Only a Breath Apart: A Novel

by Katie McGarry

Overview

Bestselling author Katie McGarry’s trademark wrong-side-of-the-tracks romance is given a new twist in this acclaimed, gritty YA contemporary novel, Only a Breath Apart.

They say your destiny is carved in stone. But some destinies are meant to be broken.

The only curse Jesse Lachlin believes in is his grandmother’s will: in order to inherit his family farm he must win the approval of his childhood best friend, the girl he froze out his freshman year.

A fortune teller tells Scarlett she's psychic, but what is real is Scarlett’s father’s controlling attitude and the dark secrets at home. She may be able to escape, but only if she can rely on the one boy who broke her heart.

Each midnight meeting pushes Jesse and Scarlett to confront their secrets and their feelings, but as love blooms, the curse rears its ugly head…

"Fair warning: Picture-perfect Scarlett and misunderstood Jesse will have you in your feels."—Girls' Life Magazine

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250193865
Publisher:	Tom Doherty Associates
Publication date:	01/14/2020
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	524,666
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.10(d)
Lexile:	HL750L (what's this?)
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

KATIE MCGARRY is an award winning and critically acclaimed young adult novelist. The author of Only a Breath Apart and the Pushing the Limits and Thunder Road series is currently living out her real life love story in Kentucky with her husband and three children. Katie is a lover of music, happy endings, reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.

Editorial Reviews

“Katie McGarry knows what YA is, how it works, and what it can do better than anyone, but she always takes it one step further.”—Hypable

"Fair warning: Picture-perfect Scarlett and misunderstood Jesse will have you in your feels."—Girls' Life Magazine

“Beyond a haunted teen romance is a beautiful, moving exploration of domestic violence, forgiveness, and self-love. ...Simultaneously heartbreaking and heartwarming.” —Kirkus, starred review

“McGarry ably captures the feeling of desperately wanting to come home to a friendship that has radically changed. The novel manages to tackle domestic violence in a way that never feels clichéd, and the romance is sure to win over even the most cynical reader. This is a story you’ll want to read slowly, just to be able to stay with the characters for a moment longer.”—Booklist

“A gorgeous, heartfelt journey of redemption and love.” —Wendy Higgins, New York Times bestselling author

“Powerful, emotional, and ultimately hopeful. An unforgettable story that will leave its mark on your heart.” —C. J. Redwine, New York Times bestselling author

“Gritty and real, Only a Breath Apart is a story of hope conjured from pain, strength drawn from innocence, and love earned from self-respect. Beautiful, poignant, and fierce.” —Kristen Simmons, critically acclaimed author of the Article 5 series

“Meticulously weaves a fragile love story through a minefield of loss, broken trust, and familial curses both real and imagined. Haunting, authentic, and ultimately hopeful.” —Tammara Webber, New York Times bestselling author

“A painful, beautiful, and utterly magical story about the family you’re born into versus the family you choose.” —Trish Doller, author of In a Perfect World

“A touching tale of love and fate straight from the heartland.” —Mindy McGinnis, author of The Female of the Species

“Scarlett and Jesse’s story will stay in your heart long after you finish the book.” —Simone Elkeles, New York Times bestselling author

“Southern Gothic at its finest, this is Katie McGarry’s best book to date!” —Miranda Kenneally, author of Catching Jordan and Breathe, Annie, Breathe

From the Publisher

12/01/2018
Gr 9 Up{amp}ndash;Scarlett and Jesse were best friends as children. Unbeknownst to them, they were each other's refuge from their turbulent and violent families. In their freshman year, Jesse abruptly ends their friendship and makes a spectacle of Scarlett. For the next three years they are enemies, so it is surprising when Jesse suddenly approaches her to rekindle their friendship. He is up-front with Scarlett about his intentions; he needs a relationship with her to ensure that he can keep the land he loves rather than having it sold off. Jesse's grandmother has died, leaving the fate of the farm in the hands of a three-person tribunal, who will vote on Jesse's ability to manage the land for a year. In return for Scarlett's vote, Jesse arranges for her to get a job, so she can pay to attend the University of Kentucky, a plan her father does not approve of. As Jesse and Scarlett become closer, they slowly begin to reveal the personal struggles they've experienced since childhood. Told in Scarlett and Jesse's alternating voices, the plot moves along at a compulsively readable pace. What makes this romance different from many others is that readers are equally, if not more invested in Scarlett and Jesse's individual transformations rather than the survival of their romantic relationship. VERDICT This title belongs in most romance collections and should be featured for its portrayal of a balanced relationship in which both parties get to be the hero.{amp}mdash;Lynn Rashid, Marriotts Ridge High School, Marriottsville, MD

School Library Journal

★ 2018-10-23

Two teenagers dare to challenge their destinies in this Southern romance that is so much more.

Some believe the Lachlin family curse is that those they fall in love with are doomed. But Jesse's mother believes they're cursed only if they ever try to leave the family land, and she makes Jesse promise to stay. Now 17, Jesse—red-haired and green-eyed—is heir to his family's land. But according to his grandmother's will, a tribunal will vote on whether he is responsible enough to own it when he turns 18. One of the people whose approval he needs is his ex-best-friend, Scarlett Copeland. Scarlett—black-haired and blue-eyed—seems to lead a perfect life, but no one knows that while she dreams of attending the University of Kentucky, her father plans on sending her to a private college in town to keep her close. And no one has any idea that he hits her mother. Jesse and Scarlett reconcile to help one another, and friendship grows into love as they share their burdens and secrets. Beyond a haunted teen romance is a beautiful, moving exploration of domestic violence, forgiveness, and self-love. The plot is well-paced, and the unusual characters, including a self-proclaimed psychic and a pastor who doubles as a counselor, create an authentically complex story. The ways the system sometimes fails the most vulnerable are well-depicted.

Simultaneously heartbreaking and heartwarming. (author's playlist) (Fiction.13-adult)

Kirkus Reviews