Breathe
Author: Sarah Crossan
Expected Publication: October 2nd, 2012
Greenwillow
400 pages
Received through SBB ARC Tours
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?
So if you have been with me from the beginning you know I have been on a dystopian kick ever since I read Divergent last December. Guys, I think this one made one of my top favorite reads of 2012 it was that fantastic. *Be warned of potential fangirly review ahead!*
First off, the cover. Holy gorgeous! I love this cover. It depicts the story perfectly and even though I did not imagine the world outside of the Pod to look quite like that, I still really love the cover.
The world! Talk about corrupt! I really enjoyed learning about the world both inside and outside the Pod. The premise of the story was really well explained and I just fell into the book with little to no effort. The writing painted such a vivid picture in my mind and (as a visual reader) I just started thinking of what it would be like to live in the Pod. How cool, but at the same time so scary!
In the book, air is recycled and used again in the Pod so that everyone can continue to breathe. But, (here's the kicker) they must PAY for the air they breathe. Can you imagine having to pay for air? How the heck do the people not think that is ludicrous? It is actually mentioned in the story that oxygen levels inside the pod are upwards of 30%. I googled how much O2 is in our air, and we only have 20%. Wouldn't you be like high on oxygen or something? Goodness!
In the book, we get to see the world from three different perspectives. Alina is part of the RATS, an organization on a mission to replant the trees destroyed during the "Switch". Bea is a lower class civilian that lives with her parents who are just barely able to keep paying for her to breathe. Quinn, Bea's best friend is a Premium, a high class civilian, whose dad is high in the ranks of Breathe, the company that controls oxygen in the Pod.
I really enjoyed getting to know each and every character. I find it really cool to read something from three perspectives and get three different thoughts on a situation. Alina was a super cool, take charge, kick butt character. Bea was a demure yet totally awesome girl that had an amazing attitude and was ready to tackle the world. Quinn was the equally as amazing companion to Bea. He totally rocked my socks off, and I even admit to crushing on him just a bit :)
The writing was great. Even though the book was almost 400 pages, I felt like I was flying through the pages. The plot was fast paced and the storyline was quick. There was lots of action and very little down time, which I loved!
Talk about insane cliffhanger! Holy crap guys, I need the next book like now and this one isn't even published yet! I guess I must resign myself to a waiting game. *sigh*
Overall, Breathe totally rocked! The characters were awesome, the world was amazing (and creepy!) and the story flowed quickly and effortlessly! I cannot wait for Mrs. Crossan's next installment in this series!
