Nov 6, 2012

Review: Breathe by Sarah Crossan


Title: Breathe
Author: Sarah Crossan
Publisher: Greenwillow
Publication Date: 10.2.2012
Pages: 373
Genre: Dystopian
Series: Yes (Breathe #1)
Source: ARC from publisher

Rating: B

Summary (from Goodreads):
Inhale. Exhale. 
Breathe. 
Breathe. 
Breathe . . .
The world is dead. 
The survivors live under the protection of Breathe, the corporation that found a way to manufacture oxygen-rich air.

Alina
has been stealing for a long time. She's a little jittery, but not terrified. All she knows is that she's never been caught before. If she's careful, it'll be easy. If she's careful.

Quinn
should be worried about Alina and a bit afraid for himself, too, but even though this is dangerous, it's also the most interesting thing to happen to him in ages. It isn't every day that the girl of your dreams asks you to rescue her.

Bea
wants to tell him that none of this is fair; they'd planned a trip together, the two of them, and she'd hoped he'd discover her out here, not another girl.

And as they walk into the Outlands with two days' worth of oxygen in their tanks, everything they believe will be shattered. Will they be able to make it back? Will they want to?

Review:
Breathe by debut author Sarah Crossan is one of the newest additions to the dystopian genre. I think the dystopian genre may sliding out because while I enjoyed this book, there was nothing in it that really blew my mind.

Alina is a likeable enough heroine; she’s tough and gritty and a fighter, but I never really felt like it got to know her. I never found her vulnerable enough to see what made her really tick. I never got that all-important connection. Quinn and Bea were sweet enough. It just felt like the normal rich boy and poor girl love story with the exception it was set in this dystopian world where oxygen was a precious and hard to come by commodity.

What I enjoyed the most, by far, was Crossan’s world-building. I never once doubted the scene I was in. Her descriptive skills are top-notch. I loved walking through this world she created. Some might say that the most important character in a dystopian novel is the world itself, and if so, Crossan wrote one of the best I've’read.

Maybe it’s because I’ve just read so many dystopian novels, but I didn’t find myself totally blown away. The characters are nice enough, but felt vaguely generic. The storyline was very intriguing, but I never truly felt like it took off. I’ll definitely see what Crossan has in store for the next book in the series, but this isn’t a book I’m clamoring to place up on my shelves. While I found Breathe to be enjoyable, it didn’t leave me breathless.

8 comments:

  1. I loved this! And you! Text me!

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  2. I enjoyed this book a lot actually! I loved that all three characters were different! :-D

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  3. I haven't read Breathe but I totally understand how you feel. I think dystopia is done for now too, unless it's truly spectacular. It's been done so many times that there really needs to be something special to stand out. I probably will read Breathe because the premise does sound interesting and I haven't read dystopia recently. Thanks for your honest review though!

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  4. This sounds like such an awesome world. It's too bad you didn't find it very original, but at least the characters were likable:)

    Awesome review:)

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  5. Dystopians are my favorite reads, but it is true what you said about finding something new/outstanding. But I'm glad you especially enjoyed the world-building - that's an important component for me, too! <3
    Mary DeBorde aka M.A.D.

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  6. I completely agree. I enjoyed reading the book, but nothing about it really wowed me. Great review!

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  7. I have been wanting to read this book for so long, it looks really good!

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  8. I'm a huge sucker for dystopian fiction, so even generic ones are appreciated, but I see what you mean. Granted, I'm always more drawn to world-building than characters, anyway, and like you said the world here was stellar.

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