Reviewed by pagingserenity on
UNBREATHABLE by Hafsah Laziaf was so good, I almost stopped breathing. :) I’m not kidding. Okay, maybe a little, but in all seriousness, UNBREATHABLE was a really good read. It tells the story of a girl who is set on exposing hidden secrets and the reasons why her life is suddenly changing. The story takes place on a whole new world. This time I’m not joking - the story takes place on a planet named Jutaire, where some humans now live. After realizing Earth still exists, they want/need to beat the Jute (aka the aliens) there. The race for Earth has begun. (I never thought I’d ever write that).
I only had one tiny problem with this book. I just felt that the world could have been developed a bit more. By the end, I still had a few of questions left unanswered. But maybe Hafsah is holding them hostage for the sequel (I hope there’s one!), which is fine. I just felt like if the world was better developed, it would have been a smidge easier to understand some parts of the story. But having the answers wasn’t exactly necessary. For example, I’m a bit iffy about why the humans moved to Jutaire in the first place, but the answer doesn’t really play a part in the story.
Other than that, I sincerely loved, loved reading UNBREATHABLE. One of the best aspects of the book is the story it tells. The story is one that I had never, ever, ever, read before. And let me tell you, that almost never happens. I don’t know if it’s because I don’t read a lot of sci-fi, or if it’s just because I’m always stuck in my own bubble, but I found UNBREATHABLE incredibly unique. I mean, have you ever read a book about trying to beat the aliens on a race to get to Earth? I haven’t. And really, the more unique a book is, the better it is. With every twist and turn, the story became more and more interesting and intriguing. So, intriguing that I was almost late for my next class after I had started it during Study Hall. I swear, I didn’t even hear the bell ring - I was too busy reading! Whoops..
The romance in this book was pretty awesome. Somehow UNBREATHABLE managed to contain just the right amount of romance. Enough not to interfere a lot with the story, but enough to make me go “Awwwww!”. However, romance did play a role in the book, a minor, yet important part. There may also be a tiny love triangle. But that’s all I can say without spoiling anything. Oh and there are some hot guys… enough said.
That being said, Lissa is pretty awesome herself. She deals with everything pretty well considering the circumstances. And although her actions are sometimes rash, they are understandable and sometimes expected. I mean if your father was killed for mysterious reasons, wouldn’t you want to discover the truth? It was nice to know that even humans don’t all live on Earth anymore, they still act like the humans we are, that the move didn’t change them that much (personality wise). With every twist that happens and every obstacle that occurs, Lissa proves to be a girl determined to do what she feels is right, no matter what it will cost her. She definitely is a character worth admiring.
Overall, UNBREATHABLE is not a book I would mind reading again (I already have read it twice). It was also good enough to make me want to buy a physical copy. Right now, I’m kind of stalking Hafsah on Twitter for sequel news. And if you know me at all, even just a tiny bit, you probably know I’m not the stalker type (at least I think I’m not…). So yeah, UNBREATHABLE was an epic book! You all better should read it!
*Originally posted at Icy Cold Reads. You can view the original post at Review - UNBREATHABLE.
Reading updates
- Started reading
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- 31 August, 2013: Reviewed