Breathe by Sarah CrossanPublished: 11th October 2012
By: Bloomsbury Publishing
Source: Bloomsbury UK
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
With the destruction of earth's trees, the oxygen levels of the world have dropped. People now live in pods, where oxygen is pumped around and distributed by class. People pay an oxygen tax, so therefore the rich can have more, are healthier, can partake in more strenuous tasks, and have more children.
After the oxygen levels dropped and the "important" people were given their places in the pod, the rest was decided by state lottery. Those who didn't gain a place, slowly suffocated and died on the outside.
Bea is an auxillary (poor class) and Quinn is a premium (rich) but they've been best friends forever. When they plan a camping trip outside the pod, they are intruded upon by Alina, who needs to escape to the outside and can't do it alone. She is a member of the Resistance and on the run from the Ministry. Quinn thinks she is beautiful and can't help himself but help her, and then follow her, against the advice of Bea. Bea and Quinn both find their lives at risk outside the pod and what they discover while with the Resistance, will change their lives forever.
Breathe was an interesting and quite scary read. I could totally envision something like this happening to the earth. And while I enjoyed the writing style and world building, there was just something missing from this that stopped my from really enjoying it. The characterisation could have been better for me. I didn't feel any connection or bonding with any of the characters. There is a slight romance but it was just unappealing for me. Unfortunately, I doubt that I will pick up the next book in this series.
Buy the book: Amazon/The Book Depository
I enjoyed this quite a bit, but I agree that something was missing. I think I gave this a 3.5 myself, and most of that was due to the plot and ideas, rather than the characters. I think I'll give the next book a go if it lands my way, but I doubt I'll actively seek it out. Great review as always!
Hmm...don't know if I'd like this if the romance is off. The idea of this world terrifies me. Wonderful review Suzanne. :)
Oh sorry you didn't enjoy this as much as you'd hoped Suzanne, I rated this a 3.5 stars, so I think we had similar issues, but I was able to connect with Bea more so maybe that made my reading experience of this book a lot more enjoyable compared to yours. A wonderful review Suzanne, I hope you enjoy you next read a lot more! :)
This does sound very creepy and my favorite dystopians are the ones where you can really envision that work coming into reality in the near future. But I'm the same, if I can't connect with the characters it's usually a done deal for me.
Too bad! At first, I was so excited about this book. I bought a copy, but after reading a few reviews, I became convinced I wouldn't like it. I love that both the writing and the worldbuilding are great, but obviously something is missing since people are mostly lukewarm about it.
Fantastic review, Suzanne!
Your opinion seems to fall in line with many of the others I have read on this. one. It seems it has a thrilling premise but lacks in execution, I am definitely passing on this, too many lackluster reviews.
Such a great plotline that I could really see happening but I have heard that no one really likes the characters. Disappointed in that but I won a copy so I'll still give it a try sometime.
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