Reason to Breathe (Breathing, #1)

by Rebecca Donovan

[Cocktails and Books]

My friend, Michelle, send me a list of books that I need to read. This book was in the list. I read the blurb for it and though it looked like tough subject matter, but how bad could it be? It's a YA book. Holy hell, Batman! This book ripped me apart!

Emma Thomas is a girl who is used to keeping her head down and blending in so she can't be seen. She may be a soccer, basketball and track star at her high school, but she does all she can to make sure she doesn't draw an unnecessary attention to herself at home. But the arrival of Evan Mathews throws her into a tailspin, in a good and a horrible way. Emma learns that no matter how hard you try, eventually the secret you're trying to hide will come out.

This was a HARD book to read. I flip flopped between wanting Emma to fight for herself, for someone else to fight for her in her place and wanting her to just run away. Her secret is ugly and devastating. But in all the ugliness that Emma had to deal with, she did find the value of true friendship and love. Emma knew that best friend Sara (and subsequently her parents) would be there for her if/when she decided she needed them. With Evan, she learned how to develop a friendship and allowing herself to have something special for the first time ever. With Evan, she learned to have hope and faith that maybe things will be ok.

The ending of the book is a total cliffhanger and it's devastating. But please don't let that stop you from reading this book, since book 2 is already available. This was an amazing story and one that I'm so glad I picked up.