Gr 9 Up—Joy feels like she's being smothered. The 17-year-old from a privileged family has asthma, but she suffers even more from her suffocating circumstances. Her professional parents want to keep her safe, and her wealthy boyfriend, Asher, is stifling her as well. A slick-talking sadist, he has manipulated Joy to the point where she hardly recognizes herself in the desperate, clingy, self-destructive girl she has become. She thinks there is no way out of her gilded cage except flight, so she stages her own abduction and disappears into Seattle's street life. Miraculously, the teen keeps her relatively innocent perspective throughout most of her sojourn, thanks in large part to the intervention of a street musician and his little family of thrown-away teens. Ultimately, the true terror of life on the streets is revealed when Joy finds a friend beaten nearly to death by a john. She activates her cell phone and calls 911, which allows her parents to find her. Re-entry into her loving family is swift and begs the question: Was it really necessary for Joy to inflict such suffering merely to break up with her boyfriend? The storytelling is less than subtle, but it has strengths in the portrayal of an overprotected young woman's emotional bondage and in the vivid depiction of Pacific Northwest communities. From hyper-rich society fundraisers to the grungy late-night alleys of Capitol Hill, from students at Starbucks to Seattle's vibrant underground music scene, the settings are keenly observed and memorable.—Carolyn Lehman, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA
Cupala (Tell Me a Secret) plunges readers into the traumatized interior life of asthmatic high school junior Joy Delamere. Faking her own kidnapping, Joy cuts and dyes her hair and runs away from her suburban Seattle home and her abusive and controlling boyfriend, Asher. She heads for the notorious homeless haven of Capitol Hill, seeking freedom and an enigmatic musician named Creed, who once told her to find him if she needed help. Creed invites her into his makeshift home and family, which consists of fiery May and the more welcoming Santos, who teach Joy to steal and to survive. “Part of becoming a family was finding your place in it,” Joy thinks. “And despite the terrible air, I hoped there would be room to breathe in this one.” The tense, riveting story flashes between Joy’s past and present, illuminating the brutal extent of Asher’s efforts to control her and Joy’s slow process of rebuilding her self-worth with the help of her new friends. Though the hopeful ending is overly tidy, the characters and setting are tangibly and impressively rendered. Ages 14–up. (Jan.)
Don’t Breathe a Word is a gorgeously written, intense page-turner . . . This is a beautiful book.” — Courtney Summers, author of Some Girls Are and Cracked Up to Be
“I dare you to set it down during its last hundred pages. I dare you.” — Deb Caletti, National Book Award nominee for Honey, Baby, Sweetheart, for Tell Me a Secret
“A powerful story of self-discovery, and a brilliant debut novel.” — —Ellen Hopkins, New York Times bestselling author of the Crank trilogy
“Cinematic.” — Publishers Weekly, for Tell Me a Secret
“Holly Cupala’s debut novel will be immensely popular among teens. Teen fans will be captivated by the theme of owning your own path, the persistence of life and closure.” — Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA), for Tell Me a Secret
A powerful story of self-discovery, and a brilliant debut novel.
Don’t Breathe a Word is a gorgeously written, intense page-turner . . . This is a beautiful book.
Holly Cupala’s debut novel will be immensely popular among teens. Teen fans will be captivated by the theme of owning your own path, the persistence of life and closure.
Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)
I dare you to set it down during its last hundred pages. I dare you.
Two separate threads come together in this offering from the author of Tell Me a Secret (2010): a grim but compelling take on an abusive relationship and a coming-of-age love story. While they don't entirely mesh, the author's considerable narrative gifts keep readers engaged throughout. For Joy Delamere, asthma is a prison that shuts her in and burdens her family until she meets dangerous, sexy Asher, scion of a wealthy family. Their romance is liberating at first, but it becomes another prison as he gains power over Joy and her family. In desperation, she fakes her kidnapping and flees, losing herself among the homeless teen population on Seattle's Capitol Hill. Suburban naivete nearly does her in, but four teen squatters led by an attractive musician, Creed, take her in and teach her street smarts. Unlike creepy, psychotic Asher, Creed is gently protective of Joy, although there's a whiff of old-fashioned paternalism in their relationship. Tough issues are too easily resolved, but the vivid setting and characters, especially the street kids--outwardly jaded, they're fresh and likable survivors--compensate. Cupala knows her venue inside out and renders this harsh but lively world of hygienically challenged Dumpster divers with a lot of heart. (Fiction. 14 & up)
