetings, and struggles to maintain self-control—with diary entries that reveal his controlling and abusive relationship with Caitlin, his own verbal and physical abuse by his father, and low self-esteem. With such important subject matter, particularly for young males, and research by the author, there's potential here; however, it fails to meet readers' expectations. Characters, stereotypical at times, are not fully developed, and the language is often contrived. Nick's anger appears out of nowhere when he begins to date Caitlin and subsides too quickly by the end. Although it shouldn't be used for bibliotherapy, it offers a lot to think about, and many teens will probably overlook its major flaws because of the format and real-world content. (Fiction. YA)

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780064472579
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date: 10/28/2002
Edition description: Reprint
Edition number: 2
Pages: 304
Sales rank: 62,964
Age range: 14 - 17 Years
Lexile: 0510L (what's this?)
Product dimensions: 5.00 (w) x 7.12 (h) x 0.54 (d)

Meet the Author

Alex Flinn

Alex Flinn loves fairy tales and is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Beastly, a spin on Beauty and the Beast that was named a VOYA Editor's Choice and an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. Beastly is now a major motion picture starring Vanessa Hudgens! She also wrote A Kiss in Time, a modern retelling of Sleeping Beauty, and Cloaked, a humorous fairy tale mash-up, as well as Breathing Underwater, Breaking Point, Nothing to Lose, Fade to Black, and Diva. Alex lives in Miami with her family.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter One

January 5

Justice Building, Miami, Florida

I've never been in a courthouse before. But then, I've never been in such deep shit before, either. The metal detector screams when I walk through, and a security woman tries to check my pockets. I pull away.

"These what you want?" I dangle my keys an inch from her nose, getting in her face. She backs off, scowling. I throw them into her yellow plastic basket and walk through again."You were supposed to give me those first," she says.

"Sorry." I'm not.

Behind me, my father flings in his keys. "You're always sorry, Nicholas, always forgetting." Then, he looks at the security woman, and his expression becomes a smile. "Miss, if you would please be so kind to tell me where is this courtroom?" He hands her the notice for my hearing.

She smiles too, taken in like everyone else by his Armani suit and Greek accent. "Second floor." She looks at me. "Restraining order, huh?"

"Trouble with his girlfriend." My father shakes his head. "He is sixteen."

I stare forward, remembering a day on the beach, Caitlin laughing, a white hibiscus in her hair. Was it only a month ago? God, how did we get here?

My father nudges me onto the escalator, and it bears me up, high above the white-tiled floors and the metal detector, far from the security woman's gaze. We reach the top, and he shoves me through a green door.

The courtroom smells like old books and sweat. Brown benches, like church pews, face the witness stand. On the front wall, gold letters read:

Miami-Dade County, Florida

We Who Labor Here Seek Only theTruth

Fine, if you know what the truth is. Caitlin sits with her mother in the center pew. Dressed in white, her blond hair loose, she looks like something from our mythology book, a nymph, maybe, pursued by a beast. Guess I'm the beast. I pass her.

"Why are you doing this, Cat?" I whisper. "I thought we had something special."Caitlin examines her knees, but I can tell her eyes are brimming. "Yeah, Nick. I thought so too."

"Then, why--?"

"You know why." She moves to the other side of her mother.

I must stand there a second too long, because my father shoves me forward. I take a seat in the fourth row. He leaves a gap between us, opens his briefcase, and removes a thick folder. Work. I try to catch his eye. "Do you think they'll--?"

His eyes narrow in annoyance. "Nicos, this is important." He gestures at the folder.I look away. From across the room, I feel Caitlin's mom staring and Caitlin trying not to. So I concentrate, really concentrate, on making my face a mask. I'm good at that. People at school--my ex-friends, even Tom, who used to be my best friend--see me how I want them to: Nick Andreas, sixteen-year-old rich kid, honor student, coolest guy around. All fake. Only Caitlin knew the truth about the warfare with my father. She knew how humiliating it was warming the bench in football all season.

Telling her that stuff was a mistake. It's easier to fake it. When you fake it for sixteen years, it becomes part of you, something you don't think about. Maybe that's why I can hold a smile when the judge--a female judge who's sure to take Caitlin's side--enters and Caitlin takes the witness stand. I grin like an idiot as the bailiff swears Caitlin in and a lawyer in a gray polyester skirt begins asking her questions.

"State your name," the polyester lawyer says.

"Caitlin Alyssa McCourt."

Polyester points to the paper she's holding. "Is this your statement, Miss McCourt?"

Caitlin nods. "You'll have to voice your answers for the record."

"Yes."

"Is it your testimony you were involved in a relationship with the respondent, Nicholas Andreas?" Yes. "Is he here today?" Yes. "Point him out, please."

Caitlin's finger stretches toward me. I meet her eyes, try to make her remember all the good times. Bad move. Her tears, brimming before, spill out, unchecked. A tissue is offered. Polyester keeps going.

"Was the relationship a sexual one?"

Caitlin's hands twist in her lap. "Yes."

"Was the sex consensual?"

Cat says nothing, glancing at her mother. The question takes me by surprise. Does she mean to lie about that too, make it rape, what we did together? It wasn't. Polyester repeats the question, and Caitlin says, "I heard you. I was thinking." She looks at her mother again and wipes another tear. Her chin juts forward. Finally, she says, "Yes. It was consensual. Nick and I . . . I loved him."

In her seat two rows away, Mrs. McCourt shakes her head. Now, Caitlin stares forward.

"What happened December 12?" Polyester asks.

I look at the wall, my attention suddenly riveted by a palmetto bug, feelers writhing. I could kill it if I wanted.

"He hit me."

The bug slides to the floor.

Reading Group Guide

Introduction

Intelligent, popular, handsome, and wealthy, sixteen-year-old Nick Andreas is pretty much perfect -- on the outside, at least. What no one knows -- not even his best friend -- is the terror that Nick faces every time he is alone with his father. Then he and Caitlin fall in love, and Nick thinks his problems are over. Caitlin is the one person who he can confide in. But when things start to spiral out of control, Nick must face the fact that he's gotten more from his father than green eyes and money.

Questions for Discussion

At the beginning of the book, Nick thinks of his abuse of Caitlin: "It was a slap ... one slap when she pushed me way too far. I never beat her up, would never really hurt her." Does Nick believe this? Why or why not?
Why does Judge Lehman make Nick keep a journal in addition to discussing the incidents in Mario's class? Would simply keeping the journal (or simply attending class) yield the same result?
Comparing himself to Tom, Nick says Tom is a great guy, "But we'd all be great guys if we had his life." How do a person's circumstances affect the type of person they are? Apply this to the characters in the book.
At the beginning of the story, Tom has abandoned his longstanding friendship with Nick because of Nick's conduct toward Caitlin. Was this right? What, if any, are our obligations to our friends?
Conversely, should Tom have reacted sooner to Nick's conduct? What is someone's obligation to stop conduct which endangers others? Have you ever had a friend who behaved in an unacceptable way? What, if anything, did you do?
Why did Nick wish toconceal his abuse at his father's hands? Would it have been to his benefit to tell someone? How could it have been to his detriment?
Nick says to Caitlin, "We're two of a kind," and she agrees. How are Nick and Caitlin similar? How are they different?
How are our perceptions of other characters in the book (Saint, Elsa, and Leo, particularly) colored by Nick's opinions? If the book was narrated by Caitlin, how would our opinions be different? What if it was narrated by Elsa?
Does Caitlin have any qualities which make her an easy target for someone like Nick? Conversely, are their qualities which make it easier for her to leave Nick (and stay away) in the end.
Would Nick have gone as far as Leo without help? Why or why not?
In what ways are the guys in Mario's Family Violence Class different from one another? In what ways are they the same? How would Nick's friendship with these guys differ from his friendship with Tom.
At the end of the book, Nick tells Caitlin, "I loved you so much" and she responds, "I can't believe that anymore." Did Nick truly love Caitlin? Why or why not? Does she really not believe him? What makes you think so or not think so?
Nick says of his father's gift of an expensive car, "It's the best he can do." What does he mean by this? Do you think Nick will ever have a relationship with his father? Is there anything Nick could do to improve the relationship? Should he? Should Caitlin's decision about her father be any different than Nick's?
In the final scene, Tom says, "I want things like they used to be" and Nick responds, "They aren't." In what ways do you think things will be different for Nick from now on? Would Nick, given a choice, want things "like they used to be" when he was with Caitlin?
What does the title phrase Breathing Underwater mean?

About the author

When Alex Flinn was five, her mother informed her that she would be "an author" when she grew up. Never one to follow instructions, Alex studied theater and opera and became a lawyer before finally writing her first novel, Breathing Underwater. Alex lives in Miami with her husband, Gene, and their daughters, Katie and Meredith.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5

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TeensReadToo

Posted October 26, 2008

more from this reviewer

Reviewed by Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius" for TeensReadToo.com

I'm going to say this once, and then we'll all forget it--I spent 90% of this book despising the main character, Nick Andreas. Now that it's out of the way, I can go on to say that I loved BREATHING UNDERWATER and even came, in some small way, to understand--if not actually like--Nick's character.

Nick is the kind of boy that you would look at and immediately say "man, that kid has it all." But you would be wrong. Because although he has a dad who makes a ton of money, and lives in a big, fancy house, and drives a shiny red sports car, Nick doesn't have a fairytale life. His father is abusive, both mentally and physically, and he can't even remember his mother. He has a best friend, Tom, who has the kind of family he wishes he had himself, and a pretty important A-list group of schoolkids that he hangs out with. His life isn't great, but he manages--until he meets Caitlin, falls in love, and things all fall apart.

BREATHING UNDERWATER starts out with Nick appearing in court in answer to a restraining order that his once girlfriend, Caitlin McCourt, has taken out against him. The judge doesn't fall for Nick's innocent "who me?" act, and sentences him to stay away from Caitlin, both on school grounds and off; to enroll in a six month counseling class dealing with family violence and anger management; and to keep a journal, at least five hundred words per week, detailing what happened to end up where he is, and why.

A lot of the book is told through Nick's journal, and it's through the words he writes that we come to know how abuse is a cycle--and how, many times, the abuser doesn't even realize that he's become like the person he most hates. This is Nick's story, the dawning realization that everything he hates about his father is manifested in his treatment of Caitlin. How did a boy who supposedly has it all end up beating his girlfriend senseless in a parking lot? How can love be so mixed up with the need to control that it leaves you breathless and shaking, angry at the person you love the most?

Alex Flinn has written a very important story, that of family violence and the toll it takes on everyone involved. This is the kind of cycle that needs to be broken, before more young people like Nick repeat the only thing they know. A truly informative book, BREATHING UNDERWATER is not to be missed.

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous

Posted February 10, 2011

Amazing!

Alex Flinn is an amazing author. She goes from fairy tales to a serious book like Breathing Underwater. This book is so touching and deep. I know that it will reach you in some way. Unlike the fairy tales, some people can relate and I think that is what makes the book.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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-_-CR

Posted May 14, 2010

very good book

Breathing Underwater was one of the top 3 best books I've read. It has a good story line and was very exciting at times. I would definetly recommend it to kids that in the 8th grade or higher. It sometimes got a little boring but overall it was a book that I would read more than once. It was a book that I always wanted to see what would happen next.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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captainclitori

Posted April 3, 2009

Read this book foools

Breathing Underwater

You want to be angry while reading, you wanna have thoughts you never thought you would. Do you want to read a book that just makes you so emotional that you wanna cry but then also wanna rage against the machine. If you are any of those things above then read the book Breathing Underwater this book takes a deep look at the troubling world of a teenager who got into and tidbit of trouble with the law and all of his peers. You are lead through his transition of realizing how actually was to what he thought he was. So if you want to feel emotions while enjoying a good book this is for you.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous

Posted May 6, 2012

Must read

I believe that every high school studdent in the country should have to read this book. It opens their eyes and shows them that its not the qorst thing in the world when your cell phone gets taken away. They need to realize some peoples lives are actually like this

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous

Posted April 27, 2012

Amazing

I read this book and finished it in less than 2 days.... great bookabout a reallistic relationship . So happy someone made a book like this::)

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous

Posted March 31, 2012

:(

I thought this book was going to be about mermaids...
:(

1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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m_lovelylife

Posted June 11, 2010

more from this reviewer

I Also Recommend:

breathing underwater an emotional ride.

Breathing Underwater, an emotional ride. Alex Finn has mastered the art of writing this novel and filling it with emotion that the main character Nick carries on his journey to self realization. The first person point of view captures the reader and teaches lessons of life.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Larry99

Posted April 19, 2010

Abuse and redemption

How does a rich kid deal with issues of abandonment, isolation, and abuse?

Just like a poor kid: He becomes insecure and abusive in his relationships.

How does a suddenly popular high school girl deal with being abused? Not well.

Breathing Underwater is written for teens as a dramatic story about a high school student and his abusive relationship with his girlfriend. However, the realism of the writing and the realism of the protagonist's story tell the kids about what it is like to be in an abusive relationship and what can result from it.

In the classroom, it is an excellent starting point for a more detailed study of abusive relationships. The varieties of relationships, where they start, and the painful similarities of abusive relationships are all discussed in the story and provide excellent subjects for the further discussion of this all too common issue.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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George_Counts

Posted October 19, 2009

Breathing Underwater by Alex Flinn

I rarely become emotionally attached to a novel while I'm reading it. I might feel a little sad if something tragic happens to one of the characters but more often then not I don't actually care either way. That totally changed when I read Breathing Underwater, the story of rich kid that verbally and physically abuses his girlfriend just so she won't leave him. I know it hurt my brain at first too but you'll understand when you read the book. The main character of the book is Nick Andreas, the rich and popular kid. He's cool, he's fly, and he can handle any situation with ease. But when his girlfriend, Caitlin, files a restraining order against him, not only does he have to avoid the girl he truly loves with all of his heart he also has to take a class on healthy relationships and write down everything that led to the incident in a journal and turn it in to the Judge. I love the characters, they don't seem like one dimensional high school students. They seem genuine. When something bad happens to someone you feel their pain, when someone is treating everybody like crap you want to beat them up. I also like how this author isn't afraid to go over the edge with content. There is teen drinking, references to sex, fake I.D's, underage partying, heavy profanity, and physical assault. All of these qualities add that extra touch of realism. Probably my favorite part about the novel is how the author plays with your emotions, not only do you feel bad about Caitlin when she is being treated horribly, you feel bad about Nick because you understand all of the inner demons he is facing. This book is incredible and a must read for anybody who loves Teen Fiction. George M. Counts gives this book a 9 outta 10.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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m-stagen

Posted April 3, 2009

Not a bad quick read

My class was assigned Breathing Underwater to read, and I actually found it to be an interesting read. It's about a young teenager named Nick who loses friends and their trust after they find him beating his girlfriend. He is court ordered to write a journal telling everything that happened between him and his now ex-girlfriend, Cat from the beginning to the end, to help him reflect on what he has done. Up until the beating he gave Cat, he didn't really have any idea how abusive he was, the majority of it being verbal abuse.

The story has a real life feel to it, leaving off the corny movie ending and using one that would most certainly happen to someone in his shoes.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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DaddyNeverHuggedMe

Posted April 3, 2009

A good insight

I think Breathing Underwater is an amazing book and if you are a teen it is a great read and will instantly draw you in. If not in high school I would still recommend reading this book cause it gives a great insight to teen thinking. It goes between the main character writing in his journal about the past with his girlfriend and the present about his problems with his old friends and going back to high school. It's a very satisfying experience as you watch grow into himself realize that he was wrong. Other than just writing in his journal he also must attended anger management sessions. This is where you get to see into the heart of the main characters problems and see how he deals with people that he considers lower than himself.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous

Posted April 3, 2009

my opinion

Breathing underwater was in my opinion a very good book. I really enjoyed the style of writing he used write. Alex Flinn added in some journal entries into the book. I think that doing this added a lot of character into the book. Alex Flinn also wrote Fade To Black, Nothing To Lose, Breaking Point, Beastly and Diva. You were able to see what the main character was feeling and why he did what he did. In overall I felt that this was a really awesome book. I would prefer Breathing Underwater to anyone who likes conflict and drama. The only thing I didn't really like about Breathing Underwater is that you don't know much other than the information about the characters given. Maybe if there were more to the setting it would be a bit more eventful. Other than that this book is on my top ten list.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous

Posted March 26, 2012

Great book

I couldent put this book down. It was a book that was told thru his jornal about what had happend in the first place. I love it. I highly recomend!
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kayxoxo

Posted November 29, 2011

Great book overall!

The flaws in this book are the lack of strong vocabulary and it was an easy read because of it. Besides the few minor flaws this book has, I do recommend it. The message being displayed is important to all audiences, not just boyfriends. I really enjoyed the author¿s perspective on it. I suggest that many of the readers take what was being said in the book to their own lives. This was a great book overall. I really enjoyed this book. I would definitely read it again.
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Anonymous

Posted August 31, 2011

Good.

Painful memories. Worth the read.
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Anonymous

Posted August 17, 2011

I Also Recommend:

Must Read

So I sort of picked this book because of the cover, but I stayed for story. I was suprised how much i enjoyed reading the book. It was written from a different prospective. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.
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JonVyNicTa

Posted April 29, 2011

extremely recommended for eye opening experience

Breathing underwater is a great story that touches deeply on a lot of major emotions. it is written greatly from a couple different perspectives. One as if you are in Nick Andreas's place and the other as if you can travel through Nicks's memories and emotions of the past. Many teens or young adults can connect with a various amount of the characters; whether you relate to Nick and have had an abusive parent,or to caitlin and have has an abusive partner, or even to tom and have had a friend who you know abused a partner. This book can also be inspirational to some and teach them to let go of a loved one they have lost. Someone I know can relate to Nick the most to the point of having an abusive patent but also to Tom by knowing that a parent abused the other parent so really, that proves that even if it does not seem too obvious, a lot of people can relate to this story and many of the characters in it as mentioned before. As well as being able to relate to the story, Breathing Underwater should inspire many to watch out for their friends' relationships or even for their own relationships and avoid from being hurt by others. This may also, hopefully, catch the emotions and feeling of people who have or are abusing their partners and make them realize it is wrong and they should at least try to get help. All in all this is a great book and an eye opening story. If you have not already go get this book and enjoy it. Although this story might not sound too interesting to some, at least just give it a try, if you do not like it, that's your decision. But you might just end up liking it. Great job to Alex Flinn; four out of five stars.
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Anonymous

Posted April 29, 2011

Breathing Underwater

Compelling, yet fast-paced story keeps you hooked in the whole time. Its a book that you just can't put down when your done you will be wanting more. It tells a story of a 16 year old boy named Nick Andreas who has nobody to go to but his counselor Mario. Not even his father is there for him he feels alone and like he has to face the world all by himself. Nick is a handsome, rich , and one of the most popular kids at school but what his peers don't see is the problems he has at home with his dad. He falls in love with a girl named Caitlin McCourt but can not treat her right and ends up doing something so tragic that she takes him to court an puts a restraining order on him. Nick thinks having Caitlin in his life will help him with his problems, but only starts new problems that end up being worse. The story can show the consequences of dating violence. Due to the court order Nick has to take a family violence class and meets many guys just like him in the same situation. He meets a guy in the class named Leo who Nick can relate to because Leo abuses his girlfriend, Neysa. The story comes from the notebook that Nick has to write in due to the court order. He tells the real story about what really happened between him and Caitlin. Once he realizes he has a problem he tries to get his life back on track and get Caitlin back. The book is well written, the author writes it like if it really was coming from a 16 year old boy.
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Anonymous

Posted April 29, 2011

Recommended

Breathing Underwater is a dramatic series of events with his own personal life experiences. This story tells how he reacted in his relationship with Caitlin, supose love of his life. It also shows how he made an extreme change of his life in just a few months. Nick's relationship with Caitlin wasn't healthy, he was possessive and controlling. It got realy bad, to where he hit her. She took him to court and he got a restraining order. The judge gave him an order to write in a journal of 500 words per week. He had to write about what happened in his relationship with caitlin. Over the months after Nick gets a restraining order from Caitlin against him he is require to take anger management classes. He did not follow the restraining order and constantly had contact with caitlin. Nick starts to hang around one of the guys that was in his group, Leo. He begins to realize that Leo was controlling and possessive. He saw that his relationship with caitlin was the same way. He wanted to change because he was a horrible person. I recommend this book because it deals with real life situations for any age group. It can help people understand what is in an abusive relationship and might prevent new ones from forming.
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Reviewed by Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius" for TeensReadToo.com

Amazing!

very good book

Read this book foools

Must read

Amazing

:(

breathing underwater an emotional ride.

Abuse and redemption

Breathing Underwater by Alex Flinn

Not a bad quick read

A good insight

my opinion

Great book

Great book overall!

Good.

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extremely recommended for eye opening experience

Breathing Underwater

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