erinj254's review against another edition
1.0
I feel a little bit bad giving this one star since I usually save those ratings for books I DNF. I listened to this one and did not care for the narrator. She read the majority of the book trying to sound choked up and that grated on my nerves. I also didn't care for the way the book was set up (ex. Day 8, Part 2) - very distracting.
All that said, I really enjoyed Niven's All the Bright Places and Holding Up the Universe, but for some reason I was never that interested in picking up this one. I saw on Instagram last week that this one, as well as ATBP, had been banned or labeled with content warnings so I needed to see what the fuss was about. There is an overwhelming amount of talk about sex in this book, but the sex itself really isn't graphic. It's probably a fairly accurate portrayal of the thoughts of an 18-year-old girl.
Not for me, but its intended audience will probably enjoy it, and while I can understand the reason behind the content warning label, I'm not a fan of censorship and I'd have no issue with this book being on the shelf of my kids' high school library.
All that said, I really enjoyed Niven's All the Bright Places and Holding Up the Universe, but for some reason I was never that interested in picking up this one. I saw on Instagram last week that this one, as well as ATBP, had been banned or labeled with content warnings so I needed to see what the fuss was about. There is an overwhelming amount of talk about sex in this book, but the sex itself really isn't graphic. It's probably a fairly accurate portrayal of the thoughts of an 18-year-old girl.
Not for me, but its intended audience will probably enjoy it, and while I can understand the reason behind the content warning label, I'm not a fan of censorship and I'd have no issue with this book being on the shelf of my kids' high school library.
readingwithlibby's review against another edition
2.0
Holding up the universe and all the bright places are two of my favourite books so I had such high hops for breathless but honestly I’m actually really disappointed. I found the book to be very uneventful and quite boring. Claude really annoyed me as a character. I felt she was very selfish and caught up in her own life and her own drama without thinking about those around her. Maybe it’s because my parents separated when I was a baby and I was brought up by just my mum, but I found Claude’s reaction to her parents separating way too dramatic and quite childish. I didn’t like the way she treated miah or her best friend saz. She just felt very spoiled to me. I did enjoy the writing style and the imagery of the island was beautiful. I also loved miah and really rooted for him. Overall I really didn’t like the book and wouldn’t read it again.
maheen_'s review against another edition
4.0
Would be better if she had other goals besides just getting laid
dananoel's review against another edition
5.0
Jennifer Niven KNOWS feelings. She is a mf EXPERT at emotions and making me cry. She knows how to take something specific and make it super relatable to all audiences. My parents are 30+ years happy yet I could totally understand everything Claude was going through, how she felt.
But most of all, the coming-of-age. Discovering your body, discovering body autonomy - especially knowing it’s all up to you, nobody else. I think there were several great quotes where Claude and Jeremiah were describing basically “my body, my choice”, and I think that’s a powerful lesson to learn, especially when you’re young and even when you’re older.
Also loved loved loved the accountability of when Claude fucks up.
Yet again, everything was realistic and emotional and I got sooo invested that it’ll stick with me for a while, as did All the Bright Places and Holding Up the Universe. I just love her writing dude
But most of all, the coming-of-age. Discovering your body, discovering body autonomy - especially knowing it’s all up to you, nobody else. I think there were several great quotes where Claude and Jeremiah were describing basically “my body, my choice”, and I think that’s a powerful lesson to learn, especially when you’re young and even when you’re older.
Also loved loved loved the accountability of when Claude fucks up.
Yet again, everything was realistic and emotional and I got sooo invested that it’ll stick with me for a while, as did All the Bright Places and Holding Up the Universe. I just love her writing dude
jombienerd's review against another edition
2.0
1.5 stars
Niven is one of my favorite authors of all time. All the Bright Places and Holding Up the Universe touched places that I didn’t know existed.
But Breathless was an absolute disappointment. Breathless was such an infuriating book. The male protagonist Jeremiah was raising SO many red flags throughout the book that I never liked him. None of his struggles that were described in the book ever felt real. Claude was also a completely flat character who had no substance though Niven tried hard to make her into something. The side characters were nothing and didn’t add anything to the main story. The plot was nonexistent and forgettable.
I’m mad at myself for spending my money on this book. I only buy books that I know I’ll like and I took my chances on this one. Never again.
Niven is one of my favorite authors of all time. All the Bright Places and Holding Up the Universe touched places that I didn’t know existed.
But Breathless was an absolute disappointment. Breathless was such an infuriating book. The male protagonist Jeremiah was raising SO many red flags throughout the book that I never liked him. None of his struggles that were described in the book ever felt real. Claude was also a completely flat character who had no substance though Niven tried hard to make her into something. The side characters were nothing and didn’t add anything to the main story. The plot was nonexistent and forgettable.
I’m mad at myself for spending my money on this book. I only buy books that I know I’ll like and I took my chances on this one. Never again.
kyra_reads16's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
soph_reads_too_much's review against another edition
5.0
I honestly don’t know where to begin with this review. This book moved me in such a personal and emotional way that I’m not even sure I’ll be able to fully relay that to you all in this review through words.
The best way to describe it is that this book made me want to dance. For context I used to be a dancer and found that when I was feeling emotional and upset I needed to dance in order to sort out and express those emotions. That is what this book made me want to do.
While I have not gone through exactly what Clew was going through in this book, I have shared so many of her same emotions and feelings which Niven described to a T.
From the feeling of friendship slipping away, to the symbolic floor disappearing from under your feet, to also the more simple feelings of being scared of change and what the future may bring.
I found many similarities between me andClew and I think that is what made the story so much more emotional and personal for me.
And while a lot of what I felt was sadness during this book, it also gave me hope. It allowed me to see that while everything may not be okay right now, they would be eventually, and I would get through it because I had to.
The only thing I didn’t enjoy was the ending of the book - purely because it was beautiful and genius and all I wanted was more.
I am definitely planning to read more of Niven’s works in the future.
The best way to describe it is that this book made me want to dance. For context I used to be a dancer and found that when I was feeling emotional and upset I needed to dance in order to sort out and express those emotions. That is what this book made me want to do.
While I have not gone through exactly what Clew was going through in this book, I have shared so many of her same emotions and feelings which Niven described to a T.
From the feeling of friendship slipping away, to the symbolic floor disappearing from under your feet, to also the more simple feelings of being scared of change and what the future may bring.
I found many similarities between me andClew and I think that is what made the story so much more emotional and personal for me.
And while a lot of what I felt was sadness during this book, it also gave me hope. It allowed me to see that while everything may not be okay right now, they would be eventually, and I would get through it because I had to.
The only thing I didn’t enjoy was the ending of the book - purely because it was beautiful and genius and all I wanted was more.
I am definitely planning to read more of Niven’s works in the future.
kalliroi_ninia's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
caitminch's review against another edition
2.0
i'm not sure why i keep reading jennifer niven's books because there's something about her writing style that really grates on me. it feels like she's trying really hard to be profound and deep, but she just cant quite pull it off. i don't know, maybe many many years of reading YA contemporary has made me bitter and immune to half-baked philosophy.
focusing more on this book, i'm torn. the concept, i love: there's something about holidays to quirky places and finding love that i go insane for. but the characters kind of spoiled it for me and i really really hated being stuck in claudine's head because she was so annoying. some of the shittier things she did just...didn't seem justified. she came across as really self absorbed and spoilt. characters like wednesday and jared seemed like afterthoughts. and i wish we found out more about the island's history and her mum's project.
definitely not the worst young adult novel i've read, but very far from being the best.
focusing more on this book, i'm torn. the concept, i love: there's something about holidays to quirky places and finding love that i go insane for. but the characters kind of spoiled it for me and i really really hated being stuck in claudine's head because she was so annoying. some of the shittier things she did just...didn't seem justified. she came across as really self absorbed and spoilt. characters like wednesday and jared seemed like afterthoughts. and i wish we found out more about the island's history and her mum's project.
definitely not the worst young adult novel i've read, but very far from being the best.
shaniae's review against another edition
2.0
Just could NOT get on board and connected with the teenage love dynamic in this book. Truly did not care about either of them. Wished there was more of the best friend dynamic, but the author took that away by bringing the main character to a friggin island with her mom. I also couldn’t get over that aspect either. Not memorable and will not miss the story. This was me reading this book after All the Bright Places, which I enjoyed much more.