Mundie Moms

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Book Review: Don't Breathe a Word by Holly Cupala


Published by: Harper Teen
To Be Released on: January 3rd, 2012 TODAY
Source: book from publisher to review
3 stars: It's a Good Read
Order from: Amazon

Joy Delamere is suffocating...

From asthma, which has nearly claimed her life. From her parents, who will do anything to keep that from happening. From delectably dangerous Asher, who is smothering her from the inside out. Joy can take his words - tender words, cruel words - until the night they go too far. Now, Joy will leave everything behind to find the one who has offered his help, a homeless boy called Creed. She will become someone else. She will learn to survive. She will breathe... if only she can get to Creed before it’s too late. Set against the gritty backdrop of Seattle’s streets and a cast of characters with secrets of their own, Holly Cupala’s powerful new novel explores the subtleties of abuse, the meaning of love, and how far a girl will go to discover her own strength -quoted from Goodreads

Don't Breathe a Word is one of those edgy books that's raw, emotional gripping and tackles the tougher things teens deal with now a days. I normally have to be in a certain mood to read these type of books, but Holly Cupala's writing is brutally honest, powerful, and lyrically written which made it hard for me to stop reading it. I got to a point in the story that I wanted to know more. The other thing I liked, is that Holly doesn't shy away some pretty tough subjects, and she gives readers a real look inside teenage relationships, teenage abuse, family dynamics, teenage homelessness, friendships and more. As heartbreaking as it was seeing all Joy/Triste had to deal with, I really admire the empowered person she grew into.

The story follows that of Joy (who on the streets is known as Triste), a teenage girl who's looking for a way to escape. She wants out for her abusive relationship with her well to do boyfriend who hails from a prominent family in the Seattle area, an escape from her overly protective parents, and to run away from the person who's become since dating Asher. The thing I like that Holly does with Joy's character is she allowed me to see how broken she was, how and why she changed so much. In doing so, she also let me see the person she becomes. Through out the course of Joy's journey Holly does such an elegant job at revealing bits of Joy's past mixed into present tense, which allowed me to see what lead up to her decision to leave her life behind and what she's going to do now.

Joy's transition to life on the street is far from easy and in fact, it's at times down right scary. Luckily she has the help of Creed, the boy how gave her the strength to seek a different life on the streets. Creed's group of friends are far from those Joy had back home before she started dating Asher, but regardless of back grounds, Joy learns the importance of friendships and having one's back at all costs. It's during this time and through a course of events that Joy truly becomes a person who finds her inner strength and grows into a surprisingly strong character. Over all this is a story about a broken girl who through the course of her own journey discovers the inner strength to break away from everything that was holding her back.

This book won't be for everyone, but I think that everyone who reads it will take something away from it. There is abuse, some language, an attempted rape, and a few scenes that might be a little graphic for some. This is a book I'd recommend to mature YA readers and those who enjoy reading a literary book with a contemporary setting.

**************

Don't miss Holly's Don't Breathe A Word blog party!! It's happening NOW on her blog. Check out the play list, get an exclusive download and enter to win lots of cool prizes!

5 comments:

  1. This sounds like a really great book. I don't know if it mentions it, but "triste" is french for "sad," the opposite of her real name. :0)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Aravis- Ohh that's interesting, because that fits her so well! Thank you for letting me know that.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I loved Holly's first book. Can't wait to read this.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oo... this sounds like something I'd be interested in reading. I haven't read enough contemporary recently. Thanks for the review.

    Kris
    Imaginary Reads

    ReplyDelete

Labels