katcountry0913's review
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
reading_leaf's review
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book is wonderful and I think if anything needed more breathing room. It was rather light hearted considering the content within. A good snippet into life. Like a very small window. It was just enjoyable enough and Very realistic and not over dramatic.
justgeekingby's review
5.0
Originally posted on Just Geeking by.
Ever since I heard about Breathe and Count back from Ten last year it has been on my radar, and I was so excited to read it. It is a novel about a young woman with hip dysplasia written by an author who has the same condition! This is one #ownvoices novel you do not want to miss.
Content warnings:
Depression is talked about openly, as is the treatment for it. The way a character describes feeling may make people with mental health conditions feel uncomfortable or triggered due to how accurate it is (again, I am talking from experience as someone with depression).
There are various scenes featuring ableist behaviour with lots of comments aimed at how the protagonist’s body looks and moves. There are scenes that deal with the topic of a disabled person’s control over their own body, decisions and medical choices, especially the relationship between parent and disabled child. While the protagonist does not appear to suffer from medical trauma, I feel that readers with medical trauma especially linked to childhood may find some of these scenes unsettling.
There is a flashback scene involving the protagonist and a boy in a hot tub that the protagonist deconstructs, realising that the boy had taken her silence as a confirmation. They were interrupted before things could go any further, but an assault or at least something that the protagonist would not have been comfortable with is strongly suggested.
Verónica is a typical teenager who just happens to be disabled. She worries about boys, she worries about her protective parents finding her with boys and embarrassing her. She is thinking about where she wants to go to college, and she loves mermaids. When a spot to become a mermaid at the local underwater tourist attraction suddenly becomes available right in time for a summer job, especially when she’s not been able to secure one yet, it seems like fate. The problem is that her parents don’t approve for multiple reasons, least of all because of her chronic health condition. She has to weigh up the choice of going against them, lying about it and creating more problems for herself or following her heart and trusting that she knows the strength of her own body.
Breathe and Count back from Ten is a beautiful account of being born with a disability, living with it and how people around you react to it. Verónica’s love of mermaids began during her time recovering from a surgery when she was a child. Her voice is clear throughout the book. She talks openly and concisely about having hip dysplasia, about what that means to her on a daily basis and what it felt like for her as a child recovering from surgery. She didn’t just fall in love with the sight of the mermaids during the show, she associated their tails with her how her whole body was in a cast. It is observations like this and reading Verónica’s thought process that makes this book truly special.
At the top of each chapter is a dictionary definition of a word followed by Verónica’s own definition, a process that she began after a therapist suggested she try it. It immerses us further into her world, giving us a glimpse of how she has grown up viewing the world. That is a very powerful writing tactic that Sylvester has chosen to use, and I couldn’t help but feel my heart squeezing when I read some of Verónica’s definitions. It is a very lonely world being a teenager and even more so when your body is different to everyone else’s. Teenagers are the first ones to point out differences and nothing escapes their notice, something that Sylvester shows with unnerving accuracy several times in Breathe and Count back from Ten.
There is no sugar coating in Breathe and Count back from Ten. Verónica’s life is one with pain, with nasty comments, stares from everyone she comes into contact with, being a teenager with scars on your body, overbearing parents, and growing up with a “normal” sibling. Despite all that, this isn’t a feel sorry for yourself book and anyone expecting it to be needs to spend some time with a real disabled person for two minutes. This is a story about living life, of finding love (and it is a beautiful love story), of best friends, and taking control of your life and your body. It’s also about growing up and taking that step into the future, that leap into the unknown.
Aside from Verónica’s hip dysplasia there is also a male character with depression, and I’m highlighting this because not only do we need more authentic mental health representation, but also it’s very rare to see a male character portrayed with mental health. There’s also Peruvian representation (Verónica and her family) and LGBTQIA representation.
For more of my reviews please visit my blog!
Ever since I heard about Breathe and Count back from Ten last year it has been on my radar, and I was so excited to read it. It is a novel about a young woman with hip dysplasia written by an author who has the same condition! This is one #ownvoices novel you do not want to miss.
Content warnings:
Spoiler
As to be expected in a book with a protagonist with a chronic health condition there are several medical scenes, scenes at hospitals, and throughout the book pain, medical procedures, surgery, and living with chronic health conditions are discussed, often in detail. This may be uncomfortable or triggering for some people especially those who have conditions that affect their hips. I’m saying this with respect and from experience because I was suffering from a pain flare up which affected my hips at the time (however, I also felt that it made reading the book that much more of a personal experience too).Depression is talked about openly, as is the treatment for it. The way a character describes feeling may make people with mental health conditions feel uncomfortable or triggered due to how accurate it is (again, I am talking from experience as someone with depression).
There are various scenes featuring ableist behaviour with lots of comments aimed at how the protagonist’s body looks and moves. There are scenes that deal with the topic of a disabled person’s control over their own body, decisions and medical choices, especially the relationship between parent and disabled child. While the protagonist does not appear to suffer from medical trauma, I feel that readers with medical trauma especially linked to childhood may find some of these scenes unsettling.
There is a flashback scene involving the protagonist and a boy in a hot tub that the protagonist deconstructs, realising that the boy had taken her silence as a confirmation. They were interrupted before things could go any further, but an assault or at least something that the protagonist would not have been comfortable with is strongly suggested.
Verónica is a typical teenager who just happens to be disabled. She worries about boys, she worries about her protective parents finding her with boys and embarrassing her. She is thinking about where she wants to go to college, and she loves mermaids. When a spot to become a mermaid at the local underwater tourist attraction suddenly becomes available right in time for a summer job, especially when she’s not been able to secure one yet, it seems like fate. The problem is that her parents don’t approve for multiple reasons, least of all because of her chronic health condition. She has to weigh up the choice of going against them, lying about it and creating more problems for herself or following her heart and trusting that she knows the strength of her own body.
Breathe and Count back from Ten is a beautiful account of being born with a disability, living with it and how people around you react to it. Verónica’s love of mermaids began during her time recovering from a surgery when she was a child. Her voice is clear throughout the book. She talks openly and concisely about having hip dysplasia, about what that means to her on a daily basis and what it felt like for her as a child recovering from surgery. She didn’t just fall in love with the sight of the mermaids during the show, she associated their tails with her how her whole body was in a cast. It is observations like this and reading Verónica’s thought process that makes this book truly special.
At the top of each chapter is a dictionary definition of a word followed by Verónica’s own definition, a process that she began after a therapist suggested she try it. It immerses us further into her world, giving us a glimpse of how she has grown up viewing the world. That is a very powerful writing tactic that Sylvester has chosen to use, and I couldn’t help but feel my heart squeezing when I read some of Verónica’s definitions. It is a very lonely world being a teenager and even more so when your body is different to everyone else’s. Teenagers are the first ones to point out differences and nothing escapes their notice, something that Sylvester shows with unnerving accuracy several times in Breathe and Count back from Ten.
There is no sugar coating in Breathe and Count back from Ten. Verónica’s life is one with pain, with nasty comments, stares from everyone she comes into contact with, being a teenager with scars on your body, overbearing parents, and growing up with a “normal” sibling. Despite all that, this isn’t a feel sorry for yourself book and anyone expecting it to be needs to spend some time with a real disabled person for two minutes. This is a story about living life, of finding love (and it is a beautiful love story), of best friends, and taking control of your life and your body. It’s also about growing up and taking that step into the future, that leap into the unknown.
Aside from Verónica’s hip dysplasia there is also a male character with depression, and I’m highlighting this because not only do we need more authentic mental health representation, but also it’s very rare to see a male character portrayed with mental health. There’s also Peruvian representation (Verónica and her family) and LGBTQIA representation.
For more of my reviews please visit my blog!
durablepigments's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
libraryalissa's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
teaandanoraks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
marys_bookish_musings's review
4.0
Beautiful story featuring a disabled, BIPOC immigrant teen. This story has beautiful representation and is an enjoyable read. I would have loved this as a teen.
kimmiereadsalot's review
4.0
This was a really beautiful story. I suppose it could even be considered a coming of age story. Verónica’s journey—from her teening to her maturing and learning how she is—is one most of us go through at some point. Trying to figure out who we are. Trying to respect your parents and follow their rules while also learning when to push back and become our own person.
Don’t get me wrong. Vero is definitely a teen. She definitely be teening in this book. She’s no paragon of maturity. But I appreciated her journey and her parents’ journey of learning to let go.
I really enjoyed this.
Don’t get me wrong. Vero is definitely a teen. She definitely be teening in this book. She’s no paragon of maturity. But I appreciated her journey and her parents’ journey of learning to let go.
I really enjoyed this.
sapphicreads64's review
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This was alright. It wasn't bad, but I didn't care about most of the characters, I don't usually care about the characters a lot anyway, and part of it might be my dislike for romance. It sort of felt like the book introduced a lot of elements and didn't follow through on them super strongly. I rated this 3.5 because I love mermaids.
whatmeganreads's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25