Tuesday 9 October 2012

Review: Breathe by Sarah Crossan

Title: Breathe
Author: Sarah Crossan
Published: 11 October 2012
Publisher: Bloomsbury
ISBN: 978 408827182

Rating: 5/5 with merits

The cover on this shows the dystopian world that Breathe is set in and is an eye catching colour, I love the shades of purple and blue used.

Enter a world where to breathe you have to buy, or have access to air tanks.  A world of singular laws and also of complete obedience.  Imagine what would happen to those without the means, or to those with plenty.  

I found Breathe had a lot of echoes from real life, from government to social classes.  The main thing that struck me when I first started reading was the wealth of those around government or those not questioning what was happening, to those trying to do the right thing, or those merely trying to live and "get by".  The romance is mingled in really well, alongside the loss and stark realisation that you don’t have control of your life if you are in the pod, and that existance out of the pod may be a myth.

I found Bea & Quinn’s relationship to be really endearing, although it took tragedy for Quinn to see Bea for who she truly is.  This is a brilliant coming of age book – Quinn really steps into the limelight and becomes the person he wants to be rather than taking the easy route and not questioning things. 

A lot which takes place in this book could very easily happen, it was that believable.  I really enjoyed every single character.  From the mad as a hatter Maude, to the seemingly lofty high and mighty Petra.  The thing that most had me on the edge of my seat was the action of Quinn’s parents throughout…this has some truly jaw dropping scenes in, and is one of my favourite books of 2012 for not only making me think, but also for the unique storyline.

Book synopsis:
Years after the Switch, life inside the Pod has moved on. A poor Auxiliary class cannot afford the oxygen tax which supplies extra air for running, dancing and sports. The rich Premiums, by contrast, are healthy and strong. Anyone who opposes the regime is labelled a terrorist and ejected from the Pod to die. Sixteen-year-old Alina is part of the secret resistance, but when a mission goes wrong she is forced to escape from the Pod. With only two days of oxygen in her tank, she too faces the terrifying prospect of death by suffocation. Her only hope is to find the mythical Grove, a small enclave of trees protected by a hardcore band of rebels. Does it even exist, and if so, what or who are they protecting the trees from? A dystopian thriller about courage and freedom, with a love story at its heart.

Source - this review is based on an ARC recieved from the publishers in return for an honest review.  Check back on 15th October, when we're the stop on Breathe's blog tour - should be fun :)))

1 comment:

Escapism Fanatic said...

This book has been absolutely everywhere. I will stop by the blog for the blog tour too.